119-546: Dave Cobb (born July 9, 1974) is a thirteen-time Grammy Award winning American record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee , best known for producing the work of Chris Stapleton , Brandi Carlile , John Prine , Sturgill Simpson , Jason Isbell , The Highwomen , Take That , Rival Sons , and Zayn Malik , among others. Cobb is also a contributor to the six million-selling 2018 A Star Is Born soundtrack and produced " Always Remember Us This Way " for Lady Gaga . Cobb
238-489: A Grammy nomination, the Recording Academy defines a producer: The person who has overall creative and technical control of the entire recording project, and the individual recording sessions that are part of that project. He or she is present in the recording studio or at the location recording and works directly with the artist and engineer. The producer makes creative and aesthetic decisions that realize both
357-673: A Hurricane Katrina benefit concert in Madison Square Garden , including a performance with singer Aaron Neville . In February 2009, Simon and Garfunkel reunited for three songs during Simon's two-night engagement at New York's Beacon Theatre . This led to a reunion tour of Asia and Australia in June and July 2009. On October 29, 2009, they performed five songs at the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert at Madison Square Garden. In January 2010, Garfunkel developed vocal problems following damage to his vocal cords as
476-728: A recording studio in a bedroom-sized room at the back of his house and named it Low Country Sound. After meeting Sturgill Simpson at a Billy Joe Shaver concert, Cobb produced Simpson's debut studio album High Top Mountain (2013) and its follow-up, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (2014). Recorded at Cobb's Low Country Sound studio in only four days, Cobb used many different vintage recording techniques, avoiding any electronic recording approaches for this particular album. Cobb began working with Jason Isbell in 2013. Isbell's album Southeastern , recorded in Cobb's home and studio,
595-449: A "fool" and that he and Simon had reconciled as friends. Over the course of their career, Simon & Garfunkel's music gradually moved from a basic folk rock sound to incorporate more experimental elements for the time, including Latin and gospel music . According to Rolling Stone , their music struck a chord among lonely, alienated young adults near the end of the 1960s. According to Pitchfork , though Simon & Garfunkel were
714-439: A 2015 interview with The Daily Telegraph , Garfunkel said: "How can you walk away from this lucky place on top of the world, Paul? What's going on with you, you idiot? How could you let that go, jerk?" In 2016, Simon denied that another reunion could happen as he did not enjoy performing under their fractious relationship. In February 2018, Simon announced his retirement from touring. In November 2024, Garfunkel said he had been
833-403: A Troubled Man’s Mind , who came to prominence half a year prior with the viral single " Rich Men North of Richmond ". While most of the songs were already released as acoustic recordings, they were re-recorded and provided new arrangements by Cobb. Cobb has said he focuses on the performer's voice, aiming for an end product which sounds natural. Cobb often plays guitar, and occasionally drums, on
952-558: A US AM radio hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 . They released their second album, Sounds of Silence , in 1966, and toured colleges nationwide. They assumed more creative control on their Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme , released in 1966. Their music featured prominently in Mike Nichols 's 1967 film The Graduate , and in 1968 the soundtrack album and the duo's fourth album, Bookends , featuring
1071-598: A betrayal; the emotional tension from the incident occasionally surfaced throughout their relationship. Simon and Garfunkel continued recording as solo artists: Garfunkel composed and recorded "Private World" for Octavia Records, and—under the name Artie Garr—"Beat Love" for Warwick; Simon recorded with the Mystics and Tico and the Triumphs, and wrote and recorded under the names Jerry Landis and Paul Kane. Simon also wrote and performed demos for other artists, working for
1190-618: A bit." After performing three songs, the duo left without speaking. In August 1991, Simon staged his own concert in Central Park, released as a live album, Paul Simon's Concert in the Park , a few months later. He declined an offer from Garfunkel to perform with him at the park. We are indescribable. You'll never capture it. It's an ingrown, deep friendship. Yes, there is deep love in there. But there's also shit. – Garfunkel describing his decades-long relationship with Simon By 1993,
1309-419: A brief performance of their songs on The Paul Simon Special , and later that year they recorded a cover of Sam Cooke 's " (What a) Wonderful World " with James Taylor . Old tensions appeared to dissipate upon Garfunkel's return to New York in 1978, when the duo began interacting more often. On May 1, 1978, Simon joined Garfunkel for a concert held at Carnegie Hall to benefit the hearing disabled. By 1980,
SECTION 10
#17327763134991428-423: A broad project, the creation of a popular music recording may be split across three specialists: the executive producer , who oversees business partnerships and financing; the vocal producer or vocal arranger, who aids vocal performance via expert critique and coaching of vocal technique, and the record producer or music producer, who, often called simply the producer, directs the overall creative process of recording
1547-629: A certain collegiate sterility." He noted that some critics regard Simon's later solo work as superior to Simon & Garfunkel. In 2003, Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list included Bridge over Troubled Water at number 51, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme at number 201, Bookends at number 233, and Greatest Hits at number 293. And in 2004, on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, Rolling Stone included " Bridge Over Troubled Water " at number 47, " The Boxer " at number 105, and " The Sound of Silence " at number 156. The Grammy Awards are held annually by
1666-471: A cylinder. By the 1930s, a gramophone etched it laterally across a disc. Constrained in tonal range, whether bass or treble, and in dynamic range , records made a grand, concert piano sound like a small, upright piano, and maximal duration was four and a half minutes. Selections and performance were often altered accordingly, and playing this disc—the wax master—destroyed it. The finality often caused anxiety that restrained performance to prevent error. In
1785-563: A higher royalty rate. At the 1969 Grammy Awards , the lead single " Mrs. Robinson " became the first rock and roll song to receive Record of the Year , and also won Best Contemporary Pop Performance by a Duo or Group . Bookends , alongside the Graduate soundtrack, made Simon & Garfunkel the biggest rock duo in the world. Simon was approached by producers to write music for films or license songs; he turned down Franco Zeffirelli , who
