There’s nothing like the classics of music. These songs live on in history for a good reason, no matter how long it’s been since they were first written and performed.
One of those songs is “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel. First performed in 1964, it’s still a popular song loved for its lilting melody and haunting backing vocals. Now, it’s been covered again, this time by Celtic Thunder.
People are amazed by Celtic Thunder’s cover for more than one reason.
For one thing, Colm Keegan and Keith Harkin sound eerily like Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Watching them is like traveling in time back to the sixties. The only difference is that Celtic Thunder’s hair is a little less dramatic than Simon and Garfunkel’s.
It’s interesting that the song is such a legend. It actually led to the demise of Simon and Garfunkel as a duo. Their album “Wednesday Morning, 3 AM.” which featured “The Sound of Silence” and other songs, was such a failure that the two of them decided to part ways, ending an iconic pairing that had been together since 1956.
To their surprise, their producer, Tom Wilson, decided to revamp the song without their knowledge.
He added electric instruments to the folksy acoustic track, changing its sound and introducing an entirely new feel to the music industry. Immediately, the song became hugely popular, and its success reunited the duo, who would go on to have many more years together.
It was Simon who wrote the song over six long months, agonizing over every line. He says that the song’s lyrics were heavily influenced by where he was in his own life at the time: 21 years old, recently graduated from college, and still full of angst. He had a lot of thoughts on the culture of the time, which made their way into the song.
“I think about songs that it’s not just what the words say but what the melody says and what the sound says,” said Simon. “My thinking is that if you don’t have the right melody, it really doesn’t matter what you have to say, people don’t hear it. They only are available to hear when the sound entrances and makes people open to the thought.”
After the song became a huge hit, Simon had some thoughts about the success of it and what made it so popular.
Whether or not the words of the song came from a place of post-teenage angst, there’s no doubt that people all over the world connected strongly with it.
“Really the key to ‘The Sound of Silence’ is the simplicity of the melody and the words, which are youthful alienation,” he said. “It’s a young lyric, but not bad for a 21-year-old. It’s not a sophisticated thought, but a thought that I gathered from some college reading material or something. It wasn’t something that I was experiencing at some deep, profound level – nobody’s listening to me, nobody’s listening to anyone – it was a post-adolescent angst, but it had some level of truth to it and it resonated with millions of people. Largely because it had a simple and singable melody.”
Fifty years later, Celtic Thunder’s beautiful tribute is a remarkable testament to a song that has touched people throughout the decades.
But unsurprisingly, their rendition had an element that the original did not: a Gaelic twist. It makes sense, considering that the band covers traditional Scotch-Irish songs.
Celtic Thunder was founded in 2007 with the goal of preserving Celtic music. The all-male singing group frequently sings traditional songs from Ireland and Scotland, and each one of them hails from one of the two countries. Their YouTube channel has amassed more than 173,000 subscribers.
Reactions on the video of the 2014 performance of “The Sound of Silence” were glowing, with many people comparing it to the original vocals of Simon and Garfunkel themselves.
“I am a big Simon and Garfunkel fan, and these two young men have captured the essence of that duo,” wrote user Cathy Hardman. “Loved this rendition. I’m sure Simon and Garfunkel will be pleased when they hear it.”
Both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel continue to be active in the music industry, now in their 70s.
Throughout the decades, they have periodically reunited for performances and tours, but they’ve also branched off into solo careers. The two have had enormous success both as a duo and as solo artists. But in the terms of what will live on as their legacy, there is little that can rival 1964’s “The Sound of Silence.”
It’s amazing to think that something that was releant 55 years ago can still be so powerful and touching when we listen to it today. Celtic Thunder’s cover was a wonderful tribute to a pair of musicians that forever changed the music industry.
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