Little research has been done on Paul Simon's earliest years of songwriting and recording (pre-1963), as the songs have been dismissed by the songwriter himself as teen fluff and many early recordings are unavailable. Simon's style changed decisively in 1963 and 1964 because of his maturing as a songwriter, but also and maybe more importantly because of Bob Dylan's overwhelming influence in the folk-rock scene of the 1960s. Dylan paved the way for songwriters to express concerns about serious cultural and political issues. Simon could not help but be influenced by Dylan's songs that showed his consciousness of civil rights and other social issues. Simon claimed to have been inspired to write his first "serious" tune, He Was My Brother, as a eulogy to his friend, Andrew Goodman, who had been murdered in 1964. However, it is clear from the songs themselves as well as other evidence, that Dylan's influence was the primary factor in transforming Simon from a more frivolous singer/songwriter into a more mature songwriter in the 1960s.

Works: Paul Simon: He Was My Brother (595); Traditional: Peggy-O as performed by Paul Simon (596); Bob Dylan: The Times They Are A-Changin' (596); Paul Simon: A Church is Burning (596), On the Side of a Hill (596-97), A Simple Desultory Philippic, or How I was Robert McNamara'd into Submission (596-97).

Sources: Bob Dylan: Oxford Town (595), The Death of Emmett Till (595), The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll (595), Only a Pawn in Their Game (595-96); Traditional: Pretty Peggy-O as peformed by Bob Dylan (596); Bob Dylan: The Times They Are A-Changin' (596), With God on Our Side (597), Subterranean Homesick Blues (597), It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding (597), I Shall Be Free (597), Rainy Day Women No. 12 &35 (597), Highway 61 Revisited (597).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Victoria Malawey