1904-407: A highly regarded folk act "distinguished by their intuitive harmonies and Paul Simon's articulate songwriting", they were more conservative than the folk music revivalists of Greenwich Village . By the late 1960s, they had become the "folk establishment ... primarily unthreatening and accessible, which forty years later makes them an ideal gateway act to the weirder, harsher, more complex folkies of
2023-451: A large poster included in vinyl copies. Simon scoffed and viewed it as charging a premium on "what was sure to be that year's best-selling Columbia album". According to biographer Marc Eliot, Davis was "offended by what he perceived as their lack of gratitude for what he believed was his role in turning them into superstars". Rather than implement Davis' plan, Simon & Garfunkel signed a contract extension with Columbia that guaranteed them
2142-407: A leading A&R man of the 1950s. During the decade, A&R executives increasingly directed songs' sonic signatures, although many still simply teamed singers with musicians, while yet others exercised virtually no creative influence. The term record producer in its current meaning—the creative director of song production—appearing in a 1953 issue of Billboard magazine, became widespread in
2261-516: A musical element while playing a previously recorded record, Les Paul developed a recording technique called "sound on sound". By this, the final recording could be built piece by piece and tailored, effecting an editing process. In one case, Paul produced a song via 500 recorded discs. But, besides the tedium of this process, it serially degraded the sound quality of previously recorded elements, rerecorded as ambient sound. Yet in 1948, Paul adopted tape recording, enabling true multitrack recording by
2380-542: A new technique, " overdubbing ". To enable overdubbing, Paul revised the tape recorder itself by adding a second playback head, and terming it the preview head . Joining the preexisting recording head, erase head, and playback head, the preview head allows the artist to hear the extant recording over headphones playing it in synchrony, "in sync", with the present performance being recorded alone on an isolated track. This isolation of multiple tracks enables countless mixing possibilities. Producers began recording initially only
2499-415: A perfect fit and envisioned a best-selling soundtrack album. Simon was not as receptive and was cautious of " selling out ". After meeting Nichols and being impressed by his wit and the script, he agreed to write new songs for the film. Leonard Hirshan , a powerful agent at William Morris, negotiated a deal that paid Simon $ 25,000 to submit three songs to Nichols and producer Lawrence Turman . When Nichols
SECTION 20
#17327763134992618-450: A recommendation from Wally Amos , also a friend of Wilson's. During the sessions for Parsley , Simon and Garfunkel recorded " A Hazy Shade of Winter "; it was released as a single, peaking at number 13 on the national charts. " At the Zoo ", recorded in early 1967 for a single release, charted at number 16. Simon began work for their next album around this time, telling High Fidelity he
2737-467: A recording session with John Lennon and Harry Nilsson . For the rest of the year, they attempted to make the reunion work, but their collaboration only yielded one song, " My Little Town ", that was featured on Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years and Garfunkel's Breakaway , both released in 1975. That year, Garfunkel joined Simon for a medley of three songs on Saturday Night Live , guest-hosted by Simon. In 1977, Garfunkel joined Simon for
2856-531: A set of recordings in Los Angeles. Later, folklorist Archie Green called this perhaps the earliest printed use of A&R man . Actually, it says neither "A&R man" nor even "A&R", an initialism perhaps coined by Billboard magazine in 1946, and entering wide use in the late 1940s. In the 1920s and 1930s, A&R executives, like Ben Selvin at Columbia Records , Nathaniel Shilkret at Victor Records, and Bob Haring at Brunswick Records became
2975-467: A single that summer and found only modest success on AM radio; the duo were much more focused on the rising FM format, which played album tracks and treated their music with respect. In January 1968, the duo appeared on a Kraft Music Hall special, Three for Tonight , performing ten songs, largely taken from their previous album. Bookends was released by Columbia Records in April 1968, 24 hours before
3094-516: A single. Simon invited Garfunkel to stay for the summer of 1964. Near the end of the season, Garfunkel returned to Columbia for class. Simon also returned to the US, and resumed his studies at Brooklyn Law School for one semester, partially at his parents' insistence. He returned to England in January 1965, now certain that music was his calling. In the meantime, his landlady, Judith Piepe, had compiled
3213-564: A tape from his work at Lorna and sent it to the BBC in hopes they would play it. The demos aired on the Five to Ten morning show, and were instantly successful. Oriole had folded into CBS by that point, and hoped to record a new Simon album. Simon recorded his first solo album, The Paul Simon Songbook , in June 1965, featuring future Simon & Garfunkel staples including " I Am a Rock " and " April Come She Will ". CBS flew Wilson over to produce
3332-615: A while with Carole King and Gerry Goffin . After graduating in 1963, Simon joined Garfunkel, who was still at Columbia University, to perform again as a duo, this time with a shared interest in folk music . Simon enrolled part-time in Brooklyn Law School . By late 1963, billing themselves as Kane & Garr, they performed at Gerde's Folk City , a Greenwich Village club that hosted Monday night open mic performances. They performed three new songs—"Sparrow", "He Was My Brother", and " The Sound of Silence "—and attracted
3451-448: A woman the reins of an immense, creative project like making a record." Ultimately, the reasons are multiple and not fully clear, although prominently proposed factors include types of sexism and scarcity of female role models in the profession. Women producers known for producing records not their own include Sonia Pottinger, Sylvia Robinson and Carla Olson. In January 2018, a research team led by Stacy L. Smith, founder and director of
3570-464: A world tour beginning in May 1982, but their relationship grew contentious; for the majority of the tour, they did not speak to one another. Warner Bros. pushed for the duo to extend the tour and release a new studio album. Simon had new material ready, and, according to Simon, "Artie made a persuasive case that he could make it into a natural duo record." They quarreled again as Garfunkel refused to learn
