![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/Older-Art-Garfunkel-300x194-1.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe dialogue began for Art at age four, when his father brought home one of the first wire recorders. \u201cThat got me into music more than anything else,\u201d he recalls, \u201csinging and being able to record it.\u201d Seven years later he was singing Everly Brothers songs at school talent shows with a partner, Paul Simon, from his Forest Hills neighborhood in Queens, New York. \u201cThen rhythm \u2018n blues, rock \u2018n roll came along.\u201d He and Paul set their sights on the Brill Building. \u201cWe practiced in the basement so much that we got professional sounding. We made demos in Manhattan and knocked on all the doors of the record companies with our hearts in our throats.\u201d In 1957, \u2018Tom and Jerry\u2019 (as they were called then) landed a recording contract. Their first 45, \u201cHey, Schoolgirl\u201d (which they wrote together) scored a moderate hit and they appeared on \u201cAmerican Bandstand\u201d as high school seniors. \u201cWe got a quick education in the record business,\u201d Art recounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut I left and went to college.\u00a0 I was the kid who was going to find some way to make a \u2018decent\u2019 living.\u201d\u00a0 He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Columbia College, majoring in Art History; later he earned his Masters degree in Mathematics at Columbia University.\u00a0 But he never stopped singing, and even recorded several solo singles (as \u2018Artie Garr\u2019) while in school.\u00a0 When he met up again with Simon in 1962 and they began to rehearse, the decision was clear to get back together as a duo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They started performing as Simon & Garfunkel at the height of the folk music boom in late-1963, and within a year were signed to Columbia Records, who paired them with producer\/engineer Roy Halee. Simon & Garfunkel maintained a tireless pace in the recording studio and on the road, reaching a wide and loyal international audience. From 1964 to 1970 they recorded a groundbreaking string of classic albums (Wednesday Morning 3 A.M., Sounds Of Silence, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, The Graduate, Bookends, and Bridge Over Troubled Water<\/em>) and an equally impressive body of songs, many of which became pop standards, among them; \u201cThe Sound Of Silence,\u201d \u201cHomeward Bound,\u201d \u201cI Am a Rock,\u201d \u201cKathy\u2019s Song,\u201d \u201cApril Come She Will,\u201d \u201cFor Emily, Whenever I May Find Her,\u201d \u201cAt the Zoo,\u201d \u201cA Hazy Shade of Winter,\u201d \u201cAmerica,\u201d \u201cScarborough Fair\/Canticle,\u201d \u201cMrs. Robinson,\u201d \u201cThe Boxer,\u201d \u201cBridge Over Troubled Water,\u201d \u201cCecilia,\u201d \u201cEl Condor Pasa,\u201d and \u201cMy Little Town.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simon & Garfunkel won five Grammy awards together, two in 1968 (Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Performance\/ Duo or Group for \u201cMrs. Robinson\u201d); and three in 1970 (Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists for \u201cBridge Over Troubled Water,\u201d which also won Song of the Year and Best Engineered Recording). In 1977, \u201cBridge Over Troubled Water\u201d received the prestigious Britannia Award for \u201cBest International Pop LP and Single, 1952-77,\u201d as voted by the music industry of Great Britain. In 1972, Simon & Garfunkel Greatest Hits<\/em> was released, remaining on the charts for 131 weeks in the US and a staggering 179 weeks in the UK. The album has since sold 14 million units \u2013 the largest selling album of all time for a duo. In 1990, Paul and Art were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey were fabulous years,\u201d Art remembers warmly. \u201cI\u2019ll always be happy to say a little on behalf of the duo. I\u2019m proud of singing those great songs. Now they teach Paul Simon songs in churches and schools as part of the curricula\u2026 it seems that part of good citizenship is the knowledge of the songs we did. How can I grasp that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having already worked with director Mike Nichols on The Graduate<\/em> soundtrack, Art went on to feature acting roles in Nichols\u2019 movies Catch-22<\/em> (1969) and Carnal Knowledge <\/em>(\u201971), opposite Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen and Jack Nicholson. Art also garnered acclaim for his roles in films such as Nicholas Roeg\u2019s Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession<\/em> (\u201980) with Theresa Russell and Harvey Keitel, Good to Go<\/em> (\u201986) and Jennifer Lynch\u2019s controversial film, Boxing Helena <\/em>(\u201993).