Before They Were Famous

If you don't read Jan Herman daily you should - he's everything an arts and entertainment writer should be: sophisticated but not snotty, worldly but not jaded, experienced but not worn out, funny, and with a fierce integrity.

Today he outdoes himself with a wistful but not cloying reminiscence about going to high school with Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon (!) - he was friendly with Artie but real pals with Paul:

Artie's Web site brought back memories. He always had an intellectual take on things even in high school. We weren't what you'd call close, but we were friendly enough to consider rooming together in college. He was a smart guy. Loved math, for instance - not what you'd expect from someone who'd made a hit single ("Hey Schoolgirl") with Paul Simon in the days when they called themselves Tom and Jerry.

I knew Paul better. We used to hang out in his basement rec room listening to Lenny Bruce. I went with him to the Brill Building in our senior year and watched him record quick demos for other songwriters so they could show their tunes and lyrics around.

Later, during college, I'd go to the Village with Paul on bitter-cold winter nights when he needed someone to cheer him on at Gerde's Folk City, long before he and Artie became real stars. And I'll never forget going with Paul to a concert at Town Hall. It featured the music of electronic composer Edgar Varèse. (We never would have gone if a music professor hadn't insisted, and comped the two of us with free tickets.)

Paul was leery of the whole thing. We arrived late, to find a hushed audience already listening to weird, prerecorded sounds emanating from various speakers. Paul didn't seem to feel he was interrupting anything. He strode down the center aisle, and I followed.

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Article Author: Eric Olsen

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