Maps of Music

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (1964)

Where the lyrics of Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. take you, and where it was really made.

The debut album sold poorly in 1964, and its 1966 re-release followed a radio hit built on a 1965 overdub the duo did not know about.

Key places

Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street studio (1964)

Recording site Columbia 30th Street Studio — Sessions for the album ran from 10 to 31 March 1964 at this New York studio, with Tom Wilson producing and Roy Halee engineering. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover shot in a Fifth Avenue subway station (1964)

Album cover Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station — The cover photo was taken at the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station in New York City. A wall message in the background made several hundred session pictures unusable. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.: debut studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel
• Released 19 October 1964 by Columbia Records
• Produced by Tom Wilson, engineered by Roy Halee
• Recorded in March 1964, sessions between 10 and 31 March
• Cover and label carry the subtitle 'exciting new sounds in the folk tradition'
• The duo was earlier known as the rock 'n' roll duo Tom and Jerry; Columbia signed them in late 1963

Background

• The album was initially unsuccessful, so Paul Simon moved to London and released his first solo album, The Paul Simon Songbook
• Art Garfunkel continued his studies at Columbia University in New York City
• The duo reunited in late 1965
• Re-released in January 1966 to capitalize on new radio success
• The radio success came from a June 1965 overdub of 'The Sound of Silence' that added electric guitars, bass guitar and drum kit
• The overdub was done under producer Tom Wilson without the duo's knowledge

Recording

• Recorded March 1964 at Columbia's 30th Street studio in New York City
• 'Benedictus' was arranged and adapted from Orlando di Lasso's Missa Octavi toni, a Renaissance setting of the mass ordinary
• 'Benedictus' is arranged for two voices with cello and sparse guitar
• 'He Was My Brother' was dedicated to Andrew Goodman, a friend and Simon's classmate at Queens College

Cover

• Cover photo shot at the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station in New York City
• Several hundred pictures were unusable because of a wall message in the background

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in school in Queens, New York City, in 1953, where they learned to harmonize.
• As teenagers they performed as Tom & Jerry; their 1957 single "Hey, Schoolgirl" sold more than 100,000 copies.
• They regrouped in 1963 and signed to Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel.
• Their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (1964), sold poorly.

Members

• Paul Simon: singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• Art Garfunkel: singer, with occasional percussion.

Career

• "The Sound of Silence" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after a rock remix in 1965.
• The Graduate (1967) and Bookends (1968) made them the biggest rock duo in the world.
• Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), their final studio album, became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
• They split in 1970 and reunited several times, including the 1981 Central Park concert attended by more than 500,000 people.
• They won seven Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
• They have sold more than 100 million records.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The album was initially unsuccessful, having been released in the shadow of the British Invasion
• Its failure led Paul Simon to move to England, and Art Garfunkel returned to his studies at Columbia University
• The album was re-released in January 1966 after the radio success of 'The Sound of Silence'

Reappraisal

• It ultimately reached No. 24 on the UK Album Charts in 1968, long after the duo had re-formed and gone on to greater success
• The UK release came two years after the 1966 reissue, in both mono and stereo formats
• Its later belated UK release is recorded as a separate event from the 1964 American release

Records

• US Billboard album chart: peaked at No. 30 in 1966
• UK Album Charts: peaked at No. 24 in 1968
• Included in its entirety in the Simon & Garfunkel box sets Collected Works and The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The cover and label subtitle 'exciting new sounds in the folk tradition' also appears on the back cover of the record.
• Several hundred cover photos from the subway session were unusable because of a wall message in the background, which inspired Paul Simon to write 'A Poem on the Underground Wall' for the later album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.
• 'He Was My Brother' was dedicated to Andrew Goodman, who volunteered in Freedom Summer in 1964 and was abducted and killed in the Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner murders.
• The 1965 overdub of 'The Sound of Silence' was made by Tom Wilson without the duo's knowledge.
• 'Benedictus' is a Latin text, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, set for two voices.
• The album is included in full in the box sets Collected Works and The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact