68 Years Ago Today, A Legendary Musical Duo Got Its Start

On March 10, 1958, a popular musical duo started releasing its first bit of music back when the band members were in high school.

On that day, Simon & Garfunkel released "Our Song," the second of two singles via Big Records under the moniker Tom & Jerry. Both members were just 15 years old and still taking classes in high school, so this was among their earlier work.

Simon & Garfunkel Released One of Their Earlier Songs 68 Years Ago

Simon & Garfunkel started their musical journey together in Queens, New York, in the mid-1950s. They "became the darlings of the folk-rock, countercultural movement of the late 1960s, selling millions of albums and performing sold-out shows across the globe," according to Biography.com.

The outlet also says that the two met in 1953 and bonded over their love for music, noting, "They realized their ability to harmonize during school musical productions and choir, eventually going on to record their voices together before attempting to write their own songs, often in the style of their singing idols such as The Everly Brothers."

Simon & Garfunkel Were 'Musical Sponges' and Picked Up Sounds Around Them

"Like so many of their peers, these two natives of Forest Hills, Queens, were musical sponges, but they didn't leave it at that," the duo's official website explains. "Remarkably, they'd broken into the Top 50 as 15-year-olds in 1957 with their Everlys knockoff 'Hey, Schoolgirl.' Tom & Jerry, as they then called themselves, even lip-synced the song on Bandstand, but nothing more came of that initial foray into the pop mainstream."

So, what set these two apart? "The sounds were gentle, soothing, intricately woven, and occasionally rollicking. The words, though? They channeled directly to the moment, a period of vast upheaval around the world," the Denver Center notes.

Over the years, Simon & Garfunkel have won seven Grammy Awards and been nominated for 11. They were also inducted into the Rock Hall, with the Hall stating, "The alternately bright and haunting sound of Simon and Garfunkel is permanently etched in our consciousness. Their literate, intuitive lyrics articulated the feeling of the time better than anyone." They've also been covered by metal band Disturbed, as Audio Ink Radio notes.

So, "Our Song" was one of the earlier releases in their lengthy catalog, and it's truly a classic.