Disturbed Cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence’ Certified Double Platinum
Disturbed's cover of the Simon & Garfunkel 1965 classic "The Sound of Silence" has officially been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, with more than two million units' worth of sales and streams tallied. The landmark was reached on May 26.
Last April, Disturbed frontman David Draiman spoke to Loudwire about how the band came up with the decision to cover the track, saying, "The lyrics always spoke to me ever since I was first exposed to it as a child."
"It certainly spoke to Mike [Wengren, Disturbed drummer], as well," Draiman added. "You know we have to give credit where credit is due. It was really his suggestion. If you listen to the intricacy of the lyric it’s talking about someone who is enveloped in the darkness, who welcomes it, who feels like he is a bit of an outcast in a world full of chaos, who feels like someone who’s an introvert in a world full of extroverts, who feels like someone who’s bearing witness to things that they can’t come to terms with and who’s trying to express words that fall on fears and unfortunately wisdom that doesn’t end up getting developed. Tremendously poignant."
Disturbed's version of the "The Sound of Silence" was released in December of 2015 and hit No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock and Hard Rock Digital Songs charts and topped out at No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. Last spring, following a performance of the track on the late night talk show Conan, original composer Paul Simon reached out to Draiman to praise him.
“Really powerful performance on Conan the other day," Simon wrote. "First time I’d seen you do it live. Nice. Thanks.” Draiman responded, “Mr. Simon, I am honored beyond words. We only hoped to pay homage and honor to the brilliance of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Your compliment means the world to me/us and we are eternally grateful.”
The RIAA's certification program launched with the gold record in 1958. Currently, the institution awards a gold honor for 500,000 units sold, a platinum honor for one million units sold and a diamond award for more than 10 million units sold, with 100 streams counting as one certifiable unit.
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