Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Studio album by Simon & Garfunkel
Released	October 19, 1964
Recorded	March 10–31, 1964
Genre	Folk[1][2]
Length	31:38
Label	Columbia
Producer	Tom Wilson
Simon & Garfunkel chronology
Wednesday Morning, 3 AM (1964) Sounds of Silence (1966)

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on October 19, 1964. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. The cover and the label include the subtitle exciting new sounds in the folk tradition.

The album was initially unsuccessful, so Paul Simon moved to England and Art Garfunkel continued his studies at Columbia University in New York City. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was re-released in January 1966 (to capitalize on their newly found radio success because of the overdubbing of the song "The Sound of Silence" in June 1965, adding electric guitar and a drumkit), the re-released album reached number 30 on the Billboard album chart. It was belatedly released in the UK in 1968 in both mono and stereo formats.

"He Was My Brother", was dedicated to Andrew Goodman, who was their friend and a classmate of Simon at Queens College. Andrew Goodman was one of the three civil rights workers murdered in the Mississippi civil rights workers' murders.

The album is included in its entirety as part of the Simon & Garfunkel box sets Collected Works and The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970).

Production

The album was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee between March 10–31, 1964.

"Benedictus" was arranged and adapted from two-part a capella motet^[3] by Orlande de Lassus.^[4] The text, in Latin, is benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini (KJV: Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord). The song is set for two voices with cello and sparse guitar accompaniment.

Cover

The album's cover photo was shot at the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station in New York City. In several concerts, Art Garfunkel related that during the photo session, several hundred pictures were taken that were unusable due to the "old familiar suggestion" on the wall in the background, which inspired Paul Simon to write the song "A Poem on the Underground Wall" for the duo's later Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album.^[5]

Reception

The album was initially unsuccessful, having been released in the shadow of the Beatles' arrival on the scene. This resulted in Paul Simon moving to England and Art Garfunkel continuing his studies at Columbia University in New York City.^[6]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recorded	Length
1.	"You Can Tell the World"	Bob Gibson Bob Camp	March 31, 1964	2:47
2.	"Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream"	Ed McCurdy	March 17, 1964	2:11
3.	"Bleecker Street"	Paul Simon	March 10, 1964	2:44
4.	"Sparrow"	Paul Simon	March 31, 1964	2:49
5.	"Benedictus"	Traditional arr. Paul Simon Art Garfunkel	March 31, 1964	2:38
6.	"The Sound of Silence"	Paul Simon	March 10, 1964	3:08

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recorded	Length
7.	"He Was My Brother"	Paul Kane	March 17, 1964	2:48
8.	"Peggy-O"	Traditional arr by. Paul Simon	March 31, 1964	2:26
9.	"Go Tell It on the Mountain"	Traditional arr by. Paul Simon	March 31, 1964	2:06
10.	"The Sun Is Burning"	Ian Campbell	March 17, 1964	2:49
11.	"The Times They Are a-Changin'"	Bob Dylan	March 10, 1964	2:52
12.	"Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M."	Paul Simon	March 17, 1964	2:13
Total length:				31:38

Bonus tracks (2001 CD reissue)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recorded	Length
13.	"Bleecker Street (demo)"	Paul Simon	March 10, 1964	2:46
14.	"He Was My Brother (alt. take 1)" (Previously unreleased)	Paul Kane	March 17, 1964	2:52
15.	"The Sun Is Burning (alt. take 12)" (Previously unreleased)	Ian Campbell	March 17, 1964	2:47

Charts

Chart (1964)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart	24
US Album Charts	30

Personnel

• Paul Simon – acoustic guitar, banjo on "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", vocals
• Art Garfunkel – vocals
• Barry Kornfeld – acoustic guitar
• Bill Lee – acoustic bass

References

1. Willis, Ellen (2011). Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music. University of Minnesota Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0816672837.
2. DeBolt, Abbe Allen (2011). Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 604. ISBN 978-0313329449.
3. "Werner Icking Music Archive: Orlando di Lasso". Icking-music-archive.org. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
4. Walton, Charles (1974). Basic Forms in Music. Alfred Publishing. pp. 142–143. ISBN 0-88284-025-8.
5. "A Poem On The Underground Wall (4:45)", Simon and Garfunkel Lyrics Archive, 1 April 2003
6. Simons, David (2004). Studio Stories - How the Great New York Records Were Made. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. Cf. pp.94-97.