Bridge over Troubled Water (song)
| Bridge over Troubled Water | |
|---|---|
| Simon & Garfunkel | |
| publication | January 26, 1970 |
| length | 4:55 |
| Genre (s) | Soft rock , folk rock |
| Author (s) | Paul Simon |
| Publisher (s) | Columbia Records |
| Award (s) | four Grammys , RS500 , RR-HoF |
| album | Bridge over Troubled Water |
Bridge over Troubled Water ( English for bridge over troubled waters is) a soft rock - ballad of the US folk-rock duos Simon & Garfunkel . The piece was written by Paul Simon and sung largely solo by Art Garfunkel . It was released as the title track of the album of the same name and as a single on January 26, 1970 , and topped the Billboard Hot 100 hit parade for six weeks . It was also very successful internationally, for example it reached number one in Great Britain and number three in the singles charts in Germany.
The song won four Grammys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . In 2004 the music magazine Rolling Stone voted it 47th on its list of the 500 best songs of all time .
Emergence
The song was written by Paul Simon. He later said that he remembered being surprised after hearing the melody and the words " Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down " (German: "I will lie down like a bridge over troubled water") had written. He had no idea where these words and the melody came from. The source of inspiration today is the Negro Spiritual Mary Don't You Weep in the version by Claude Jeter's group Swan Silvertones from 1958, which says: “ I'll be your bridge over deep water if you trust in me . ”(German:“ I will be a bridge over deep water for you if you trust me. ”) Paul Simon has also recognized this connection. As a source of inspiration for the music, he named the chorale O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden in Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion .
Bridge over Troubled Water originally consisted of two verses, but on the recommendation of the producer, Simon added a third verse to the song, which he wrote in the recording studio. At a review of Stephen Sondheim's Finishing the Hat in The New York Times , Simon said that he reluctantly agreed to the third verse and felt that it was not part of the song.
The recordings for the music tracks took place on August 14, 1969. Simon & Garfunkel were supported by studio musicians from The Wrecking Crew ( Joe Osborn / 8-string bass guitar, Larry Knechtel / piano, Hal Blaine / drums).
Success in the charts
On January 26, 1970 Bridge over Troubled Water was released as the title track of the album of the same name. On the same day it was also released as a single with Keep the Customer Satisfied , another song from that album, on the B-side . From February 28, 1970, the song sat for six weeks at the top of the US singles charts. After The Sound of Silence and Mrs. Robinson, it was the third and final number one hit for Simon & Garfunkel in the home country of the two musicians. Overall, the piece was featured on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks.
The song reached third place in the German single charts . In Austria it reached fourth place and stayed in the charts for a total of 16 weeks. In the Swiss charts it was represented for nine weeks with a top position in fifth place.
Cover versions
50 years after the title was published, almost 200 cover versions were known. The most famous performers are:
- Elvis Presley , 1970
- Nana Mouskouri , 1970
- The Jackson 5 , 1970
- The Supremes , 1970
- Aretha Franklin , 1971
- Cilla Black , 1971
- Les Humphries Singers , 1971
- Roberta Flack , 1971
- Shirley Bassey , 1971
- Tom Jones , 1971
- Joy Fleming , 1973
- Udo Juergens , 1973
- Henry Mancini , 1976
- Linda Clifford , 1979
- Willie Nelson , 1982
- Bonnie Tyler , 1995
- Candi Staton , 1997
- LeAnn Rimes , 1997
- Anne Murray , 1999
- Johnny Cash & Fiona Apple , 2002
- Annie Lennox , 2007
- Mary J. Blige & Andrea Bocelli , 2010
- Katie Melua , 2017
Artists-for-Grenfell version
On June 14, 2017, 79 people were killed in a high-rise fire in Grenfell Tower . As a result, numerous well-known British and American artists joined together for the benefit project Artists for Grenfell , which was initiated by the music and film producer Simon Cowell . The proceeds from this project will benefit the London Community Foundation. Contributors to the cover version of Bridge over Troubled Water , which was released on June 21, 2017, included Robbie Williams , James Blunt , Craig David , Liam Payne , Louis Tomlinson , Emeli Sandé , Paloma Faith , Leona Lewis , Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , Ella Henderson , Gregory Porter , Dua Lipa , James Arthur , Omar , Bastille , Brian May , Carl Barât , Geri Halliwell , Nile Rodgers , Pixie Lott , Rita Ora , Jessie J , Fleur East , Ella Eyre , Stormzy and a London children's choir . On June 23, 2017, the song debuted at number 1 on the UK singles chart. It is one of the songs that took first place in the British charts in both the original version and the cover version.
