Hand Claps: Bye Bye Love

Simon & Garfunkel: Bye Bye Love

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When I was a young tyke in the early '70s, we didn't have much contemporary music in our home. My Mom liked Patsy Cline, and my Dad liked Glenn Miller.

But we did have Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water on 8-track. My siblings and I (I'm one of six) played that thing to death. While their version of "Bye Bye Love" was not one of my favorites from the album (I preferred "Baby Driver" for the sound effects and "Cecilia" for the crazy rhythm), it still embedded itself in my consciousness. Apparently, I'm not alone. Whenever I sing this song with other people, they invariably use the Simon & Garfunkel phrasing, rather than the Everly's.

The S&G version was recorded live in Ames, Iowa in 1969, and it's the audience who provide the enthusiastic hand claps throughout the song.