Perhaps the most intimate collection involves Paul Simon playing alone on a tape recorder in a laundry room in Copenhagen. These files, often mislabeled and spread across the archive, contain early versions of "Homeward Bound" and "Kathy’s Song" that feel more like diary entries than recordings.
: A high-quality soundboard recording from Johns Hopkins University. It features early versions of classics like A Hazy Shade of Winter and rare performances of songs like "Teenage Moron". The Concert in Central Park (1981)
| Title | Type | Notes | |-------|------|-------| | Simon & Garfunkel – Live at Carnegie Hall 1969 | Audio | Audience recording, historical value | | S&G – The Complete TV Appearances 1966–1970 | Video | Compilation from multiple uploaders | | Old Friends: The Lost Interviews | Audio | Radio interviews from 1968–1970 | | The Sounds of Silence – Sheet Music (1966) | Text | Public domain scan | | Simon & Garfunkel – Central Park Rehearsals 1981 | Audio | Rare pre-concert run-throughs |
In the pantheon of American folk-rock, few duos cast a shadow as long or as melodic as Simon & Garfunkel. With harmonies that could cut through the noise of a turbulent decade and lyrics that painted vivid portraits of urban alienation and tender romance, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel defined a generation. While their studio albums— Bridge Over Troubled Water , Bookends , and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme —remain staples of classic rock radio, there exists a vast, swirling cosmos of their work that never made it to the standard Spotify playlist.
These recordings are stripped of the lush string arrangements that would later define their "folk-rock" sound. Hearing Paul Simon’s intricate guitar work without the studio gloss, paired with Art Garfunkel’s angelic tenor in a room with natural reverb, is like watching a rough sketch of a masterpiece. It highlights the fundamental strength of their songwriting—songs that worked just as well in a dimly lit apartment as they did in Carnegie Hall.
If you tell me what you're looking for, I can help you find specific types of recordings: from the mid-60s Full concert soundboards from their 1980s reunions Isolated vocal tracks for music study
This article is your comprehensive guide to navigating the vast, user-uploaded universe of Simon and Garfunkel on Archive.org.
It is important to address the elephant in the room. Is downloading from the legal?
