Art Garfunkel Was Born On November 5, 1941

Art Garfunkel was born as Arthur Ira Garfunkel on November 5th of 1941 in the Queens borough of New York City.

He is best known for being half of the folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel with Paul Simon. He met Simon in the 6th grade.

Simon and Garfunkel had many hits including 1965's "The Sounds of Silence" which reached #1 in the US, 1966's "I Am A Rock" which reached #3 in the US (and #17 in the UK), 1968's "Mrs. Robinson" which reached #1 in the US (and #4 in the UK) and 1970's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" which reached #1 in both the US and the UK.

After Simon & Garfunkel broke up in 1970, Garfunkel went on to release many solo albums. 1973's Angel Clare was his first solo album and it charted at a career high #5 on the US charts. His peak in the UK came with 1979's Fate for Breakfast which charted at #2 thanks primarily to the #1 UK single "Bright Eyes." He also had a #1 UK single with 1975's "I Only Have Eyes For You."

Garfunkel has been primarily a singer throughout his career. He never wrote any of his own songs until 2002's Everything Waits to be Noticed.

Simon & Garfunkel Reunite For Their Concert At Central Park On September 19, 1981

Simon & Garfunkel reunited for a free concert at Central Park in New York City on September 19th of 1981.

Simon & Garfunkel were one of the most successful groups of the 1960s. They broke up in 1970 and went on to solo careers. They had reunited twice previous to this performance. Once in 1972 and once in 1975.

Over 500,000 people were in attendance for the show which was recorded & released as an LP and as a video.

They played some of their biggest hits like "Mrs. Robinson," "Homeward Bound," "America," "The Boxer," "The Sound of Silence," & "Bridge Over Troubled Water." They also performed quite a few of Paul Simon's solo hits such as "Still Crazy After All These Years" & "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard."

"Sound of Silence"


Download Music To Your iPod

Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" Reached #1 In The US On February 28th, 1970

On this day, February 28th, 37 years ago Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water reached the top of the singles charts in the United States and it stayed at the top of the charts for six weeks. The song also went to #1 in the UK.

It went on to win the Grammy for both song of the year (songwriters award for Paul Simon) and record of the year.

Simon & Garfunkel split up in 1970 and ironically this song which was their biggest commercial success is often pinpointed as the breaking point. With Simon upset that he had Garfunkel sing the song's lead part because he felt Garfunkle was getting too much credit for his song.

Bridge Over Troubled Water has been covered by numerous artists including Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, LeAnn Rimes, Whitney Houston, Annie Lennox, Charlotte Church, and Willie Nelson.

Download Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water

The video below is from the famous Simon & Garfunkel reunion concert at Central Park in New York City in 1981.



Please note that the new MusicByDay.com Music Forum is now live.