The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)

"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" is a song by folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel, appearing on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. "59th Street Bridge" is the colloquial name of the Queensboro Bridge in New York City. The song's message is immediately delivered in its opening verse: "Slow down, you move too fast".

The studio version features Dave Brubeck Quartet members Joe Morello (drums) and Eugene Wright (bass).

Footage of Simon and Garfunkel performing the song at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival is featured in the film Monterey Pop.

Simon's writing credit was added to the theme song to the American children's TV show H.R. Pufnstuf after The Kroffts were successfully sued by Simon, who claimed that the theme ripped off this song.^[1]^[2]

Covers and performances

A popular cover version from 1967 was recorded by Harpers Bizarre, reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their version featured a harmonic choral a cappella section and a wind quartet with a flute, oboe, clarinet and a bassoon.
Former Simon songwriting partner, Bruce Woodley, recorded a cover with his band The Seekers on their 1967 album Seekers Seen in Green.
The song was covered by The Free Design on their 1967 debut album Kites Are Fun.
The song was covered by Italian vocal band Quartetto Cetra on their 1967 single "La ballata degli innamorati/Tre minuti", with Italian lyrics written by Tata Giacobetti.
The song was parodied by Bob Rivers as "Feelin' Boobies".
The melody was used by Nana Mouskouri in 1967 for her song "C'est bon la vie".
The song was covered by Berni Flint and Lena Zavaroni on her TV show Lena Zavaroni and Music (1979).
The song was covered by the Boston band Jim's Big Ego on the album Don't Get Smart.
The song appears on the album The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper. During the track's mixing, Paul Simon added harmony vocals to the final chorus.
During live performances, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page would often include snippets of "The 59th Street Bridge Song" in the guitar solo of the song "Heartbreaker". While usually edited out of official live releases, the snippet can be heard on numerous Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings.
Tori Amos performed the song at several of her concerts in 2005.^[3]
The Grateful Dead were known to have sampled portions of the song in their music. The most notable instance was within the performance of "Dark Star" on 13 February 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York, NY on the Dick's Picks Volume 4 album.
The song was covered by Rachael MacFarlane on her 2012 debut album Hayley Sings.
O.A.R. has been covering this song in concert since 2002. They play their own arrangement which always serves as an intro to fan favorites "That Was a Crazy Game of Poker" or "City on Down".

In popular culture

"Feelin' Groovy" was used in a 2003 series of Gap commercials featuring R&B/soul singers Angie Stone and Mýa.^[4]
The song was used in the first season of US TV series Desperate Housewives, during a scene where Lynette Scavo hallucinates her own suicide.
The song was used in an episode of The Simpsons (season 6, episode 25) called "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)". Mr. Burns alludes to the song, saying, "Hello lamppost, whatcha knowin'? I've come to watch your power flowin'."
The song was used in the trailer for Hal Ashby's 1975 comedy-drama Shampoo for which Paul Simon composed the original score.

References

↑ PUFNSTUF (1970, U.S.)
↑ Television's Greatest Hits, Vol. 5: In Living Color – Answers.com
↑ Tori Amos Song Summary
↑ Mack, Ann M. (28 February 2003). "Laird's Gap Is 'Groovy' for Spring". AllBusiness.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.

External links

"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" Lyrics from Paul Simon's official site

Simon & Garfunkel

Paul Simon Art Garfunkel

Studio albums	Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. Sounds of Silence Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Bookends Bridge over Troubled Water

Live albums	The Concert in Central Park Live from New York City, 1967 Old Friends: Live on Stage Live 1969

Compilation albums	Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits Collected Works The Simon and Garfunkel Collection 20 Greatest Hits The Definitive Simon & Garfunkel Old Friends The Best of Simon and Garfunkel Two Can Dream Alone Tales from New York: The Very Best of Simon & Garfunkel The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964–1970) Tom & Jerry The Collection The Essential Simon & Garfunkel Before the Fame Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel The Collection: Simon & Garfunkel America: The Simon and Garfunkel Collection

Soundtrack albums	The Graduate

Videos	The Concert in Central Park Old Friends: Live on Stage

Discographies	Simon & Garfunkel Art Garfunkel Paul Simon

Other	Songs Paul Simon solo albums Paul Simon songs Art Garfunkel solo albums Bridge over Troubled Water (Paul Desmond album)

Book Category

Simon & Garfunkel singles

Discography • List of songs

Sounds of Silence	"The Sound of Silence" / "We've Got A Groovey Thing Goin'" "I Am a Rock" / "Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall"

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme	"Homeward Bound" / "Leaves That Are Green" "The Dangling Conversation" / "The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" / "April Come She Will"

Bookends	"A Hazy Shade of Winter" / "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" "At the Zoo" / "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" "Fakin' It" / "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies" "Mrs. Robinson" / "Old Friends" / "Bookends"

Bridge over Troubled Water	"The Boxer" / "Baby Driver" "Bridge over Troubled Water" / "Keep the Customer Satisfied" "Cecilia" / "The Only Living Boy in New York" "El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)" / "Why Don't You Write Me"

Other singles	Hey Schoolgirl Our Song This is my Song Surrender, Please Surrender I'm Lonesome "America" "My Little Town" "Wake Up Little Susie"

Other songs	"Richard Cory" "Patterns" "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)" "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" "Save the Life of My Child" "Overs" "Punky's Dilemma" "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright"

Category

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.