Paul Simon Wrote This 1964 Classic — 51 Years Later, A Hard Rock Cover Won A New Generation

A Simon & Garfunkel cover seemed like an unlikely choice for the hard-rockin' band Disturbed, but the lyrics to "Sound of Silence," first released in 1964, actually lend themselves perfectly to the dark themes often found in metal. Five decades after the song's initial release, Disturbed's orchestral version "introduced a whole new generation of fans to the brilliance of Simon and Garfunkel," the band's front man, David Draiman, told Kerrang!.

Paul Simon wrote the song in 1963 while sitting in his bathroom with the lights off. That wasn't unusual; the acoustics were good in there. He and his musical partner Art Garfunkel recorded the original version with just two guitars, a stand-up bass, and their voices. "The Sounds of Silence," as it was called in its earliest inception, was included on the duo's 1964 LP "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.," but the album flopped. 

However, the song grew legs when DJs in Boston and Florida began playing it, prompting the song's producer to bring in session players to add drums, plus electric bass and guitars, for a re-release of the track as a single in late 1965. The singer/songwriters didn't particularly care for the electric version, perhaps because they hadn't been consulted about it, but they were down for whatever if it meant a hit song. It worked out, and the new version peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1966, staying at the top of the chart for two weeks in a year that was the decade's best for folk rock.

While a folk song cover from the '60s was not something fans expected from Disturbed, the way the band delivered it and leaned into the bleakness of the lyrical content in 2015 certainly made the two genres coalesce. "Sound of Silence" includes themes of a humanity that operates under a delusion that is not spoken of, as demonstrated by its lyrics: "And in the naked light, I saw / Ten thousand people, maybe more / People talking without speaking / People hearing without listening / People writing songs that voices never shared / And no one dared / Disturb the sound of silence."

In a video interview with Kerrang!, Disturbed singer David Draiman said the band was on the hunt for a cover when they chose the song. They'd done a few '80s hits, but he felt like maybe they should go further into the past. Drummer Mike Wengren came up with the idea to do "Sound of Silence," and they knew it would be an interesting project. But rather than attack it with the usual heavy-metal treatment, making it more "aggressive," and "in your face," Draiman said that guitarist/keyboardist Dan Donegan suggested they should "leave it ambient and ethereal ... and let the vulnerability of the vocal stand out." 

Disturbed's version leads with sparse piano and Draiman's voice, growing into a lush orchestral arrangement that buoys the vocals as the track crescendos and Draiman's singing becomes a guttural testament to the lyrical content. Fans had varying views, yet performing the song live gave the band a new experience: an emotional audience. 

Disturbed's version of "Sound of Silence" was released on their 2015 album "Immortalized" and went to No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in 2016, where it stayed for an amazing seven weeks. Still, not all fans were on board with the hit cover of the song. With the band forming in the mid-'90s and influenced by bands such as Iron Maiden, Alice in Chains, Judas Priest, and of course, Metallica, people had a certain expectation of Disturbed, and covering '60s folk songs wasn't it.

Some fans on Reddit said it was overplayed, with one saying, "Hate it, I feel it's David trying too hard to be taken 'seriously' as a vocalist. It just grates on me horribly. I heard it live and I nearly walked out. Just no." However, many more said they really loved the cover, appreciating how the band handled it and showed a different side of themselves. But from David Draiman's POV, he told Kerrang!, "... just seeing how it affects the live audience on a regular basis is pretty overwhelming." The song, according to Draiman, elicits audiences with "pockets of crying and eyes welling up with tears and lighters and swaying and back and forth ... things I didn't expect from this career and this style we've chosen, but it's really nice to be able to have it." 

Another fan of the song was Paul Simon himself, who said on the Howard Stern Show that he appreciated the song enough to call Draiman and compliment the band's efforts. "I liked it very much," Simon said. "It was accomplished very well."