There are many things about being a kid that one never forgets.
I will never forget being 11 years old and sitting in the passenger seat of my aunt’s black car, eating ice cream from the long-gone Baskin-Robbins that was almost hidden in a shopping center near Desert Inn and Sandhill, not far from the Boulder Station on Boulder Highway in the southeast corner of Vegas. The CD playing on the car radio was 1972’s Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits. I still remember the powerful and dramatic crash that hit the la-la-lie chorus of “The Boxer.” I still remember setting my teenage romantic angst to the psychedelic sound of “The Sounds of Silence.” Finally, I remember almost feeling shivers when I heard the dramatic “Wall of Sound”-style of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” that managed to be matched by Art Garfunkel belting those infamous high notes in the song’s crescendo.
Nothing will ever supplant what I felt when I first heard that performance. That is honestly saying something when one considers that “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is perhaps the most covered song among the many songs Paul Simon had written over the last 70 years. Like choosing the best James Bond, choosing the best cover of “Bridge" is almost futile. Here are the five covers that I consider the best apart from the original.
#5 Johnny Cash & Fiona Apple
In one of my first Medium pieces, I wrote about Cash’s 2002 American IV: The Man Comes Around, and how it was a slightly mixed effort in terms of Cash and Rick Rubin’s strategy of covering contemporary music. One of the more successful covers on that album (outside of “Hurt”, of course) was this lovely duet with Fiona Apple. As I wrote in my review, the age difference between 70-year-old Cash and 21-year-old Apple framed this version as showing that friendship and strong bonds can transcend many differences and barriers, including race, gender, and age. The beauty of “Bridge” is that it works in any scenario. That’s likely why it has been covered so much and why it will continue to be so.
#4 Elvis Presley
It’s important to note that even the covers that I rank low on this list are not inferior by the ranking. I often believe that the number game is like the underrated/overrated game. They are just games. What you may rank at the bottom may score the highest marks with another, and that is simply fine. Elvis’ version of “Bridge” is certainly one of the most famous cover versions, and it is certainly a song Elvis gave his heart to from his early Vegas performances right down to his final concert ever on June 26, 1977. (At Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.) Listening to any live version of Presley’s “Bridge” is seeing the King in full command of his powers. His emotional conviction and stage command is a perfect formula for this number. Thanks to YouTube, one can search for any of Elvis’ many live performances of “Bridge” and choose your favorite. I would probably recommend his That’s The Way It Is performance live from Vegas in 1970 or the emotional final live Indianapolis version, recorded only a few weeks before his passing.
Simon himself had a complicated relationship with hearing his boyhood idol taking on his ballad. He reportedly said, after first hearing Elvis’ version, “How can I compete with that?” By the time Simon sat down with Howard Stern last year, he clearly cooled on Elvis’ cover. Simon admitted to Stern that while he loved how Elvis sang the ballad, he felt it was not as good as it could have been. In his eyes, Presley was let down by the decision to more or less copy Simon’s arrangement. “The problem with this is, if you left Elvis Presley to just sing that song, he would have been great," Simon said. "Instead, they virtually copied the Simon & Garfunkel arrangement, which is kind of a dearth of imagination,"
#3 Paul Simon (Solo)
It is now a part of the S&G legend that Simon initially declined Art’s suggestion that he [Paul] sing the lead vocal on his own song and forever regretted it afterwards. Simon also felt left out when, while touring with Art, he would be off-stage and hear Art take ovation after ovation when he sung “Bridge”, not pausing to acknowledge Simon as the song’s composer. The various other covers of Bridge that followed probably made it hard for Paul to find his own space to try a hand at “Bridge”. While he did sneak a few of his own versions on TV appearances after splitting with Art, even releasing a live version for 1974’s Live Rhymin’, it was not until the early 1990s, around the time of Rhythm of The Saints, that there was enough space for Simon to experiment without the fear of comparison.
Simon’s later live versions of “Bridge” for his August 1991 Central Park concert, and his 1992 performance on MTV Unplugged both feature Paul’s relaxed tenor, mixed with a jazz-style phrasing. It recalls his “Still Crazy After All These Years” style of singing. What is notable about his own version is he seems to be blending the original arrangement he wrote with the style of my #1 pick on this list. The crucial key to Paul’s versions is the gospel-flavor of pianist Richard Tee, whose blend of jazz and gospel informs the soulful arrangement, especially at the song’s end. Sadly, Tee’s Unplugged performance would be one of his last with Simon. He died in June 1993 of prostate cancer.
By the time Paul took to the stage on Saturday Night Live in October 2018 to perform a moving version of “Bridge” (on his 77th birthday, no less), he had more than earned his place to not only be recognized as the songwriter but also as one of the perfect voices for his perfect ballad.
#2 Roy Orbison
Considering that Elvis himself called Roy “the greatest singer in the world”, I would think he would appreciate me ranking The Big “O” over him. His live 1972 performance, while on tour in Australia, is not as well-known as some of the versions listed here, but Roy’s straight-forward fidelity to the Simon’s arrangement is a lovely tribute to the dramatic pop ballad strength of the original, just as Presley’s version was. Roy, an underrated songwriter in his own right, was not known much for covers, but when he did, his four-octave range and his soulful baritone made him a perfect ambassador for those songs blessed by his touch.
Even before covering “Bridge”, the S&G influence was clear in some of Orbison’s songwriting. His 1967 ballad “Communication Breakdown” seemed to echo some of S&G’s pop ballads, only blended with Orbison’s recurring themes of lost romance.
#1 Aretha Frankin
You can’t argue with Paul Simon himself.
Outside of Garfunkel’s version, he cited the Queen of Soul’s “Bridge” as his own favorite cover, as recent as his wonderful interview with Stephen Colbert earlier this year. Franklin’s “Bridge” is certainly the one cover that, more than the others, has had the largest charge of fans proclaiming it superior to the original. I only slightly fall short of that agreement, but there is no doubt that as she did with “R-E-S-P-E-C-T", Aretha took control of the song and pulled out the gospel roots that Simon himself sensed after he finished writing the song. Whereas Simon felt Elvis’ version was hindered by copying the original form, Franklin restructures the arrangement, especially with the addition of her own piano playing, emphasizing the spirituality.
There is also the matter of timing with Aretha’s version. Whereas most other covers of “Bridge” can easily emphasize the bonds of friendship and love. Aretha’s “Bridge” took that and added political and gospel flavor. Just as she turned “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” from a frustrated husband’s lament to a powerful anthem for the disenfranchised and abused, Franklin expanded the “Bridge” theme of friendship to serve as an open hand stretched out to a country still battling the scars of racism and violence.
Nothing will replace what Art Garfunkel brought to my ears at age 11, but I can concede that one of the definitive American voices of the last 50 years comes closer than anyone else to snatching the crown away from him.
In fact, to some listeners’ ears, Aretha Franklin does exactly that.