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art Garfunkel\u2019s first solo album, Angel Clare<\/em>, was released in 1973 to critical and commercial acclaim. The album contained the smash-hit Jimmy Webb penned tune \u201cAll I Know\u201d and was produced by long time Simon & Garfunkel engineer and co-producer, Roy Halee. Halee also produced \u201cSecond Avenue,\u201d which became a hit single in 1974.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Breakaway<\/em>, co-produced with Richard Perry was released in 1975 and contained the mega-hit \u201cI Only Have Eyes For You.\u201d In addition to the title song, the album contained a treasure trove of hits including, \u201cLooking For The Right One\u201d (background vocals by David Crosby, Graham Nash and Steven Bishop), \u201cRag Doll,\u201d 99 Miles From LA,\u201d the ex-Beach Boy Bruce Johnston\u2019s \u201cDisney Girls,\u201d as well as a reunion with Paul Simon on \u201cMy Little Town.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1976, Garfunkel recalls, \u201cI went to Muscle Shoals, Alabama for my third album, Watermark<\/em> (1977), an entire album of Jimmy Webb songs with the exception of Sam Cooke\u2019s timeless \u201cWhat a Wonderful World,\u201d produced by Phil Ramone, with vocals by Art, Paul Simon and James Taylor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBright Eyes,\u201d written and produced by Mike Batt and heavily featured in the animated film version of Watership Down<\/em>, topped the UK charts in spring 1979. The single sold over a million copies. Fate for Breakfast<\/em> was released in 1979 and included the hit single \u201cSince I Don\u2019t Have You\u201d featuring the brilliant Michael Brecker on tenor saxophone. The album reached #2 on the UK charts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Named one of the best albums of 1981 by Rolling Stone Magazine, Scissors Cut<\/em> included the Gallagher & Lyle hit, \u201cA Heart In New York.\u201d Stephen Holden in Rolling Stone wrote, this is \u201cArt Garfunkel\u2019s finest album, easily justifies his unfashionable formal approach to pop music by its sheer aural beauty.\u201d Shortly after the release of Scissor Cut<\/em>, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited for a concert in New York\u2019s Central Park before a crowd of 500,000. Following up on the success of the concert, HBO special and live album (Platinum), the duo undertook a worldwide tour in 1982-83.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Animals\u2019 Christmas<\/em>, recorded with Amy Grant and the London Symphony Orchestra, was released in 1986. Written by Jimmy Webb and engineered and co-produced by Jeff Emerick (former engineer for The Beatles). Art said at the time, \u201cIt\u2019s a gothic cathedral of an album, very ambitious. It was the type of project that would have been done by papal commission long ago.\u201d Emerick continued to work with Art on his sixth solo album, Lefty<\/em>, released in 1988. It includes a startling remake of Percy Sledge\u2019s \u201cWhen a Man Loves a Woman\u201d and a duet with Kenny Rankin on \u201cI Wonder Why.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the mid-1980\u2019s, Art\u2019s obsession with long-distance walking began to come into focus, starting with a three week hike across the rice paddies and back roads of Japan in 1982. By 1984, his walk across America was a major part of his annual schedule. Concurrently, \u201cI became a writer for the first time in my life,\u201d he says, \u201cnot a songwriter, but a literary guy.\u201d A collection of his prose poetry, Still Water<\/em>, was published in 1989.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the spring of 1990, at the request of the US State Department, Art performed before 1.4 million people at an outdoor rally to support and promote democracy in Sofia, Bulgaria. Enjoying the experience of live performances, Art began touring Europe, Asia and the United States in the early Nineties. \u201cI had horrible stage fright, but just going out there and doing it night after night has brought my adrenaline down to a manageable place. Now I feel I\u2019m just coming into my prime as a stage performer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art\u2019s eighth solo album, up \u2019til now, <\/em>offered up a compilation of old Simon & Garfunkel rarities, live Garfunkel recordings, and new studio ballads including Art\u2019s beautiful duet with James Taylor on \u201cCrying In The Rain,\u201d and both the theme for the television series, \u201cBrooklyn Bridge\u201d as well as \u201cTwo Sleepy People\u201d from the film A League of Their Own.