3689-660: Is more forgiving of overmodulation , whereby dynamic peaks exceed the maximal recordable signal level: tape's limitation, a physical property, is magnetic capacity, which tapers off, smoothing the overmodulated waveform even at a signal nearly 15 decibels too "hot", whereas a digital recording is ruined by harsh distortion of " clipping " at any overshoot. In digital recording, however, a recent advancement, 32-bit float , enables DAWs to undo clipping. Still, some criticize digital instruments and workflows for excess automation, allegedly impairing creative or sonic control. In any case, as production technology has drastically changed, so have
Dave Cobb - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-430: Is often likened to that of a film director though there are important differences. It is distinct from the role of an executive producer , who is mostly involved in the recording project on an administrative level, and from the audio engineer who operates the recording technology. Varying by project, the producer may or may not choose all of the artists. If employing only synthesized or sampled instrumentation,
3927-439: Is shot at FAME. In 2015, Cobb founded Low Country Sound (LCS), a record label imprint of Elektra that has a distribution deal with Atlantic Records . The debut project for Low Country Sound was the 2015 record Delilah by Anderson East , who is currently signed with the label. The same year, Cobb co-produced Chris Stapleton 's debut studio album Traveller at the historic RCA Studio A on Nashville's Music Row , which
4046-406: Is slick, and nothing too much happens." New York Times critic Robert Shelton said that the duo had "a kind of Mickey Mouse, timid, contrived" approach. According to Richie Unterberger of AllMusic , their clean sound and muted lyricism "cost them some hipness points during the psychedelic era ... the pair inhabited the more polished end of the folk-rock spectrum and was sometimes criticized for
4165-444: Is the first step in a broader effort to improve those numbers and increase diversity and inclusion for all in the music industry." Simon And Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel . They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number ones—" The Sound of Silence " and
4284-413: The 60s counterculture ". Their later albums explored more ambitious production techniques and incorporated elements of gospel, rock, R&B, and classical, revealing a "voracious musical vocabulary". Simon & Garfunkel received criticism at the height of their success. In 1968, Rolling Stone critic Arthur Schmidt described their music as "questionable ... it exudes a sense of process, and it
4403-825: The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, based in the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism , issued a report, estimating that in the prior several years, about 2% of popular songs' producers were female. Also that month, Billboard magazine queried, "Where are all the female music producers?" Upon the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative's second annual report, released in February 2019, its department at USC reported, "2018 saw an outcry from artists, executives and other music industry professionals over
4522-772: The Billboard charts for 10 weeks and stayed in the charts for 85 weeks. In the United Kingdom, the album topped the charts for 35 weeks, and spent 285 weeks in the top 100, from 1970 to 1975. It has since sold over 25 million copies worldwide. " Bridge over Troubled Water ", the lead single, reached number one in five countries and became the duo's biggest seller. The song has been covered by over 50 artists, including Elvis Presley , Johnny Cash , Aretha Franklin , Jim Nabors , Charlotte Church , Maynard Ferguson , Willie Nelson , Roy Orbison , Michael W. Smith , Josh Groban , and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir . " Cecilia ",
4641-645: The Greatest Artists of All Time and third on its list of the greatest duos. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel grew up in the 1940s and 1950s in their predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, New York , three blocks away from one another. They attended the same schools: Public School 164 in Kew Gardens Hills, Parsons Junior High School, and Forest Hills High School . They were both fascinated by music; both listened to
4760-587: The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. , which spurred nationwide outrage and riots . The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs in the issue dated April 27, 1968, climbing to number one and staying at that position for seven non-consecutive weeks; it remained on the chart as a whole for 66 weeks. Bookends received such heavy orders weeks in advance of its release that Columbia was able to apply for award certification before copies left
4879-547: The largest concert attendances in history . Simon & Garfunkel won seven Grammy Awards —plus four Grammy Hall of Fame Awards —and in 1990 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Richie Unterberger described them as "the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s" and one of the most popular artists from the decade. They are among the best-selling music artists , having sold more than 100 million records. They were ranked 40th on Rolling Stone 's 2010 list of
Dave Cobb - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-707: The "bed tracks"—the rhythm section , including the bassline , drums, and rhythm guitar—whereas vocals and instrument solos could be added later. A horn section , for example, could record a week later, and a string section another week later. A singer could perform her own backup vocals, or a guitarist could play 15 layers. Across the 1960s, popular music increasingly switched from acoustic instruments, like piano, upright bass , acoustic guitar , and brass instruments , to electronic instruments, like electric guitars , keyboards , and synthesizers , employing instrument amplifiers and speakers. These could mimic acoustic instruments or create utterly new sounds. Soon, by combining
5117-462: The 1940s, during World War II, the Germans refined audio recording onto magnetic tape—uncapping recording duration and allowing immediate playback, rerecording, and editing—a technology that premised emergence of record producers in their current roles. Early in the recording industry, a record was attained by simply having all of the artists perform together live in one take. In 1945, by recording
5236-574: The 1950s, on simply improving the record's sonic match to the artists' own live performance. Advances in recording technology, especially the 1940s advent of tape recording —which Les Paul promptly innovated further to develop multitrack recording —and the 1950s rise of electronic instruments, turned record production into a specialty. In popular music, then, producers like George Martin , Phil Spector and Brian Eno led its evolution into its present use of elaborate techniques and unrealistic sounds, creating songs impossible to originate live. After
