Art Garfunkel
Voice of generations
Tom and Jerry – The Beginning of a Musical Partnership
The story of Tom and Jerry marks the origins of one of the most iconic vocal duos in music history. Before becoming Simon & Garfunkel, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon performed as Tom and Jerry—two young talents stepping onto the stage with their first songs, discovering their shared passion for harmony and melody. This page explores their early days, initial successes, and the unique chemistry that laid the foundation for an extraordinary career.
Origin and Background
Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon met at Forest Hills High School in Queens, New York, and began making music together in the late 1950s.
The name Tom & Jerry is based on the duo's early artist pseudonyms. They performed together under this name during their collaboration.
Paul Simon used the pseudonym Jerry Landis primarily for his solo projects, songwriting, and productions for other artists. This was a separate stage name that he used before and alongside his collaboration with Art Garfunkel.
Art Garfunkel was given the nickname Tom Graph by Paul Simon, derived from his love of mathematics and his passion for graphically representing musical success. Garfunkel created detailed graphs to illustrate the progression of their chart positions. "Graph" thus refers to this skill. "Tom" was added to make the nickname more concise and memorable.
The choice of pseudonyms was deliberate, as both musicians believed that their actual, Jewish-sounding surnames ("Simon" and "Garfunkel") might be a hindrance to commercial success in the music industry at the time.
The combination "Tom & Jerry" thus combines Art Garfunkel's nickname "Tom Graph" with Paul Simon's pseudonym "Jerry Landis."
Releases as Tom & Jerry
Between 1957 and 1960, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon released their first recordings together under the name "Tom & Jerry."
Their debut song, "Hey, Schoolgirl," was released in 1957 on the Big Records label (catalog number Big 613) and became their biggest hit of the period, reaching number 49 on the US charts.
The following year, 1958, they released the single "Our Song" with the B-side "Two Teen Agers" (Big Records, Big 607).
Also released in 1958 was the single "That's My Story," featuring "Don't Say Goodbye (Pretty Baby)" on the flip side, which was released on both Big Records and Hunt Records under the catalog numbers Big 618 and Hunt 319.
In 1959, they released "Baby Talk" with "I'm Gonna Get Married" on the B-side (Big Records, Big 621).
Their last single under the name Tom & Jerry was released in 1960 with the tracks "It's All Right" and "Loneliness" (Big Records, Big 633).
