Now 50 years ago, on the 3rd of April in 1968 Columbia released the album:
Bookends / Simon & Garfunkel
Some facts:
Side A:
01 Bookends theme -> recorded in 1968 (no specific date known at this time)
02 Save the life of my child -> recorded / finsjed on December 14, 1967
03 America -> recorded/finished on February 1, 1968
04 Overs -> recorded/finished October 16, 1968
05 Voices of old people -> recorded/finished February 6, 1968
06 Old friends -> recorded 1968 )no specific date known at this time)
07 Bookends theme -> recorded in 1968 (no specific date known at this time)
Side B:
01 Fakin’ it-> recorded/finished June 1967
02 Punky’s dilemma -> recorded/finished October 5, 1967
03 Mrs. Robinson -> recorded/finshed February 2, 1968
04 A hazy shade of winter -> recorded/finished September 7, 1966
05 At the zoo -> recorded/finished January 8, 1967
Recorded in the same period but not on the album:
- You don’t know where your interest lies
Side A is musical story of persons: from young, through growing up and ending the “old folks home”. Wonderful songs like Overs and America. Still after 50 years very intruiging. In 1968 one could only wonder….where will they take us next?
While side A is the conceptual part of the album, Side B is for the a compilation of (hit)singles they had released in the past year. With B-sides from “Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme”.
As far as I can tell there’s no new release coming to this anniversay , just like Legacy Recordings did with “Bridge over trobled water”. Which is shame, because there will be still some nice recordings in the archives of Columbia that did not make it to the album or even to vinyl at all. Songs like:
- Groundhog
For now, enjoy one of the best albums of 1968!
Paul Simon - 'Time it was...it was' 
There’s a so-called bootleg around – The Alternate Bookends – with the following tracks:
01 – Bookends theme (instrumental)
02 – Save the life of my child (alternate lyrics)
03 – America (alternate)
04 – Overs (outtake)
05 – Groundhog (demo outtake)
06 – Old friends (demo)
07 – Fakin’ it (7″ mix)
08 – Punky’s dilemma (demo)
09 – Mrs. Robinson (from the motion picture “the graduate”)
10 – a Hazy shade of winter (7″ mix)
11 – At the zoo (alternate lyrics)
12 – You don’t know Where your interest lies (b-side)
13 – America paris, 1970
14 – Overs hollywood bowl, august 23rd, 1968
15 – Old friends hollywood bowl, august 23rd, 1968
16 – Fakin’ it miami university, ohio, november 11, 1969
17 – Punky’s dilemma hollywood bowl, august 23rd, 1968
18 – Mrs. Robinson miami university, ohio, november 11, 1969
19 – A Hazy shade of winter johns hopkins university, 1967
20 – At the zoo unknown
21 – You don’t know where your interest lies tufts university, 1966
22 – Bookends theme (instrumental)
23 – Save the life of my child
24 – America
25 – Overs
26 – Old friends
27 – Fakin’ it
28 – Punky’s dilemma
29 – Mrs. Robinson (from the motion picture “the graduate”)
30 – A hazy shade of winter
31 – At the zoo
Partly studio, alternate and outtakes and the entire album “Live” as sung over the years during various performances.
I was visiting the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in April of 1968 because I was thinking of going there, and did. I spent the day with two freshmen, who took me to the campus record store where all single albums were only $3. I saw Bookends in the new albums section, and had to have it. We went back to their dorm room and listened to it on a rainy afternoon before I went home. It will always have a special place in my heart. And when I reached the age of 70 a few years back, I gained a new appreciation of the lyrics to “Old Friends.”
Old Friends / Bookends is such a great song indeed. Thanks for sharing your memories.
I was cleaning out my garage and closets a couple of months ago and had a dumpster in my driveway to contain all that I was throwing away. I came across a stack of letters from girls/women that I’d dated in high school and college, including one who became my first wife, and put them in with the rest. Then I remembered the lyrics from the song:
Preserve your memories
They’re all that’s left you
I have no idea why that last comment was posted five times, but I can’t seem to be able to delete the extras and hope you can. I was going to add that I did retrieve the letters. They were near the top of the pile where I had carefully placed them just in case I changed my mind.
…and hopefully not also S&G memorabilia in the bin as well.
Happy you changed your mind!