Tag: 1964

The Paul Simon Songbook [Part 2] – The Making of

The album was recorded in the summer of 1965. Earlier that year Paul Simon was to be heard on the BBC Light morning radio programm called “ Five to Ten ” and listeners were looking for records to buy from this singer they had heard. There was none available in the UK. So CBS England got interested in doing a record with Paul Simon.

Under the guidance of producers Reginald Warburton and Stanley West 12 songs made it to the album. The recordings came from the following 3 days: June 17, 1965, June 23, 1965 and July 5, 1965.

Many takes were done and it resulted in the use of the following takes:

from the June 17th session:
I am a rock [ Take 4 ]
Leaves that are green [ Take 11 ]
A most pecliar man [ Take 4 ]
Kathy’s song [ Take 1 ]
Patterns [ Take 3 ]

from the June 23 session:
April come she will [ Take 2 ]
The sound of silence [ Take 1 ]

from the July 5 session:
A church is burning [ Take 3 ]
He was my brother [ Take 2 ]
The side of a hill [ Take 4 ]
A simple desultory Philippic etc [ Take 1 ]
Flowers never bend with the rainfall [ Take 8 ]

The above info come from CD release of the album, which also has 2 bonus tracks, from the June 23 session:
A church is burning [ Take 4 ]
I am a rock [ Take 6 ]

As you can see a Take 4 of ‘A church is burning’ was done before Take 3, which was recorded almost 2 weeks later.
Probably there will have been more days in the studio before June 17th, when he recorded down take 11 of “Leaves that are green”. We don’t know this for sure, so we can only assume it. Just like it can be assumed that there were more session days after July 5?

A few notes about earlier recordings of some of the songs that appeared on the “Songbook” album:

Topic Records:
In [early] 1964 Paul Simon also recorded a version of ‘The Sound Of Silence‘ and ‘April Come She Will‘ for the UK label Topic Records. The songs was never used maybe because Paul Simon was under contract of Columbia and / or CBS? The planned album “New Voices” with, besides Simon, Leon Rosselson, Sydney Carter and Cyril Tawney never saw the light.

Oriole Records:
Oriole Records in the UK released a 45rpm single with Carlos Dominquez and He Was My Brother in 1964 [May 8th] as well. Not under his real name, but Jerry Landis:

This was also released [ already in 1963 ] in the US on the Tribute label [#128] using the name of Paul Kane.
If you wanted to gain in on the success in the folk-circuit, having to us other names because of earlier contracts, this would and did not help.

Playing in FolkClubs in the UK 1964/1965

Have been able to collect some more folkclub venues where Paul Simon played during 1964 / 1965. Many were found on the MUDCAT.org platform where those who visited the clubs in the mid-60’s share their memories. Not always an exact year or date could be found to be added.

Here are the new finds:

  • The Castle
  • Cecil Sharp Hous (CSH)
  • St Mary’s College, Folk Club (Simon is mentioned as a regular guest)
  • Blackmore Folk Club
  • RAOB Rooms Folk Club (??)
  • Catford, The Railway Tavern
  • Chiselhurst, Chiselhurst Caves
  • London, Blackheath, The Green man
  • Cleethorpe

In 1965 Paul Simon played on July 13th at Exeter Jolly Porter Folk Club. The organisers had tried to get Donovan, “but he pulled out at the last minute so we got Paul Simon who we had never heard of. Until then there was the Dylan crowd and the traditionalists, somehow Paul united the two groups that evening and influenced both playing and song writing in the area” [Source: Dudley at Mudcat.org on Feb 20, 2011]

1964/1965: Paul Simon at The Peanuts Club

In 1964/1965:

Peanuts Club

“Paul Simon sang at the Peanuts a few times, his sweet, earnest voice and American accent seducing his listeners into rapt attention. I remember ‘Scarborough Fair‘ and ‘Hello darkness my old friend’ in particular, both specially coined for us in London, or so it seemed. He also sang at the folk club at the Railway Inn, in Brentwood, Essex, run by Dave McCausland and at the White Swan in Romford’s marketplace, which was run by Vince J. Docherty. I visited both of these on occasion, and knew many of the regulars well -– which included one Kathy Chitty, who sat behind the table at the door of the Brentwood club, a shy elf-girl taking admission money. Paul and Kathy fell in love, as is very well known. He would board the train from Liverpool Street after Peanuts sessions to get homeward bound back to Brentwood, where he lived with the McCausland family for a few months. It was the same one I took to return to Romford, which is on the way.”

Source: https://thepeanutsclub.blogspot.com/

If anyone has more exact dates to these perfomances, please write!

1964 – New shows added to the Folk Club list

While I was in London earlier this week I was able to visit the British Library and was allowed to see some MicroFilm with Melody Makers from 1964.

The Melody Maker magazine listed many shows the British Folk Club scene in the Folk Forum.

And this resulted in some more firm and new dates of Paul Simon’s appearences in the London folkclub-scene:

1964-06-13 Hempstead, The Enterprise
1964-06-14 London, The Roundhouse
1964-07-02 Starting Gate (Wood Green)
1964-08-24 London, Tinkers Club
1964-09-01 London, “folk at the Flamingo’

The September 1st show was listed as a kind of ‘festival’ with various folk-singers, besides Paul Simon, and groups like the Ian Campbell Group.

The 1964 list shows still a lot of possible performances in clubs which still have not been confirmed. If any reader has info about these, well  that would be great to have !