Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.



Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on October 19, 1964. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. The cover and the label include the subtitle exciting new sounds in the folk tradition.

The album was initially unsuccessful, so Paul Simon moved to England and Art Garfunkel continued his studies at Columbia University in New York City. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was re-released in January 1966 (to capitalize on their newly found radio success because of the overdubbing of the song "The Sound of Silence" in June 1965, adding electric guitar and a drumkit), the re-released album reached number 30 on the Billboard album chart. It was belatedly released in the UK in 1968 in both mono and stereo formats.

"He Was My Brother", was dedicated to Andrew Goodman, who was their friend and a classmate of Simon at Queens College. Andrew Goodman was one of the three civil rights workers murdered in the Mississippi civil rights workers' murders.

The album is included in its entirety as part of the Simon & Garfunkel box sets Collected Works and The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970).

Production
The album was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee between March 10–31, 1964.

"Benedictus" was arranged and adapted from two-part a capella motet by Orlande de Lassus. The text, in Latin, is benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini (KJV: Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord). The song is set for two voices with cello and sparse guitar accompaniment.

Cover
The album's cover photo was shot at the Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street subway station in New York City. In several concerts, Art Garfunkel related that during the photo session, several hundred pictures were taken that were unusable due to the "old familiar suggestion" on the wall in the background, which inspired Paul Simon to write the song "A Poem on the Underground Wall" for the duo's later Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme album.

Reception
The album was initially unsuccessful, having been released in the shadow of the Beatles' arrival on the scene. This resulted in Paul Simon moving to England and Art Garfunkel continuing his studies at Columbia University in New York City.

Personnel

 * Paul Simon – acoustic guitar, banjo on "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", vocals
 * Art Garfunkel – vocals
 * Barry Kornfeld – acoustic guitar
 * Bill Lee – acoustic bass