Awards
At the Grammy Awards in 1971 , four of the prizes were awarded for the song: It was as Record of the Year ( Record of the Year ) , as Song of the Year ( Song of the Year ) , as Best Contemporary Song ( Best Contemporary Song ) best and as Arrangement for accompaniment of vocals ( Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist (s) ) excellent. Simon & Garfunkel were honored as interpreters, Roy Halee and Paul Simon as producers, and Simon as author, and, in addition to Garfunkel and Simon, Ernie Freeman , Jimmie Haskell and Larry Knechtel were also honored for the arrangement . Two more Grammys were awarded for the album for which the song was named. The following year , Aretha Franklin received the Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her cover version of the song .
The music magazine Rolling Stone chose the song in 2004 at number 47 on its list of the 500 best songs of all time. It rated it as the best song by Simon & Garfunkel. The song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll list.
Awards for music sales
Simon & Garfunkel
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
 United States (RIAA)
|
 gold
|
1,000,000 |
 United Kingdom (BPI)
|
 silver
|
200,000 |
| All in all |
1 × silver 1 × gold |
1,200,000 |
Artists for Grenfell
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
gold
|
400,000 |
| All in all |
1 × gold |
400,000 |
Main article: Paul Simon / Music Sales Awards
Web links
- Lyrics on the website of Simon & Garfunkel
- Bridge over Troubled Water on MusicBrainz
- Bridge over Troubled Water at Songfacts.com (English)
- Text with harmonies on Paul-Simon.info
Individual evidence
- ↑ Up Front: Paul Simon. In: The New York Times . October 31, 2010, p. BR4 , accessed March 21, 2012 .
- ↑ Ben Sisario: Claude Jeter, Gospel Singer With Wide Influence, Dies at 94. In: The New York Times. January 11, 2009, p. A28 , accessed March 21, 2012 .
- ↑ Richard McLeese: To the editor: 'Finishing the Hat'. In: The New York Times. October 11, 2010, p. BR6 , accessed on March 21, 2012 (letter to the editor).
- ↑ Simon explains this in a television appearance
- ↑ Paul Simon: Isn't It Rich? In: The New York Times. October 31, 2010, p. BR1 , accessed March 21, 2012 .
- ^ Larry Knechtel, Rock Keyboardist-Arranger, Dies at 69. In: Online edition of the New York Times. August 25, 2009, accessed March 21, 2012 .
- ↑ Simon & Garfunkel on the Billboard Charts. In: Billboard Magazine . Retrieved December 12, 2011 .
- ^ Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water. (No longer available online.) In: chartsurfer.de. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; Retrieved July 23, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge over Troubled Water (Song). In: austriancharts.at. Retrieved February 25, 2012 .
- ^ Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge over Troubled Water. In: hitparade.ch. Retrieved February 25, 2012 .
- ↑ https://cover.info/de/song/Simon-and-Garfunkel-Bridge-Over-Troubled-Water
- ↑ Goosebumps song for Grenfell Tower victims . NTV, June 22, 2017; accessed on June 23, 2017
- ↑ London high-rise fire: benefit song storms to number 1 .
- ↑ Results of the 11th Grammy Awards in the Grammy Awards database. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences , accessed February 24, 2012 .
- ↑ The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In: rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone , December 9, 2004, archived from the original on June 20, 2008 ; accessed on December 12, 2011 (English).
- ↑ Experience The Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , accessed March 1, 2012 .
