A Hazy Shade of Winter song as "one of [Simon and Garfunkel's] best songs, and certainly one of the toughest and more rock-oriented". In 1987, the Bangles were approached to record a song for the soundtrack of the film "Less Than Zero". They chose to record a cover of "A Hazy Shade of Winter", which they had been performing live since at least as far back as March 1983. Their cover, simply titled "Hazy Shade of Winter", was a harder-edged rock song that removed most of the bridge section. The record, like the rest of the soundtrack album, was produced by Rick Rubin. After a
Columbia Records only found out about the single being a hit via the music press. The dramatic success of the song prompted Simon to return to the US, the duo reformed, and they soon became one of the flagship acts of the folk-rock boom of the mid-1960s. Their next album "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" went to No. 4 on the "Billboard" album chart and spawned the Top 20 single "A Hazy Shade of Winter", but progress slowed during 1966-67 as Simon struggled with writer's block and the demands of constant touring. They shot back to the top in 1968 after Simon