BEHIND THE GROOVES: a music blog by Jeff Harris

On this day in music history: March 21, 1969 - “The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkel is released. Written by Paul Simon, it is the eleventh single release for the folk-rock duo from Queens, NY. 1968 is a landmark year for Simon & Garfunkel. After “The Graduate” soundtrack, “Bookends” and their second number one single “Mrs. Robinson”, their popularity is at an all time high. In the Fall, the duo begin work on their next album. The first session for “The Boxer” takes place at Columbia Records Nashville, TN studio on November 16, 1968. The song draws from a number of sources, with Simon writing about his early struggles as a musician, persevering in spite of loneliness and the inability to make a living at his craft. Also drawing inspiration from The Bible come the lyrics about asking for only “workman’s wages” and “seeking out the poorer quarters”. The final verse depicts a boxer taking relentless beatings, but keeping his fighting spirit. An extra verse written for the song is excised before the first session. The repeated refrain of “lie-la-lie” stands in place of a final lyric that Simon simply leaves it as it is. Cutting the basic track, engineer Roy Halee records Paul playing a Martin D-18 and Fred Carter, Jr. on a 000-18 Martin, miking the musicians from multiple angles, capturing the unique sonics of the instruments and the room itself. Charlie McCoy plays bass harmonica on the track, and Curly Chalker on pedal steel guitar. Work continues at St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University (vocals), and Columbia’s East 52nd Street studio in New York City. Drummer Hal Blaine plays the signature “thunder clap” effect, achieved by hitting his snare, and recording the sound echoing down a hallway into an empty elevator shaft. Cut before CBS acquires their first sixteen track tape machine, the strings are recorded on a separate eight track machine. This proves to be nightmarish when it comes time to mix, with Halee “flying in” the strings eight bars at a time, then splicing the pieces together so they are in sync with the rest of the track. In all, more than one hundred hours are spent on the song before it’s completed. During the same period, the track “Baby Driver” is also recorded. Both songs are the first taste of Simon & Garfunkel’s fifth and final studio album “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. The epic five minute plus single quickly becomes a hit, after hitting the airwaves in mid-March of 1969. Entering the Hot 100 at #51 on April 19, 1969, “The Boxer” peaks at #7 on the Hot 100 on May 17, 1969. With Art Garfunkel off making his acting debut in the film “Catch-22”, another seven months go by before the duo finish recording the “Bridge Over Troubled Water” album, which is released in late January of 1970. Over the years, “The Boxer” has become one of S&G’s most enduring, popular and frequently covered songs, with versions by Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Neil Diamond, Bruce Hornsby and Mumford & Sons.

As near to perfect as it is possible to get IMHO this is amongst the most haunting of Simon And Garfunkel songs and a perennial favourite