Most fans of Simon & Garfunkel probably know that the duo recorded the 'Hey Schoolgirl' single in 1957, scoring a local hit in the process. What they might not know is that between 1957 and 1964, Paul Simon wrote, recorded, and released more than 30 songs, occasionally reuniting with Garfunkel as Tom & Jerry for some singles, including 'Our Song' and 'That's My Story'. Most of the songs Simon recorded during that time were performed alone or with musicians other than Garfunkel, and they were released on several minor record labels, such as Amy, Big, Hunt, King, Tribute, and Madison. He used several pseudonyms for these recordings, most usually Jerry Landis, but also Paul Kane and True Taylor. By 1962, working as Jerry Landis, he was a frequent writer/producer for several Amy Records artists, overseeing material released by Dotty Daniels, The Vels and Ritchie Cordell, and because of this the studio allowed him to release seven singles between 1959 and 1961, even though none of them equaled the success of 'Hey Schoolgirl'. This collection concentrates just on the Jerry Landis recordings and includes both sides of all seven singles, alongside a number of songs recorded between 1959 and 1961 which were never issued at the time. Obviously these tracks are very much of their time, and a track like 'The Lone Teen Ranger' is something of a novelty song, but by the time he recorded 'A Charmed Life' and 'That Forever Kind Of Love' you could start to hear the stirrings of a more mature songwriter.
Track listing
01 Loneliness (single 1959)02 Anna Belle (b-side of 'Loneliness')03 The Lone Teen Ranger (single 1960)04 Lisa (b-side of 'The Lone Teen Ranger')05 I'd Like To Be (The Lipstick On Your Lips) (single 1960)06 Shy (single 1960)07 Just A Boy (b-side of 'I'd Like To Be (The Lipstick On Your Lips)' and 'Shy')08 Play Me A Sad Song (single 1961)09 It Means A Lot To Them (b-side of 'Play Me A Sad Song')10 I'm Lonely (single 1961)11 I Wish I Weren't In Love (b-side of 'I'm Lonely')12 Just To Be With You (single recorded in 1959 and released in 1991)13 Ask Me Why (b-side of 'Just To Be With You')14 Dreams Can Come True (previously unreleased 1959)15 Up And Down The Stairs (previously unreleased 1960)16 Sleepy, Sleepy Baby (previously unreleased 1961)17 A Charmed Life (previously unreleased 1961)18 That Forever Kind Of Love (previously unreleased 1961)19 Lighthouse Point (previously unreleased 1961)
