<P> Meanwhile, director Mike Nichols, then filming The Graduate, had become fascinated with Simon & Garfunkel's records, listening to them extensively before and after filming . He met Davis to ask for permission to license Simon & Garfunkel music for his film . Davis viewed it as a perfect fit and envisioned a bestselling soundtrack album . Simon was not as receptive and was cautious of "selling out". However, after meeting Nichols and being impressed by his wit and the script, he agreed to write new songs for the film . Leonard Hirshan, a powerful agent at William Morris, negotiated a deal that paid Simon $25,000 to submit three songs to Nichols and producer Lawrence Turman . When Nichols was not impressed by Simon's songs "Punky's Dilemma" and "Overs", Simon and Garfunkel offered another, incomplete song, which became "Mrs. Robinson"; Nichols loved it . </P> <P> Simon & Garfunkel's fourth studio album, Bookends, was recorded in fits and starts from late 1966 to early 1968 . Although the album had long been planned, work did not begin in earnest until late 1967 . The duo were signed under an older contract that specified the label pay for sessions, and Simon & Garfunkel took advantage of this, hiring viola and brass players and percussionists . The record's brevity reflects its concise and perfectionist production; the team spent over 50 hours recording "Punky's Dilemma", for example, and rerecorded vocal parts, sometimes note by note, until they were satisfied . Garfunkel's songs and voice took a lead role on some of the songs, and the harmonies for which the duo was known gradually disappeared . For Simon, Bookends represented the end of the collaboration and became an early indicator of his intentions to go solo . </P> <P> Prior to release, the band helped put together and performed at the Monterey Pop Festival, which signaled the beginning of the Summer of Love on the West Coast . "Fakin' It" was issued as a single that summer and found only modest success on AM radio; the duo were much more focused on the rising FM format, which played album tracks and treated their music with respect . In January 1968, the duo appeared on a Kraft Music Hall special, Three for Tonight, performing ten songs, largely taken from their previous album . Bookends was released by Columbia Records in April 1968, 24 hours before the assassination of civil rights movement activist Martin Luther King Jr., which spurred nationwide outrage and riots . The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs in the issue dated April 27, 1968, climbing to number one and staying at that position for seven non-consecutive weeks; it remained on the chart as a whole for 66 weeks . Bookends received such heavy orders weeks in advance of its release that Columbia was able to apply for award certification before copies left the warehouse, a fact it touted in magazine ads . The album became the duo's bestselling to date, helped by the attention for the Graduate soundtrack ten weeks earlier, creating an initial combined sales figure of over five million units . </P> <P> Davis had predicted this, and suggested raising the list price of Bookends by one dollar to $5.79, above the then standard retail price, to compensate for a large poster included in vinyl copies . Simon scoffed and viewed it as charging a premium on "what was sure to be that year's best - selling Columbia album". According to biographer Marc Eliot, Davis was "offended by what he perceived as their lack of gratitude for what he believed was his role in turning them into superstars". Rather than implement Davis' plan, Simon & Garfunkel signed a contract extension with Columbia that guaranteed them a higher royalty rate . At the 1969 Grammy Awards, the lead single "Mrs. Robinson" became the first rock and roll song to receive Record of the Year, and also won Best Contemporary Pop Performance by a Duo or Group . </P>

Who wrote most of the simon and garfunkel songs