Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits

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Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
Sggreatesthits.jpg
Greatest hits album by
Simon & Garfunkel
ReleasedJune 14, 1972 (1972-06-14)
RecordedMarch 1964–November 1969
Genre Folk rock
Length43:25
Label Columbia
Producer
Simon & Garfunkel chronology
Bridge over Troubled Water
(1970)		Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
(1972)		 Collected Works
(1981)

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits is the first compilation album from Simon & Garfunkel, which was released on June 14, 1972, two years after Simon & Garfunkel had parted ways. [1]

Contents

The album is currently available on CD under Legacy's Playlist banner.

Overview

The album was a mix of original studio recordings and four previously unreleased live recordings. The album's minimalist packaging does not specifically date the latter; however, the live versions of "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" and "Kathy's Song" included on Greatest Hits were also included on the 2008 album Live 1969 . The liner notes to Live 1969 state that these two songs were both recorded at a November 1969 concert in St. Louis, Missouri. According to the liner notes from Collected Works , however, the version of "Kathy's Song" was taken from a 1968 concert in Vermont.

In a 1975 BBC Radio 1 interview, Roy Halee identified this version of "The 59th Street Bridge Song" as being from Simon & Garfunkel's 1970 performance at Carnegie Hall, "the last concert they did together" (prior to their disbanding later in 1970). A live version of "Homeward Bound" was also included on the album.

The remaining ten studio songs comprise nine singles released between 1965 and 1972, "America" being issued as a single several years after its appearance as a track on the Bookends album, and one album track, "Bookends" (without its parent song "Old Friends").

All the singles included, except "America," "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)," and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" made the Top Ten, with the last peaking at No. 11. "Mrs. Robinson" topped the chart aided by its appearance in Mike Nichols' hit movie The Graduate . "The Sound of Silence" and "Bridge over Troubled Water" also peaked at No. 1 as singles in their studio versions, and "The Boxer" peaked as a single at No. 7.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [3]

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits peaked on the U.S. albums chart at No. 5. [4] On the UK Album Chart, it was a No. 2 hit. The album has proven a long and durable seller, currently being certified for 14 million units sold in the U.S. alone. It is easily their best-selling album in the U.S., and holds the record in the U.S. for the best-selling album by a duo.

In 2003, the album was ranked No. 293 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track listing

All songs composed by Paul Simon unless otherwise noted.

Side one

  1. "Mrs. Robinson" (some pressings use the single mix with an early fade-out at 3:51; later pressings revert to the Bookends album version at 4:02) – 3:51 or 4:02
  2. "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" (Live in St. Louis, MO, November 1969) – 2:25
  3. "The Boxer" – 5:11
  4. "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" (Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, July 1970, with applause cross-fade into the studio version of "The Sound of Silence") – 1:50
  5. "The Sound of Silence" (Acoustic version with electric overdubs) – 3:11
  6. "I Am a Rock" – 2:53
  7. "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (Traditional; arranged by Simon, Art Garfunkel) – 3:09

Side two

  2. "Homeward Bound" (Live at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY, July 1970, with applause cross-fade into the studio version of "Bridge over Troubled Water") – 2:42
  3. "Bridge over Troubled Water" – 4:53
  4. "America" – 3:33
  5. "Kathy's Song" (Live in St. Louis, MO, November 1969) – 3:23
  6. "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" (Daniel Alomía Robles; English lyrics by Simon, arranged by Jorge Milchberg) – 3:08
  7. "Bookends" (same track as "Bookends Theme" from the Bookends LP; although cross-faded from "Old Friends" on Bookends, on this album it is a stand-alone track) – 1:21
  8. "Cecilia" (some pressings use the single mix from 1970; reissues use a hybrid of the single and the album version from Bridge over Troubled Water) – 2:53

