The First Song Paul Simon Wrote at 13 to Perform With Art Garfunkel Turned Into a “Neighborhood Hit”

When Paul Simon was 11, he was cast in a school production of Alice in Wonderland for a sixth-grade graduation show. There, he met his future musical partner Art Garfunkel, who was also performing in the play at their school, Public School 164 in Kew Gardens in Queens, New York.

By the time they were 13, they were already writing together, learning harmonies, and performing together around the neighborhood and at school functions, Simon had already written his first song for them, “That Girl For Me.”

“I’m Probably Thinking of a Girl”

The song became a “neighborhood hit,” according to Simon, and marked the first copyrighted song by the duo, who were going under the name Tom and Jerry—Garfunkel was “Tom Graph” to Simon’s “Jerry Landis”—at the time.

“It’s probably a real song,” joked Simon in 1988 of his first song with Garfunkel. “I’m probably thinking of a girl.”

The girl for me
Is standing there
That’s the one
Flowers in her hair
I’ll always love her
And I know she’ll be true
She’ll be true

[RELATED: 5 Songs You Didn’t Know Paul Simon Wrote for Other Artists]

In 1957, the duo also recorded another song about a girl, “Hey, Schoolgirl,” which peaked at No. 49 on the pop chart and landed them a spot on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, performing right after Jerry Lee Lewis.

“Just taking a train to Philly from New York was already exciting,” said Simon of their American Bandstand experience. “Then I walk in and there’s Jerry Lee Lewis combing his hair.”

Teens to Simon & Garfunkel

Simon also wrote, recorded, and released more than 30 songs between 1957 and 1964, including some for other artists. By ’64, he and Garfunkel released their debut Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. A year later, Simon also released his solo debut The Paul Simon Songbook, followed by back-to-back breakthrough albums for him and Garfunkel, Sounds of Silence and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme in 1966.

Simon and Garfunkel recorded five albums together, including their final Bridge Over Troubled Water, and contributed several songs to the soundtrack for the 1968 film The Graduate, before disbanding in 1970, just three years before Garfunkel embarked on his own solo career with Angel Clare.

[RELATED: The Simon & Garfunkel Song That Still Makes Paul Simon Cringe and How He Rewrote It with Stephen Colbert]

“I don’t see large themes that span my songwriting career unless it’s the story of my life,” said Simon in a 2011 interview with American Songwriter. “There are the usual song subjects: love songs, family, social commentary, etc. And, of course, the changing perspective of aging. I think you could look at my work as divided into three distinct periods: Simon and Garfunkel, pre-‘Graceland’ solo albums, and ‘Graceland’ to the present.”

He continued, “I spend more time writing music than writing words. The music always precedes the words. The words often come from the sound of the music and eventually evolve into coherent thoughts—or incoherent thoughts. Rhythm plays a crucial part in the lyric-making as well. It’s like a puzzle to find the right words to express what the music is saying.”

Watch Paul Simon perform “The Girl For Me” (at 5:39) in 2008.

Photo: James Kriegsmann/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images