Paul Simon single-handedly changed the world of songwriting. His writing is among the best, if not the best, of all time. It changed the lives of millions of young teenagers who felt more connected to Simon's introverted musical style than to Bob Dylan's protest music. Simon was the first to use poetry as a songwriting style, which has been an important characteristic of current singer-songwriters. This style began to develop at a young age when Simon collaborated with a high school friend, Art Garfunkel. Garfunkel was also an excellent song writer and complemented Simon's style very well. Simon was into doo-ops, teen songs, Elvis Pressley and harmonicas. He was also deeply interested in basic musical genres, and it's the reason why Lady Smith Black Mambazo became almost popular with their kind of African tribal when he put them on the Graceland album. Paul Simon first picked up a guitar at the age of fourteen, and by the age of sixteen, both Simon and his friend Garfunkel were constantly going to their makeshift studio in Simon's basement. The pair did this constantly until they learned how to mix and finally put together a demo tape. Then, finally, the break that Simon and Garfunkel had been waiting for finally arrived. A song the boys had written together and rehearsed at school events had been well received, so they decided to demo it. One day at a local studio the couple recorded the song "Hey, Schoolgirl". In the studio waiting for the next recording spot was a song-plugger named Sid Prosen who had heard the song and saw great potential in it. He told the boys he would make them "big stars!" (Humphries, Patrick. Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years. New York: Doubleday, copyright 1988. Page 6) "Hey, Schoolgirl," It Was Soon Said was released and remained on the Billboard 100 for a couple of months, peaking at number 54 and selling 100,000 copies. This got Simon into the mindset that this was what he was going to do with his life, and so he made his songwriting something he dedicated himself to and practiced, and he vowed that he wouldn't sell himself short in his songwriting songs like many acts of the 50s and '60.