Many people change their name, and those in show business are some of the greatest name changers of all. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel began life as a singing duo by the name of Tom and Jerry. Maybe the cartoon association did it for them in the end.

The two musicians were practically neighbors in Queens, the largest borough in the Big Apple. They even performed in the same elementary school play together. Their name change was unusual in that they went back to their real names. Many performers change their real name to something else; the unknown Dino Crocetti became the well-known Dean Martin, but here, Tom and Jerry became Simon & Garfunkel.

The duo created many smash hits, "The Sound of Silence," "Mrs. Robinson," "Scarborough Fair" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" among them. Their song "Bleecker Street," sometimes misspelt "Bleeker Street," was not one of their smash hits, although some fans reckon their terrific harmonies are in no better form than in this song. Nevertheless, it still did very nicely, thank you very much. It was released on their album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.

Bleecker Street, a one-way street, was named for the Bleecker family, through whose farm the street originally ran, back in the early 1800s. Today, Bleecker Street is so posh there are bona fide "walking tours" offered of the gourmet restaurants and boutiques along its path. At the time the song was written (1963) Bleecker Street and surrounds was the place to go for music, comedy, and aspiring artistes. Many well-known performers got their start or a solid boost when performing in the clubs in this area of the Manhattan borough. Such performers as Richard Pryor, Bruce Springsteen, Bill Cosby, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan made their mark in the venues on Bleecker Street. Being New Yorkers, Simon and Garfunkel would have been well aware of the area's popularity.

The lyrics have many biblical references, some of which are misunderstood. Paying $30 for rent shows the age of the song, but perhaps that's a reference to Judas Iscariot and 30 pieces of silver. For some fans, "Bleecker Street" is a highly underrated and undervalued song. Some people say one of the tests of the lyrics of a song is their mysterious, even mystical qualities. "Bleecker Street" certainly has some tantalizing and poetic imagery. A good example is the line, "Voices leaking from a sad café."

In the 1960s Bleecker Street was an area where counter-culture and a bohemian lifestyle were all the rage. And Bleecker Street is alive and well today. Easy to find, easy to access, and in some ways, not unlike it was back in the bohemian days of the 1960s. It's part of the Greenwich Village nightclub area, and so, while the acts and club names may have changed - not to mention the bar prices and rents - the entertainment vibe is still in full voice.

Cenarth Fox
February 11, 2013 Bleecker Street Songfacts
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Comments: 3

• Larry Lytle from RaleighLarry Hunt, I just saw your reply. Thank you so much! Yes, I remember The Surf Maid well. And, yes, Claude Garvey was an amazing musicial and a wonderful gentleman.
  
  I also used to sing in Boston at Diamond Jim's Lounge in the Lenox Hotel with thw incredible and sweet Gladys Troupin at the piano. Then in San Francisco it was the Salmagundi Club and Lefty O'Doul's.
  I really miss those days.
  
  Many blessings, Larry
• Piano Man Larry Hunt from Bethlehem, Pa, United StatesResponse to Lawrence D Lytle: Claude Garvey was a genius. The bar was The Surf Maid. It's now The Red Lion. I loved that place. Kenny Kirkland (famous Jazz pianist), a fellow student of mine at the Manhattan School of Music, took me to The Maid in 1975. At that time the live music at The Surf Maid was strictly avant-garde Jazz duos, trios, quartets. Ornette Coleman - type music. Joanne Brackeen was one of the regular performers. It was the coolest bar I had ever been to. It was my intro to that style of "Free Jazz". Then about 2 years later, it became a sing-a-long piano bar starring Claude Garvey. I actually subbed for Claude there for a couple of weeks in 1978 when he got a gig as Nipsy Russel's music director in Las Vegas for awhile. I was honored to be Claude's sub, because I was in awe of Claude's abilities and I was just starting out to work as a piano bar entertainer, which I wound up doing professionally for the next 40 years. I have performed in over 2,000 venues internationally, and went to piano bars all over Europe and the USA and on 23 cruise ships, and I have never seen/heard anyone as great as Claude Garvey. I cannot find any info about him online. Thank you for remembering him and posting about him here. Do a search online for Piano Man Larry Hunt to learn more about me. Thanks again.
• Lawrence D Lytle from RaleighTrying to find information on a Bleecker Street piano bar from the 70's and 80's where a gentleman named Claude Garvey played piano. My Garvey was a piano and voice coach to Billy Joel.
  
  I met Billy Joel there in the early 80's and we sang together as Mr. Garvey played piano. Would love to know the name of that small piano bar/lounge.

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