On a family vacation in the early ’60s, we stayed at this place, the Glass House motel, on the Gulf of America.
Two guys stayed at the motel: Art, an outgoing guy, and Paul, a quiet one. Family accompanied both. Art would hang around with the other kids; Paul sat in a lounge chair by the pool. He was quiet, more serious, maybe cerebral.
One day, Art and I went for a walk down the beach. He bought me a milkshake down at the pier. He was about ten years older than me, but he looked close to my age. In fact, at the time I thought we were the same age.
So, this was my introduction to Simon & Garfunkel. As can be seen, Garfunkel was the more friendly of the two. They performed at a local venue at night, so they were free during the day. A couple of unknowns to me, and by then I was hooked on the Top 40 stations at home.
Now Art asked me if I knew Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels. Not sure why he asked, but I lied and said I did. Maybe he asked because Mitch was from Detroit, and I lived close to Cleveland back then. But Mitch wasn’t well known. The group gained fame opening for the Dave Clark Five at the time.
There was no reason to lie, but I suspect it inspired Art to step up his game. While Mitch Ryder would have a number of hits, hitting the charts before Simon & Garfunkel, I never heard much of Mitch Ryder later. It wasn’t long after parting ways that Simon & Garfunkel became well-known with “The Sounds of Silence.”
When Art was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he didn’t mention my name, but I could tell he was remembering the day at the pier, drinking a milkshake, learning the ins and outs of the music world. I’m convinced to this day my quiet demeanor inspired the song. It was, “my words like silent raindrops fell / And echoed in the wells of silence.”
The motel on the postcard was a great place. The only other thing I remember is playing hosted games in the evening with three other kids who were about my age. Two were twins that didn’t look alike, and the third is a footnote story in my life.