5355-522: The 1960s. Still, a formal distinction was elusive for some time more. A&R managers might still be creative directors, like William "Mickey" Stevenson , hired by Berry Gordy , at the Motown record label. In 1947, the American market gained audio recording onto magnetic tape. At the record industry's 1880s dawn, rather, recording was done by phonograph , etching the sonic waveform vertically into
5474-501: The 1980s, production's move from analog to digital further expanded possibilities. By now, DAWs, or digital audio workstations , like Logic Pro , Pro Tools and Studio One , turn an ordinary computer into a production console, whereby a solitary novice can become a skilled producer in a thrifty home studio. In the 2010s, efforts began to increase the prevalence of producers and engineers who are women, heavily outnumbered by men and prominently accoladed only in classical music. As
5593-647: The Kinks produced some of their own songs, although many such songs are officially credited to specialist producers. Yet especially influential was the Beach Boys, whose band leader Brian Wilson took over from his father Murry within a couple of years after the band's commercial breakthrough. By 1964, Wilson had taken Spector's techniques to unseen sophistication. Wilson alone produced all Beach Boys recordings between 1963 and 1967. Using multiple studios and multiple attempts of instrumental and vocal tracks, Wilson selected
5712-963: The Peptones with three friends and learned to harmonize . They began performing as a duo at school dances. Simon and Garfunkel later attended Forest Hills High School, where in 1956 they wrote their first song, "The Girl for Me"; Simon's father sent a handwritten copy to the Library of Congress to register a copyright. While trying to remember the lyrics to the Everly Brothers song "Hey Doll Baby", they wrote "Hey, Schoolgirl", which they recorded for $ 25 at Sanders Recording Studio in Manhattan. While recording they were overheard by promoter Sid Prosen , who signed them to his independent label Big Records after speaking to their parents. They were both 15. Under Big Records, Simon and Garfunkel assumed
5831-546: The US, such as the Vietnam War , Martin Luther King Jr. , John F. Kennedy 's funeral procession, Cesar Chavez and the Poor People's March . It was broadcast only once, due to tension at the network regarding its content. The BBC said that "one million viewers responded by turning the dial and watching the figure skating on NBC instead." Bridge over Troubled Water , Simon & Garfunkel's final studio album,
5950-686: The United States for 40 dates until mid-December, earning an estimated $ 123 million. A second US leg commenced in June 2004, consisting of 20 cities. Following a 12-city run in Europe in 2004, they ended their nine-month tour with a free concert along Via dei Fori Imperiali , in front of the Colosseum in Rome, on July 31, 2004. It attracted 600,000 fans, more than their Concert in Central Park. In 2005, Simon and Garfunkel performed three songs for
6069-667: The album chart, including the acclaimed Graceland (1986). Garfunkel charted with hits such as " All I Know " (1973) and the two UK number ones " I Only Have Eyes for You " (1975) and " Bright Eyes " ( Britain's top single of 1979 ), and briefly pursued an acting career, with leading roles in the Mike Nichols films Catch-22 (1970) and Carnal Knowledge (1971) and in Nicolas Roeg 's Bad Timing (1980). The duo have reunited several times; their 1981 concert in Central Park may have attracted more than 500,000 people, one of
SECTION 50
#17327763134996188-753: The albums being recorded at the studio, as does The Oak Ridge Boys' 2018 release, 17th Avenue Revival , referring to the studio's location on 17th Avenue in Nashville. In 2022, Cobb produced Gavin DeGraw 's eighth album titled Face the River , the album 4 by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, as well as Sammy Hagar and the Circle 's album Crazy Times . In 2024, Cobb produced singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony 's debut album Hymnal of
6307-409: The artist's and label's goals in the creation of musical content. Other duties include, but are not limited to: keeping budgets and schedules; adhering to deadlines; hiring musicians, singers, studios, and engineers; overseeing other staffing needs; and editing (Classical projects). The producer often selects and collaborates with a mixing engineer, who focuses on the especially technological aspects of
6426-597: The artist's experiences growing up in the South . It contains song contributions by Zac Brown , Anderson East , Jason Isbell, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert , Morgane and Chris Stapleton among others. It was officially released on March 18, 2016. RCA Studio A was saved from demolition, and in July 2016, Cobb began a long-term residency at the studio. The title of Chris Stapleton's 2017 releases From A Room: Volume 1 and From A Room: Volume 2 refer to
6545-610: The attention of Columbia Records staffer Tom Wilson , a prominent A&R man and producer (who would later become a key architect of Bob Dylan 's transition from folk to rock). As a "star producer" for the label, he wanted to record "He Was My Brother" with a new British act, the Pilgrims. Simon convinced Wilson to let him and Garfunkel audition in the studio, where they performed "The Sound of Silence". At Wilson's urging, Columbia signed them. Simon & Garfunkel's debut studio album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. , produced by Wilson,
6664-469: The best combinations of performance and audio quality, and used tape editing to assemble a composite performance. The 1980s advent of digital processes and formats rapidly replaced analog processes and formats, namely, tape and vinyl. Although recording onto quality tape, at least half an inch wide and traveling 15 inches per second, had limited "tape hiss" to silent sections, digital's higher signal-to-noise ratio , SNR, abolished it. Digital also imparted to
6783-517: The capabilities of tape, multitrack recording, and electronic instruments, producers like Phil Spector , George Martin , and Joe Meek rendered sounds unattainable live. Similarly, in jazz fusion , Teo Macero , producing Miles Davis 's 1970 album Bitches Brew , spliced sections of extensive improvisation sessions. In the 1960s, rock acts like the Beatles , the Rolling Stones , and
6902-645: The duo of his plan, and Simon was "horrified" when he first heard it. By January 1966, "The Sound of Silence" had topped the Hot 100, selling over one million copies. Simon reunited with Garfunkel in New York, leaving Chitty and his friends in England behind. CBS demanded a new album to be called Sounds of Silence to ride the wave of the hit. Recorded in three weeks and consisting of rerecorded songs from The Paul Simon Songbook plus four new tracks, Sounds of Silence
