The Sound of Silence by Paul Simon – Improvised by pianist Charles Manning

“The Sound of Silence” (originally “The Sounds of Silence”) was written by Paul Simon. In the late 1950s, Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel first performed together under the name “Tom and Jerry,” then in 1963, under the name “Kane & Garr.” The American folk rock duo “Simon & Garfunkel” recorded and released “The Sound of Silence” on their 1964 debut album “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” Their studio audition of the song had led them to a record deal with Columbia Records. At a 1966 live performance in the Netherlands, Garfunkel spoke of the song’s meaning as “the inability of people to communicate with each other…especially emotionally, so that what you see around you is people who are unable to love each other.” In 1965, the song reached the top at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the US Cash Box Top 100, and also No. 1 on the Japan Oricon and the South Africa Springbok Radio charts. In this rendition, pianist Charles Manning improvises the hit song “The Sound of Silence.”