The Whitstein Brothers - The Sounds of Silence (3:04)

The Whitstein Brothers - The Sounds of Silence (3:04)

Contact:
Ashley Moyer - 615.928.4777
amoyer@rounder.com

Songwriter: Paul Simon
Publishing & PRO: Paul Simon Music, BMI

"As teenagers in 1963, after auditioning for producers Chet Atkins and Marvin Hughes, The Whitstein Brothers were encouraged to incorporate our country duet style with some of the folk sounds of the 1960's. We soon developed a special interest in the sounds, adapting our style with some of the folk songs of that era. The song, ‘The Sounds of Silence’ became a favorite. Because of its lyrics and melody, we were challenged to attempt our own version of this awesome song, knowing we could not improve upon what Simon and Garfunkel had done.

While working on the vocal arrangement, we decided to do some slight harmony deviations from the original --- For example, at the end of each verse, the high lead would change to tenor, and we also changed the harmony on the first lines of some of the verses. In the studio we were fascinated by the way in which Jerry Douglas and the other musicians had instinctively arranged the music in such a way as to match our vocal arrangement. When it all came together, we were so thrilled, because it was exactly the way we had envisioned the song to sound--- with the country duet flavor of The Whitstein Brothers without destroying the writer's intent.’” ~ Charles Whitstein

Musicians:
Jerry Douglas; Dobro
Hoot Hester: Fiddle
Roy M. "Junior" Husky: Bass
Ricky Simkins: Fiddle
Adam Steffey: Mandolin
Jeff White: Guitar
Charles Whitstein: Vocals
Robert Whitstein: Vocals