7021-440: The duo's relationship; Simon had completed no new songs, and the duo planned to collaborate after filming ended. Simon wrote in his memoir: "I think if Artie had become a big movie star he would have left. Instead of just being the guy who sang Paul Simon songs, he could be Art Garfunkel, a big star all by himself … This made me think about how I could still be the guy who wrote songs and sing them. I didn’t need Artie." Following
7140-480: The duo's solo careers were not doing well. To help boost morale for New Yorkers during a serious economic decline in the city, concert promoter Ron Delsener suggested a free concert in Central Park . Delsener contacted Simon with the idea of a Simon & Garfunkel reunion, and once Garfunkel had agreed, plans were made. The concert, held on September 19, 1981, attracted more than 500,000 people, at that time
7259-509: The end of filming in October, the first performance of what was planned to be the last Simon & Garfunkel tour took place in Ames, Iowa . The US leg ended in the sold-out Carnegie Hall on November 27. Meanwhile, the duo, working with director Charles Grodin , produced an hourlong CBS special, Songs of America , a mixture of scenes featuring notable political events and leaders concerning
SECTION 60
#17327763134997378-503: The ending of our friendship. I hope that some day before we die we will make peace with each other," adding after a pause, "No rush." In 2003, Simon and Garfunkel received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards , for which the promoters convinced them to open with a performance of "The Sound of Silence". The performance was satisfying for both, and they planned a full-scale reunion tour. The Old Friends tour began in October 2003 and played to sold-out audiences across
7497-504: The follow-up, reached number four in the US, and " El Condor Pasa " hit number 18. A brief British tour followed the album release, and the duo's last concert as Simon & Garfunkel took place at Forest Hills Stadium . In 1971, the album won six awards at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards , including Album of the Year . The recording of Bridge over Troubled Water was difficult, and Simon and Garfunkel's relationship had deteriorated. "At that point, I just wanted out," Simon later said. At
7616-426: The group heavily, getting them a headlining spot on Dick Clark 's American Bandstand alongside Jerry Lee Lewis . Simon and Garfunkel shared approximately $ 4,000 from the song – earning two percent each from royalties, the rest staying with Prosen. They released two more singles on Big Records ("Our Song" and "That's My Story") neither of them successful. After graduating from Forest Hills High School in 1958,
7735-488: The hit version of "Mrs. Robinson", alternated at number one on the Billboard Top 200 . Simon and Garfunkel had a troubled relationship, leading to artistic disagreements and their breakup in 1970. Their final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water , released that January, became one of the world's best-selling albums . Following their split, Simon hit big on both the singles chart (13 top-40 hits, 1972–1986) and
7854-460: The industry are Logic Pro and Pro Tools. Physical devices involved include the main mixer, MIDI controllers to communicate among equipment, the recording device itself, and perhaps effects gear that is outboard. Yet literal recording is sometimes still analog, onto tape, whereupon the raw recording is converted to a digital signal for processing and editing, as some producers still find audio advantages to recording onto tape. Conventionally, tape
7973-491: The inspiration derived from new discovery, predominantly drives the organic quality of a song. Cobb lives in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville , Tennessee . Cobb is married; he and his wife, who is from Albania , have one daughter together. One of Cobb's paternal cousins from Georgia is the singer-songwriter Brent Cobb . Additionally, Cobb said he grew up with musician Butch Walker . Cobb has talked about
8092-669: The knowledge demands, although DAWs enables novices, even teenagers at home, to learn production independently. Some have attained professional competence before ever working with an artist. Among female record producers, Sylvia Moy was the first at Motown , Gail Davies the first on Nashville's Music Row , and Ethel Gabriel , with RCA , the first at a major record label . Lillian McMurry , owning Trumpet Records , produced influential blues records. Meanwhile, Wilma Cozart Fine produced hundreds of records for Mercury Records ' classical division. For classical production, three women have won Grammy awards, and Judith Sherman 's 2015 win
8211-411: The label pay for sessions, and Simon & Garfunkel took advantage of this, hiring viola and brass players and percussionists. The record's brevity reflects its concise and perfectionist production; the team spent over 50 hours recording "Punky's Dilemma", for example, and rerecorded vocal parts, sometimes note by note, until they were satisfied. Garfunkel's songs and voice took a lead role on some of
8330-507: The lack of women in music" and "the plight of women in music", where women were allegedly being "stereotyped, sexualized, and shut out". Also in February 2019, the Recording Academy 's Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion announced an initiative whereby over 200 artists and producers—ranging from Cardi B and Taylor Swift to Maroon 5 and Quincy Jones —agreed to consider at least two women for each producer or engineer position. The academy's website, Grammy.com , announced, "This initiative
8449-503: The largest ever concert attendance. Warner Bros. Records released a live album of the show, The Concert in Central Park , which went double platinum in the US. A 90-minute recording of the concert was sold to Home Box Office (HBO) for over $ 1 million. The concert created a renewed interest in Simon & Garfunkel's work. They had several "heart-to-heart talks", attempting to put their disagreements behind them. The duo undertook
8568-456: The late 1990s he joined Britpop band The Tender Idols, featuring Ian Webber (vocals), Danny Howes (guitar), Guy Strauss (drums) and Joe Jones (bass), and Cobb on guitar and bass. The band signed with New York record label Emagine and released three LPs , the second of which Dave Cobb co-produced. Cobb's involvement in the recording process got him interested in working in the recording studio and led to him recording and producing other bands he
8687-618: The lengthy recording of Simon's 1986 album Graceland prevented Garfunkel from working with engineer Roy Halee on his Christmas album The Animals' Christmas (1985). In 1986, Simon said he and Garfunkel remained friends and got on well, "like when we were 10 years old", when they were not working together. In 1990, Simon and Garfunkel were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . Garfunkel thanked Simon, calling him "the person who most enriched my life by putting those songs through me"; Simon responded, "Arthur and I agree about almost nothing. But it's true, I have enriched his life quite
