“Simon & Garfunkel” was a trending topic Thursday on Twitter and Facebook — but not because 50 years ago this week they scored their first No. 1 hit with “The Sound of Silence.”

Paul Simon (right) and Art Garfunkel in 1982. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Paul Simon (right) and Art Garfunkel in 1982. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Instead the duo’s iconic “America” made noise as the backdrop to a Bernie Sanders campaign ad set to be released Friday in Iowa but posted online. CNN said a slightly different ad would air in New Hampshire, the other early voting state.

Like the Democratic Socialist candidate for president, “The Sound of Silence” was a late bloomer.

“For starters, it was originally released in 1964 on the group’s debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.,” noted metv. The record flopped and Simon & Garfunkel split up. In 1965, the track began to get some radio play. This led the produce to remix the cut and overdub some new instrumentation. Meanwhile, Paul Simon was living in England. Art Garfunkel was living with his parents.”

“America,” about a young couple hitchhiking across the county with the chorus “They’ve all come to look for America,” was properly licensed but “does not imply an endorsement from Simon and Garfunkel,” said Sanders representatives.

The ad went to the top of Twitter charts, with a few discordant notes.

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