Charts

Peak positions

ChartPosition
Australian Kent Music Report [5] 10
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) [6] 5
Canadian RPM Albums Chart [7] 2
Dutch Albums Chart [8] 1
German Media Control Albums Chart [9] 6
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart [10] 3
New Zealand Albums Chart [11] 12
Norwegian Albums Chart [12] 7
Spanish Albums Chart [13] 2
Swedish Kvällstoppen Chart [14] 2
UK Albums Chart [15] 2
US Billboard 200 [16] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1972)Position
Dutch Albums Chart [17] 3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [18] 3
UK Albums Chart [19] 3
US Top Pop Albums 72
Chart (1977)Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [20] 13
Chart (1978)Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [21] 29
Chart (1979)Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [22] 16
Chart (1980)Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [23] 48

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Belgium (BRMA) [24] Gold25,000*
Canada (Music Canada) [25] 5× Platinum500,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [26] Gold33,092 [26]
France (SNEP) [27] Diamond1,000,000*
Germany (BVMI) [28] 2× Platinum1,500,000 [29]
Greece (IFPI Greece) [30] Gold50,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [31] Platinum20,000*
Ireland—25,000 [32]
Italy (FIMI) [33]
sales since 2009 		Gold25,000*
Japan—123,000 [10]
New Zealand (RMNZ) [34] Gold7,500‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [35]
Columbia/Sony 		4× Platinum200,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [35]
Columbia/Sony Music 		2× Platinum100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [36]
1972-2006 sales 		Platinum1,840,454 [37]
United Kingdom (BPI) [38]
reissue, 2011-2025 sales 		4× Platinum1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA) [39] 14× Platinum14,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Art Garfunkel Official Website - 1970-1974 Chronology". Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  2. ↑ Allmusic Review
  3. ↑ Stephen Holden (August 3, 1972). "Simon & Garfunkel: Greatest Hits". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 23, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Simon & Garfunkel | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  6. ↑ "ultratop.be Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits". Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Archived from the original (ASP) on November 6, 2012. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 18, No. 4, September 09 1972". RPM . Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  8. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts . Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Album Search: Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved January 10, 2014.[ dead link ]
  10. 1 2 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
  11. ↑ "charts.nz Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand . Retrieved January 10, 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits" (ASP). Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  13. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  14. ↑ "Swedish Charts 1969–1972 / Kvällstoppen – Listresultaten vecka för vecka > Augusti 1972 > 15 Augusti" (PDF) (in Swedish). hitsallertijden.nl. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2014.Note: Kvällstoppen combined sales for albums and singles in the one chart. Greatest Hits peaked at the number-four on the hit parade, next to two singles — "Sister Jane" by New World and "Beautiful Sunday" by Daniel Boone.
  15. ↑ "Simon & Garfunkel > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart . Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Billboard ((( Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". billboard.com. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1972" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1976. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  19. ↑ "The Official UK Charts Company : ALBUM CHART HISTORY". December 17, 2007. Archived from the original on December 17, 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1977. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1978. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1979. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1980. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2007". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Simon and Garfunkel – Greatest Hits". Music Canada.
  26. 1 2 "Simon & Garfunkel" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland . Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  27. ↑ "French album certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits" (in French). InfoDisc.Select SIMON & GARFUNKEL and click OK. 
  28. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Simon & Garfunkel; 'Greatest Hits')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  29. ↑ "West Germany - Domestic Product Makes Chart Inroads". Billboard . Vol. 94, no. 2. January 16, 1982. p. 48. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved August 29, 2022– via Google Books.
  30. ↑ "Grecian Gold" (PDF). Billboard. August 28, 1982. p. 40. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  31. ↑ "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1979". IFPI Hong Kong.
  32. ↑ Stewart, Ken (October 27, 1973). "From the Music Capitols of the World - Dublin" (PDF). Billboard. p. 58. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
  34. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Simon and Garfunkel – Greatest Hits". Radioscope. Retrieved December 21, 2024.Type Greatest Hits in the "Search:" field.
  35. 1 2 "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Greatest Hits')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  36. ↑ "British album certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry.
  37. ↑ Harris, Bill (November 17, 2006). "Queen rules – in album sales". Jam! . Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  38. ↑ "British album certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  39. ↑ "American album certifications – Simon & Garfunkel – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America.
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