8806-506: The long-term passion that turned into a serious hobby where he explores different types of wine, especially from Paso Robles and other California vineyards. Record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensuring artists deliver acceptable and quality performances, supervising
8925-520: The manufacturing of record discs. After World War II , pioneering A&R managers who transitioned influentially to record production as now understood, while sometimes owning independent labels, include J. Mayo Williams and John Hammond . Upon moving from Columbia Records to Mercury Records , Hammond appointed Mitch Miller to lead Mercury's popular recordings in New York. Miller then produced country-pop crossover hits by Patti Page and by Frankie Laine , moved from Mercury to Columbia, and became
9044-774: The music a perceived "pristine" sound quality, if also a loss of analog recordings' perceived "warm" quality and better-rounded bass. Yet whereas editing tape media requires physically locating the target audio on the ribbon, cutting there, and splicing pieces, editing digital media offers inarguable advantages in ease, efficiency, and possibilities. In the 1990s, digital production reached affordable home computers via production software. By now, recording and mixing are often centralized in DAWs, digital audio workstations —for example, Pro Tools , Logic Pro , Ableton , Cubase , Reason , and FL Studio —for which plugins , by third parties, effect virtual studio technology . DAWs fairly standard in
9163-477: The name Tom & Jerry, they had minor success with "Hey Schoolgirl" (1957), a song imitating their idols, the Everly Brothers . In 1963, they regrouped and were signed to Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel. Their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (October 1964), sold poorly; Simon returned to a solo career, this time in England. In 1965, an edited version of "The Sound of Silence", became
9282-645: The name Tom & Jerry; Garfunkel named himself Tom Graph, a reference to his interest in mathematics, and Simon Jerry Landis, after the surname of a girl he had dated. Their first single, "Hey, Schoolgirl", was released with the B-side "Dancin' Wild" in 1957. Prosen, using the payola system, bribed DJ Alan Freed $ 200 to play the single on his radio show, where it became a nightly staple. "Hey, Schoolgirl" attracted regular rotation on nationwide AM pop stations, leading it to sell over 100,000 copies and to land on Billboard 's charts at number 49. Prosen promoted
9401-629: The next several years, Cobb produced more albums by Jennings, as well as albums by such rock bands as Rival Sons , and co-produced Jamey Johnson 's That Lonesome Song (2008) and The Guitar Song (2009). In 2009, thanks to his professional connection to Jennings, Cobb produced the Oak Ridge Boys ' record The Boys Are Back , encouraging the band to record outside their standard catalog. The group then went on to cover songs by The White Stripes , Neil Young and John Lee Hooker . In 2011 Cobb moved to Nashville, Tennessee . Cobb established
9520-543: The object of his affection and is the Kathy in "Kathy's Song" and " America ". A small music publishing company, Lorna Music, licensed "Carlos Dominguez", a single Simon had recorded two years prior as Paul Kane, for a new recording by Val Doonican that sold well. Simon visited Lorna to thank them, and the meeting resulted in a publishing and recording contract. He signed to the Oriole label and released "He Was My Brother" as
9639-412: The pair continued their education should a music career not unfold. Simon studied English at Queens College, City University of New York , and Garfunkel studied architecture before switching to art history at Columbia College, Columbia University . While still with Big Records as a duo, Simon released a solo single, "True or False", under the name "True Taylor". This upset Garfunkel, who regarded it as
9758-438: The precursors of record producers, supervising recording and often leading session orchestras. During the 1940s, major record labels increasingly opened official A&R departments, whose roles included supervision of recording. Meanwhile, independent recording studios opened, helping originate record producer as a specialty. But despite a tradition of some A&R men writing music, record production still referred to just
9877-438: The producer may be the sole artist. Conversely, some artists do their own production. Some producers are their own engineers, operating the technology across the project: preproduction, recording, mixing , and mastering . Record producers' precursors were "A&R men", who likewise could blend entrepreneurial, creative, and technical roles, but often exercised scant creative influence, as record production still focused, into
9996-550: The project due to "finding it perhaps too far afield from his comfort zone". Garfunkel began acting, and played Captain Nately in the Nichols film Catch-22 (1970). Simon was to play the character of Dunbar, but the screenwriter, Buck Henry , felt the film was already crowded with characters and wrote Simon's part out. Filming began in January 1969 and lasted about eight months, longer than expected. The production endangered
10115-474: The radio and were taken with rock and roll as it emerged, particularly the Everly Brothers . Simon first noticed Garfunkel when Garfunkel was singing in a fourth grade talent show, which Simon thought was a good way to attract girls; he hoped for a friendship, which started in 1953, when they appeared in a sixth grade adaptation of Alice in Wonderland . They formed a streetcorner doo-wop group called
10234-516: The record, and he stayed at Simon's flat. The album was released in August; although sales were poor, Simon felt content with his future in England. Garfunkel graduated in 1965, returning to Columbia University to pursue a master's degree in mathematics. In the United States, Dick Summer, a late-night DJ at WBZ in Boston, played "The Sound of Silence"; it became popular with a college audience. It
10353-471: The recording of " Scarborough Fair " to be the point at which they stepped into the role of producer, as they were constantly beside engineer Roy Halee mixing. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was issued in October 1966, following the release of several singles and sold-out college campus shows. The duo resumed their college circuit tour eleven days later, crafting an image that was described as "alienated", "weird", and "poetic". Manager Mort Lewis also
10472-463: The recording process, namely, operating the electronic equipment and blending the raw, recorded tracks of the chosen performances, whether vocal or instrumental, into a mix , either stereo or surround sound. Then a mastering engineer further adjusts this recording for distribution on the chosen media. A producer may work on only one or two songs or on an artist's entire album, helping develop the album's overall vision. The record producers may also take on