<\/em> The albums release in October coincided with a series of 21 sold-out reunion shows with Paul Simon at New York\u2019s Paramount Theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having completed his walk across the United States in 1996, Disney released a documentary-style video that chronicles Art\u2019s 12-year walk as well as a celebratory concert at the Registry Hall on Ellis Island, where Art\u2019s ancestors had first stepped onto American soil. Across America<\/em>, a live CD of the concert was released later that year. \u201cMy goal,\u201d says Art, \u201cwas to feel my connection with America, one step at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting a bit restless, Art began his walk across Europe in 1998. Beginning in County Clare on the western coast of Ireland, Art will continue his trek eastward until he eventually reaches Istanbul. Art says he is \u201cnot a treadmill guy\u2026 this is my way of getting exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the heels of Across America<\/em>, Art recorded Songs From a Parent to a Child<\/em>, which was nominated for Best Musical Album for Children (1997). The album, inspired by his son James, features renditions of songs by Cat Stevens, Marvin Gaye, Lovin\u2019 Spoonful, James Taylor and Lennon\/McCartney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything Waits To Be Noticed<\/em>, marked Art\u2019s debut as a songwriter, as he collaborated with Buddy Mondlock and Maia Sharp on songs inspired by Still Water. <\/em>Reviewing the album, Jan Wenner wrote, \u201cI hear elements of everything from the surging folk pop of Buckingham\/Nicks-era Fleetwood Mack to the crisp folk-rock sorcery of the Mamas and the Papa to the deft vocal-jazz diction of the Manhattan Transfer. But, above all, I discern a startlingly original chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2003, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel accepted the Grammy\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award and performed \u201cSound of Silence\u201d to open the live broadcast. Paul and Art decided the time was right for a reunion and announced a worldwide tour that would continue into 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel performed together at Madison Square Garden on September 20, 2005 in \u201cFrom The Big Apple to The Big Easy,\u201d a concert for long term relief and rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The duo sang \u201cBridge Over Troubled Water,\u201d Homeward Bound\u201d and \u201cMrs. Robinson.\u201d The concert raised $9 million for long-term relief from the hurricane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art Garfunkel released his 12th solo album, Some Enchanted Evening<\/em> in January 2007. The CD is a musical celebration of material from the 20th century\u2019s greatest songwriters, including Rodgers & Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Antonio Carlos Jobim and George Gershwin. \u201cI\u2019ve been loving this stuff all my life,\u201d Art says. The album is the organic next chapter in Art\u2019s life, as he reflects on fatherhood and the chaotic world we live in: \u201cIn this nervous world I want to soothe. It\u2019s a great time for moderation, for thoughtfulness, for dialogue, for the great Exhale, for humor. A great time for a sweet sound, a visceral, charming, prayerful sound.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In teaming with his friend and producer, Richard Perry, Art found a forum for his revered vocal style, recapturing the spirit of their Breakaway<\/em> sessions, which produced the hit \u201cI Only Have Eyes For You.\u201d \u201cIn a sense, Richard and I picked up where we left off. This album is Richard\u2019s elegant production, it fits me good, and I am especially proud of it\u201d says Art. \u201cSome of the songs I brought in like \u2018Some Enchanted Evening\u2019 and Harold Arlen\u2019s \u2018Let\u2019s Fall In Love.\u2019 I had my favorites and he had his, like \u2018Life Is But A Dream\u2019 and \u2018Quiet Nights.\u2019 We both love Johnny Mathis and Chet Baker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel somewhat different from many people in the extraordinary amount of good fortune that fell into my lap and made up my life,\u201d Art muses. \u201cI rehearsed a lot in my teenage years and really sought after what this country holds, good fortune for those who go after it with hard work. But I do feel as I pass through the country, it\u2019s a charmed life. I grew up with a lot of love in my family, so I have the five senses with which to glean the richness of this land as I pass through it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taken from the Biography of Art Garfunkel from his official website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Art Garfunkel Although it has been over 40 years since Bridge Over Troubled Water was recorded, Art Garfunkel\u2019s image and signature vocal remain among the most instantly recognizable in popular music. His \u201cbeautiful countertenor,\u201d as Neil Strauss described Art\u2019s voice in The New York Times, is clear and resonant, surely one of the finest instruments […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thats-showbiz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=208"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/SIMON-AND-GARFUNKEL.jpg\")
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