Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "The Boxer" (1969), and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970)—reached number one on singles charts worldwide.
The Paul Simon Songbook is the first solo studio album by Paul Simon. It was released in the UK in 1965. It was made available in the US as part of the LP box set Paul Simon: Collected Works (1981). The album was produced by Reginald Warburton and Stanley West as CBS Records LP 62579; remastered CD Columbia/Legacy 90281.
Arthur Ira Garfunkel is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Jimmy Layne Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "MacArthur Park", "Wichita Lineman", "Worst That Could Happen", "Galveston", and "All I Know". He has had successful collaborations with Glen Campbell, Michael Feinstein, Linda Ronstadt, the 5th Dimension, The Supremes, Art Garfunkel, and Richard Harris.
"The Sound of Silence", originally "The Sounds of Silence", is a song by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. The song was written by Paul Simon over several months in 1963 and 1964. A studio audition led to the duo signing a record deal with Columbia Records, and the original acoustic version of the song was recorded in March 1964 at Columbia Studios in New York City and included on their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. Released on October 19, 1964, the album was a commercial failure and led to the duo disbanding; Simon returned to England, and Art Garfunkel to his studies at Columbia University.
"America" is a song performed by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, which they included on their fourth studio album, Bookends, in 1968. It was produced by the duo and Roy Halee. The song was later issued as the B-side of the single “For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her ” in 1972 to promote the release of the compilation album Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits. After peaking in the charts in July 1972, the song was switched to the A-side of the single and re-entered the charts in November 1972.
Thomas Blanchard Wilson Jr. was an American record producer best known for his work in the 1960s with Bob Dylan, the Mothers of Invention, Simon & Garfunkel, the Velvet Underground, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Eddie Harris, Nico, Eric Burdon and the Animals, the Blues Project, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, and others.
"I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon alone as the opening track on his album The Paul Simon Songbook which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, as the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, re-recorded it on December 14, 1965, and included as the final track on their album Sounds of Silence, which they released on January 17, 1966. It was released as a single in 1966, and subsequently included as the B-side of the 1971 A-side reissue of "The 59th Street Bridge Song ".
Simon & Garfunkel, an American singer-songwriter duo, has released five studio albums, fifteen compilation albums, four live albums, one extended play, twenty-six singles, one soundtrack, and four box sets since 1964. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel first formed a duo in 1957 as Tom & Jerry, before separating and later reforming as Simon & Garfunkel.
Old Friends is the second box set of Simon & Garfunkel songs, released in November 1997. The three-disc anthology collects most of the duo's best-known works, and also includes previously unreleased outtakes. Some of these outtakes subsequently appeared on both the reissues of Simon & Garfunkel's five studio albums as well as the later boxed set The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964-1970).
Sounds of Silence is the second studio album by Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, "The Sound of Silence", which originally was released as "The Sounds of Silence". The song had earlier been released in an acoustic version on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., and later on the soundtrack to the movie The Graduate. Without the knowledge of Paul Simon or Art Garfunkel, electric guitars, bass and drums were overdubbed by Columbia Records staff producer Tom Wilson on June 15, 1965. This new version was released as a single in September 1965, and opens the album.
Watermark is the third solo studio album by Art Garfunkel, originally released in October 1977 on Columbia Records. The first single, "Crying in My Sleep", failed to chart, but the follow-up, a version of "(What a) Wonderful World" reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The songs "Watermark" and "Paper Chase" had previously been performed by Richard Harris on his albums A Tramp Shining and The Yard Went On Forever. Watermark is also noted as being the final recording sessions of legendary saxophonist Paul Desmond who died of lung cancer shortly thereafter. Actress Laurie Bird, Garfunkel's girlfriend, made the album cover's photograph. Some promotional copies of the single "Crying in My Sleep", released in advance of the album, referred to the album as Art Garfunkel, suggesting Garfunkel initially planned for the album to be self-titled.
Scissors Cut is the fifth solo studio album by Art Garfunkel released in August 1981 on Columbia Records. It was his second album to miss the US Billboard Top 40 and his second album containing no US Top 40 singles. The month following its release, Garfunkel would reunite with former partner, Paul Simon, for their famous 1981 Concert in Central Park.
"All I Know" is a song written by American songwriter Jimmy Webb, first recorded by Art Garfunkel on his 1973 debut solo album, Angel Clare, released by Columbia Records. Instrumental backing was provided by members of the Wrecking Crew, L.A. session musicians. Garfunkel's version is the best known and highest-charting version, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Easy Listening chart for four weeks in October 1973. Garfunkel's version begins with a solo piano, before he begins to sing. When the orchestration is beginning to fade out, the solo piano takes over, playing melodic passages to the song's end.
The Collection: Simon & Garfunkel is the fourth box set of Simon & Garfunkel recordings. Initially released November 15, 2004 as a 3-CD set of the second, fourth and fifth Simon & Garfunkel studio albums, it was later reissued November 26, 2007, expanded to six discs, including all five studio albums, plus a DVD of the September 19, 1981 free concert in Central Park. All six discs are in a mini-LP format and the albums come with the bonus tracks that were presented in The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964-1970). All of the discs in the 6-CD collection, and their cases, are housed in a box set featuring a silhouetted image of the duo with Paul Simon holding an acoustic guitar and Art Garfunkel sitting on a stool. The earlier 3-CD set had alternative artwork with a photo of the duo.
Across America is the only live album by American singer Art Garfunkel. It is the only official live recording he has released to date. The album was recorded live over two evenings - 12 and 13 April 1996 in The Registry Hall at Ellis Island, New York.
The Animals' Christmas is the sixth solo studio album and the first Christmas album by vocalist Art Garfunkel, released in October 1986 by Columbia Records. The album was written by Jimmy Webb and features vocals by Garfunkel, Amy Grant, and Wimbledon King's College Choir. The Animals' Christmas tells the story of the Nativity of Jesus from the perspective of the animals present. The album received positive reviews, with one writer calling it "one of the best Christmas albums of the '80s." The album failed to chart.
The Concert in Central Park, released in February 1982 on Warner Bros. Records, is the first live album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. It was recorded on the 19th September 1981 at a free benefit concert on the Great Lawn in Central Park, New York City, where the pair performed in front of an audience reported at the time as 500,000 people. A film of the event was shown on TV and released on video. Proceeds went toward the redevelopment and maintenance of the park, which had deteriorated due to lack of municipal funding. The concert and album marked the start of a three-year reunion of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.
Leah Kunkel is an American singer, songwriter and entertainment law attorney.
