Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Studio album by Simon & Garfunkel
Released October 19, 1964
Recorded March 10–31, 1964
Genre Folk
Length 31:38
Label Columbia
Producer Tom Wilson
Simon & Garfunkel chronology
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
(1964)		 Sounds of Silence
(1966)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut album by folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, released October 19, 1964. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. On its cover sleeve the album bears the subtitle: "Exciting new sounds in the folk tradition".

The album was initially unsuccessful, having been released in the shadow of The Beatles' arrival on the scene. This resulted in Paul Simon's move to England and Art Garfunkel's resumption of his university studies at Columbia University in New York City.[2]

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was re-released in January 1966 to capitalize on their newly found radio success with a later re-mixed electric/acoustic version of The Sounds of Silence, and so the album reached #30 on the Billboard pop charts. It is perhaps best known for the acoustic version of "The Sound of Silence".

In several concerts, Art Garfunkel related that during the photo sessions for the album cover, several hundred pictures were taken that were unusable due to the "all-familiar suggestion" on the wall in the background, which inspired the song "A Poem on the Underground Wall".

The album cover photo was shot at the Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street Subway Station in New York City.

Contents

Track listing

Side one

  1. "You Can Tell the World" (Bob Gibson/Bob Camp) – 2:47
    Recorded: March 31, 1964
  2. "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" (Ed McCurdy) – 2:11
    Recorded: March 17, 1964
  3. "Bleecker Street" (Simon) – 2:44
    Recorded: March 10, 1964
  4. "Sparrow" (Simon) – 2:49
    Recorded: March 31, 1964
  5. "Benedictus" (traditional, arranged and adapted by Simon and Garfunkel) – 2:38
    Recorded: March 31, 1964
  6. "The Sound of Silence" (Simon) – 3:08
    Recorded: March 10, 1964

Side two

  1. "He Was My Brother" (Paul Kane*) – 2:48
    Recorded: March 17, 1964
  2. "Peggy-O" (traditional) – 2:26
    Recorded: March 31, 1964
  3. "Go Tell It on the Mountain" (traditional) – 2:06
    Recorded: March 31, 1964
  4. "The Sun Is Burning" (Ian Campbell) – 2:49
    Recorded: March 17, 1964
  5. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (Bob Dylan) – 2:52
    Recorded: March 10, 1964
  6. "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." (Simon) – 2:13
    Recorded: March 17, 1964

Bonus tracks (2001 CD reissue)

  1. "Bleecker Street" (demo) (Simon) – 2:46
    Recorded: March 10, 1964
  2. "He Was My Brother" (alternate take 1) (Paul Kane) – 2:52
    Recorded: March 17, 1964
  3. "The Sun Is Burning" (alternate take 12) (Ian Campbell) – 2:47
    Recorded: March 17, 1964

* Paul Kane is one of the aliases used by Paul Simon.

Released as part of the box set, Simon & Garfunkel Collected Works, on both LP and CD — Columbia Records LP CL-9049 (mono), CS-9049 (stereo), CD CK 9049. Also as CBS LP 63370 (CL 2249) (UK).

Charts

Chart (1964) Peak
position
UK Album Charts 24
US Album Charts 30

Personnel

References

  1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r17998
  2. ^ Simons, David (2004). Studio Stories - How the Great New York Records Were Made. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=uEmmAK1qjbYC&printsec=frontcover.  Cf. pp.94-97.
  3. ^ Chris Charlesworth, The Complete Guide to the Music of Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel, Omnibus Press 1996
Simon & Garfunkel
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Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (1964) · Sounds of Silence (1966) · Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966) · Bookends (1968) · Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
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