Simon and Garfunkel

Simon and Garfunkel were an American popular music duo comprised of Paul Simon and Arthur "Art" Garfunkel. Simon and Garfunkel were among the most popular recording artists of the 1960s, and are best known for their songs "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". They have received several Grammys and are inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Subsequent careers

Simon and Garfunkel's first reunion since their second breakup was at a June, 1972 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden for presidential candidate George McGovern. On October 18, 1975 the duo made an appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live. They performed "The Boxer" and "Scarborough Fair" together. Several still photos were shown during the show of the pair visiting their childhood neighborhood in Queens in New York City. That fall also saw the release of their first new single since the breakup, "My Little Town." The song made the top ten and appeared on both of their solo albums released that year.

Related Topics:
1972 - Madison Square Garden - George McGovern - October 18 - 1975 - NBC - Saturday Night Live - Queens - New York City

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The duo has reunited off and on since then, most notably for a free concert in New York's Central Park on September 19, 1981, which attracted a crowd of around 500,000 people and was televised and subsequently released on LP, CD, VHS, LD, and DVD. The success of the 1981 concert prompted the duo to go on a world tour in 1982 (Europe and Japan) and 1983 (The U.S. and Canada).

Related Topics:
A free concert - Central Park - September 19 - 1981 - 1981 - 1982 - 1983 - Canada

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Simon and Garfunkel even started work on what would have been their first new studio album in more than a decade, tentatively titled Think Too Much. But creative differences led Simon to wipe Garfunkel's vocals off the few tracks that were completed. The solo album Hearts and Bones was the result, and a long period of estrangement for the duo followed.

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Their next public appearance was in 1990, when the two performed at a ceremony for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Simon and Garfunkel appeared together in 1993 for 21 sold out concerts in New York, with half of the show being Paul Simon solo with a band and the other half Simon & Garfunkel. Later the same year they did some charity concerts, like for the Bridge School Concerts.

Related Topics:
1990 - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - 1993 - Paul Simon

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In July 2002, Columbia Legacy issued a previously unreleased live recording of a Simon and Garfunkel concert, Live In New York City, 1967. It features an almost-complete recording of a performance given by the duo at Philharmonic Hall, the Lincoln Center in New York City on January 22, 1967.

Related Topics:
2002 - Live In New York City, 1967 - Philharmonic Hall - Lincoln Center - January 22 - 1967

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On February 23, 2003, Simon and Garfunkel reunited to perform in public for the first time since 1993, singing "The Sound Of Silence" as the opening act of the Grammy Awards. Before the show, the duo was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring their musical contributions over the past four and a half decades.

Related Topics:
February 23 - 2003 - 1993 - Grammy Awards - Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

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The good feelings generated by their appearance on the Grammys led to another thaw in their relationship. Soon, Simon and Garfunkel launched a two-month long reunion tour of the United States (and Toronto, Canada), which ran from October 16 to December 21, 2003. Entitled "Old Friends," their first tour in over twenty years included forty shows in twenty-eight cities and featured special guests The Everly Brothers.

Related Topics:
United States - Toronto, Canada - October 16 - December 21 - 2003 - The Everly Brothers

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The success of the first Old Friends tour led to an encore in June and July 2004 with over 25 shows, this time also in Europe. In July 2004, they completed the tour with a flourish, with a finale at the Colosseum in Rome before an audience which, according to news media reports, was probably even larger than the audience at the famous Central Park concert.

Related Topics:
June - July - 2004 - Colosseum - Rome - Central Park

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