10591-747: The recording. Simon was distrustful of label executives; on one occasion, he and Garfunkel recorded a meeting with Davis, who was giving a "fatherly talk" on speeding up production, to laugh at it later. The rare television appearances at this time saw the duo performing on network broadcasts as The Ed Sullivan Show , The Mike Douglas Show , and The Andy Williams Show in 1966, and twice on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967. Meanwhile, director Mike Nichols , then filming The Graduate , had become fascinated with Simon & Garfunkel's records, listening to them extensively before and after filming. He met Davis to ask for permission to license Simon & Garfunkel music for his film. Davis viewed it as
10710-467: The records he produces. Cobb cites Jimmy Miller ( Sticky Fingers , Exile on Main Street ) as an important influence in his approach to producing, as well as Glyn Johns and Brendan O'Brien . Current influences include Gabriel Roth ( Daptone Records ). Cobb also is known to not have a preference over analog recordings versus digital, instead believing the spontaneous nature of creativity as well as
10829-656: The relationship had thawed, and Simon invited Garfunkel on an international tour. Following a sold-out 21-date run at the Paramount Theater in New York and an appearance at that year's Bridge School Benefit in California, they toured the Far East. They became acrimonious again for the rest of the decade. Simon thanked Garfunkel at his 2001 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist: "I regret
10948-421: The remaining tour dates were canceled. They reunited two months later to perform "Mrs. Robinson" at an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award tribute to director Mike Nichols , in what Rolling Stone suggested might have been their last performance together. Garfunkel's manager, John Scher, informed Simon's camp that Garfunkel would be ready within a year, which did not happen, damaging relations between
11067-399: The result of an incident in which he had briefly choked on a piece of lobster. Their headlining set several months later at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was difficult for Garfunkel. "I was terrible, and crazy nervous. I leaned on Paul Simon and the affection of the crowd," he told Rolling Stone several years later. Garfunkel was diagnosed with vocal cord paresis , and
11186-438: The role of executive producer, managing the budget, schedules, contracts, and negotiations. (Artists and Repertoires) In the 1880s, the record industry began by simply having the artist perform at a phonograph . In 1924, the trade journal Talking Machine World , covering the phonography and record industry, reported that Eddie King, Victor Records ' manager of the "New York artist and repertoire department", had planned
11305-431: The song in its final mix. The producer's roles can include gathering ideas, composing music, choosing session musicians , proposing changes to song arrangements, coaching the performers, controlling sessions, supervising the audio mixing , and, in some cases, supervising the audio mastering . A producer may give creative control to the artists themselves, taking a supervisory or advisory role instead. As to qualifying for
11424-453: The songs in the studio and would not give up his longstanding cannabis and cigarette habits, despite Simon's requests. Instead, the material became Simon's 1983 album Hearts and Bones . A spokesperson said: "Paul simply felt the material he wrote is so close to his own life that it had to be his own record. Art was hoping to be on the album, but I'm sure there will be other projects that they will work on together." Another rift opened when
11543-583: The songs, and the harmonies for which the duo was known gradually disappeared. For Simon, Bookends represented the end of the collaboration and became an early indicator of his intentions to go solo. Prior to release, the band helped put together and performed at the Monterey Pop Festival , which signaled the beginning of the Summer of Love on the West Coast . " Fakin' It " was issued as
11662-419: The technical engineering of the recording, and coordinating the production team and process. The producer's involvement in a musical project can vary in depth and scope. Sometimes in popular genres the producer may create the recording's entire sound and structure. However, in classical music recording, for example, the producer serves as more of a liaison between the conductor and the engineering team. The role
11781-563: The two Record of the Year Grammy winners " Mrs. Robinson " and " Bridge over Troubled Water "—and " Homeward Bound ", " I Am a Rock ", " Scarborough Fair/Canticle ", " A Hazy Shade of Winter " (also a cover hit for the Bangles ), " America ", " The Boxer " and " Cecilia ". Simon and Garfunkel met in elementary school in Queens , New York City, in 1953, where they learned to harmonize and Simon began writing songs. As teenagers, under
11900-476: The two. Simon continued to publicly wish Garfunkel better health and praised his "angelic" voice. Garfunkel regained his vocal strength over the course of the next four years, performing shows in a Harlem theater and to underground audiences. In 2014, Garfunkel told Rolling Stone that he believed he and Simon would tour again, but said: "I know that audiences all over the world like Simon and Garfunkel. I'm with them. But I don't think Paul Simon's with them." In
12019-411: The urging of his wife, Peggy Harper, Simon called Davis to confirm the duo's breakup. For the next few years, they spoke only two or three times a year. In the 1970s, the duo reunited several times. Their first reunion was Together for McGovern , a benefit concert for presidential candidate George McGovern at New York's Madison Square Garden in June 1972. In 1975, they reconciled when they visited
12138-481: The vast majority have been men. Early in the 2010s, asked for insights that she herself had gleaned as a woman who has specialized successfully in the industry, Wendy Page remarked, "The difficulties are usually very short-lived. Once people realize that you can do your job, sexism tends to lower its ugly head." Still, when tasked to explain her profession's sex disparity, Page partly reasoned that record labels, dominated by men, have been, she said, "mistrustful of giving
12257-400: The warehouse, a fact it touted in magazine ads. The album became the duo's best-selling to date, helped by the attention for the Graduate soundtrack ten weeks earlier, creating an initial combined sales figure of over five million units. Davis had predicted this, and suggested raising the list price of Bookends by one dollar to $ 5.79, above the then standard retail price, to compensate for
12376-658: Was an early female record producer, having produced both of her Ivor Novello award-winning songs. Across the decades, many female artists have produced their own music. For instance, artists Kate Bush , Madonna , Mariah Carey , Janet Jackson , Beyoncé (even that of Destiny's Child and the Carters ), Lana Del Rey , Taylor Swift , and Lorde have produced or coproduced and Ariana Grande who produces and arranges her vocals as well as being an audio engineer. Still among specialists, despite some prominent women, including Missy Elliott in hip hop and Sylvia Massy in rock,
