Bookends (album)

Bookends is the fourth studio album by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Paul Simon, Roy Halee and Art Garfunkel, the album was released on April 3, 1968 in the United States by Columbia Records. The duo had risen to fame two years prior with hit albums such as Sounds of Silence and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, radio singles, and touring colleges. In 1967, Simon was approached by director Mike Nichols to write songs for his next film, The Graduate. Released several weeks prior to Bookends, the soundtrack album propelled the band further into stardom.

Bookends, in contrast to the soundtrack album, follows a unified concept, exploring a life journey from childhood to old age. Side one of the album marks successive stages in life, the theme serving as literal bookends to the life cycle. Side two largely consists of unused material for The Graduate soundtrack. Simon's lyrics largely revolve around youth, disillusionment, relationships, old age, and mortality. Much of the material was crafted alongside producer John Simon, who joined the recording process when Paul Simon suffered from writer's block. As a result, the album was recorded gradually over the period of a year, with production speeding up around the later months of 1967.

Album

Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, then from 1948 as vinyl LP records played at 33 ¹⁄₃ rpm. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century albums sales have mostly focused on compact disc (CD) and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used in the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl.

An album may be recorded in a recording studio (fixed or mobile), in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to several years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately, and then brought or "mixed" together. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed "live", even when done in a studio. Studios are built to absorb sound, eliminating reverberation, so as to assist in mixing different takes; other locations, such as concert venues and some "live rooms", allow for reverberation, which creates a "live" sound. The majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at separate times while listening to the other parts using headphones; with each part recorded as a separate track.

Bookend

A bookend is an object that is designed to buttress, or support, an upright row of books. It is placed on either end to prevent books from falling over, such as in a half-filled bookshelf. Bookends are both utilitarian and, often, decorative. They are common in libraries and in homes. Heavy bookends have been used for centuries; the simple sheetmetal bookend was originally patented in the 1877 by William Stebbins Barnard, and uses the weight of the books themselves to make an anchor.

Bookends can be an important consideration in home decor. Some bookends are made of bronze, marble, wood and even large geodes. Elaborate and decorative bookends are not uncommon. In libraries, simple metal brackets are often used to support the end of a row of books.

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Simon & Garfunkel

Simon & Garfunkel was an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the most popular recording artists of the 1960s and became counterculture icons of the decade's social revolution, alongside artists such as the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan. Their biggest hits—including "The Sound of Silence" (1964/1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1969), and "The Boxer" (1969)—reached number one on singles charts worldwide. Their often rocky relationship led to artistic disagreements, which resulted in their breakup in 1970. Their final studio record, Bridge over Troubled Water, was their most successful, becoming one of the world's best-selling albums. Since their split in 1970 they have reunited several times, most famously in 1981 for the "The Concert in Central Park", which attracted more than 500,000 people, the seventh-largest concert attendance in history.

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