The Paul Simon Songbook - Album Background

Album Background

The Paul Simon Songbook was recorded while Simon was in Europe trying to make a living as a folk singer in the mid-1960s. Simon made several trips to England in 1964 and '65, spending most of his time performing in small clubs and theaters. During 1965 he is known to have played in Paris and Copenhagen, along with London and numerous other locations in the UK.

In 1964, Simon and Art Garfunkel had released the folk-inspired album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. in the US. While Simon was touring and appearing on radio shows in England in 1965 (sometimes with Garfunkel), he began to receive attention from fans. At the time Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. had not yet been released in Britain (and would not be until 1968). Simon's other recordings then available in Britain consisted of three 45 rpm singles released on various labels, two of which were rock 'n' roll-inspired recordings with Garfunkel under the name Tom & Jerry. The other was representative of his experiments in folk, but had been released in 1964 under the pseudonym Paul Kane. He was still under contract to Columbia, so he could record for their British label, CBS Records, and therefore decided to record a set of tracks for release to his folk audience. The Paul Simon Songbook was the result.