Tom & Jerry

Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon already began making music together as teenagers and released their first recordings under the name Tom & Jerry between 1957 and 1960. With Hey, Schoolgirl, they achieved their first joint success in 1957; this was followed by further singles such as Our Song, That’s My Story, Baby Talk, and It’s All Right. As early as 1956, they had registered a joint song, The Girl for Me, with the U.S. Copyright Office.
The page guides through the creation and early releases of Tom & Jerry and contains background information on the pseudonyms used, the copyright registration of The Girl for Me, as well as the individual singles. A complementary photo gallery gathers historical recordings and documents from this early phase, including excerpts from the preserved copyright registration.

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."

“The Girl for Me” – The First Joint Copyright

Before their first releases as Tom & Jerry, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon wrote “The Girl for Me” together.

The song was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office on May 28, 1956. The surviving record bears registration number EU438518 and explicitly lists Arthur Ira Garfunkel and Paul Fredric Simon as the authors.

“The Girl for Me” is therefore the earliest documented joint work by Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon to be officially registered under copyright. The registration documents their joint authorship at a time when both were still teenagers, more than a year before their first commercial release.

A handwritten version of the song was prepared for the copyright registration. The music and lyrics were written out by Louis Simon, Paul Simon’s father, who was also a musician. Paul Simon later recalled that he and Art Garfunkel arranged the registration together.

“The Girl for Me” was never officially released. The surviving copyright document therefore has particular historical significance: it documents the joint work of Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon as early as 1956, before the emergence of their successful recordings as Tom & Jerry.

Copyright Registration
Title: “THE GIRL FOR ME”
Authors: Arthur Ira Garfunkel & Paul Fredric Simon
Registration Number: EU438518
Registration Date: May 28, 1956
U.S. Copyright Office

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).