12495-408: Was an effort to chronicle an acoustic sound similar to what is found on Simon And Garfunkel 's Bridge over Troubled Water , where a non-traditional recording environment was captured to provide an organic, live and "warm" sound. The same year, Cobb began work producing Early Morning Shakes , the third studio album from Whiskey Myers , a Country Southern rock band from Palestine, Texas . The record
12614-712: Was born in Savannah, Georgia , to Mary Cobb (née Floyd) and David Cobb, Sr.. He attended The Cottage School in Roswell . Cobb said his family was very religious and was active in the Pentecostal faith (his maternal grandmother was a minister). Cobb began playing drums and taking guitar lessons at church when he was four years old. Cobb's career in music began as a session musician in Atlanta , sometimes working with producers Dallas Austin and Jermaine Dupri . In
12733-485: Was friends with. Cobb left the band and moved to Los Angeles, California in 2004. Cobb's manager, Andrew Brightman, introduced him to Shooter Jennings , and the two became friends, connecting over shared interest in bands like Ministry , Skinny Puppy , and Nine Inch Nails . Jennings also expanded Cobb's country music education and, in 2005, Cobb produced Jennings' debut solo album Put the "O" Back in Country . Over
12852-404: Was her fifth. Yet in nonclassical, no woman has won Producer of the Year , awarded since 1975 and only one even nominated for a record not her own, Linda Perry. After Lauren Christy 's 2004 nomination, Linda Perry 's 2019 nomination was the next for a woman. On why no woman had ever won it, Perry commented, "I just don't think there are that many women interested." In the U.K., Lynsey de Paul
12971-431: Was no longer interested in singles. He developed writer's block , which prevented the duo from releasing an album in 1967. Many other successful artists at the time were expected to release two or three albums each year, and the lack of productivity worried Columbia executives. Amid concerns for Simon's apparent idleness, Columbia Records chairman Clive Davis arranged for up-and-coming producer John Simon to kick-start
13090-446: Was not impressed by Simon's songs " Punky's Dilemma " and " Overs ", Simon and Garfunkel offered another, incomplete song, which became " Mrs. Robinson "; Nichols loved it. Simon & Garfunkel's fourth studio album, Bookends , was recorded in fits and starts from late 1966 to early 1968. Although the album had long been planned, work did not begin in earnest until late 1967. The duo were signed under an older contract that specified
13209-545: Was picked up the next day along the East Coast of the United States . When Wilson heard about this new wave of interest, he took inspiration from the success of the folk-rock hybrid that he had created with Dylan in " Like a Rolling Stone " and crafted a rock remix of "Sound of Silence" using studio musicians. The remix was issued in September 1965, and it eventually reached the Billboard Hot 100 . Wilson did not inform
13328-587: Was preparing to film Brother Sun, Sister Moon , and John Schlesinger , who was preparing to film Midnight Cowboy . In addition to Hollywood proposals, Simon declined a request by producers from the Broadway show Jimmy Shine (starring Simon's friend Dustin Hoffman , also the lead in Midnight Cowboy ). He collaborated briefly with Leonard Bernstein on a sacred mass before withdrawing from
13447-747: Was recorded over three sessions in March 1964 and released in October. It contains five songs by Simon, three traditional folk songs, and four folk-influenced singer-songwriter songs. Simon was adamant that they would no longer use stage names. Columbia set up a promotional showcase at Folk City on March 31, 1964, the duo's first public concert as Simon & Garfunkel. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. sold only 3,000 copies on release. Simon moved to England, where he toured small folk clubs and befriended folk artists such as Bert Jansch , Martin Carthy , Al Stewart , and Sandy Denny . He also met Kathy Chitty, who became
13566-539: Was released in January 1970 and charted in over 11 countries, topping the charts in 10, including the Billboard Top LP's chart in the US and the UK Albums Chart . It was the best-selling album in 1970, 1971 and 1972 and was at that time the best-selling album of all time . It was also CBS Records ' best-selling album before the release of Michael Jackson 's Thriller in 1982. The album topped
13685-505: Was released on February 4, 2014. Cobb met singer-songwriter Anderson East at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe , and Cobb ended up producing East's 2015 album Delilah , which was recorded at FAME Studios in North Alabama's Muscle Shoals . Rodney Hall from FAME allowed the pair into the archives—in the vault they found George Jackson 's song, "Find 'Em, Fool 'Em, Forget 'Em," which is now a track on Delilah. The video for "Find 'Em"
13804-465: Was responsible for this public perception, as he withheld them from television appearances unless they were allowed to play an uninterrupted set or choose the setlist. Simon, then 26, felt he had "made it" into an upper echelon of rock and roll while retaining artistic integrity; according to his biographer Marc Eliot, this made him "spiritually closer to Bob Dylan than to, say, Bobby Darin ". The duo chose William Morris as their booking agency after
13923-513: Was rush-released in mid-January 1966, peaking at number 21 Billboard Top LPs chart. A week later, " Homeward Bound " was released as a single, entering the USA top ten, followed by "I Am a Rock" peaking at number three. The duo supported the recordings with a nationwide tour of the US including a performance during the first Spring Weekend of the University of Massachusetts Boston where the duo
14042-647: Was slated for demolition. The album would go on to top the Billboard Year-End Top Country Albums chart in 2016 and 2017, and win the Grammy Award for Best Country Album . On March 18, 2016, the collaborative album Southern Family was released on the Low Country Sound imprint. Produced and curated by Cobb, the concept album was inspired by the album White Mansions , with themes centered on family values and
14161-532: Was the headline act. CBS continued its promotion by re-releasing Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. , which charted at number 30. Despite the success, the duo was derided by some critics as a manufactured imitation of folk music. Since they considered The Sounds of Silence a "rush job" to capitalize on their sudden success, Simon & Garfunkel spent more time crafting the follow-up. It was the first time Simon insisted on total control in aspects of recording. Work began in 1966 and took nine months. Garfunkel considered
#498501