When Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel took the stage in Central Park in 1981, the two had already been separated for years. However, the audience sang along with the first chords, and the old name sounded like a whole again. The concert became one of the most memorable moments in the history of the duo, which now has more than six decades of musical history behind it.
Paul Simon was born on October 13, 1941 in Newark, New Jersey. On his 85th birthday, he remains the author who wrote most of Simon and Garfunkel's songs, but gradually proved that he could be a musical force in his own right.
First success comes as Tom and Jerry
They met Art Garfunkel as schoolchildren in Forest Hills, New York. In 1957, they began recording as Tom and Jerry. Their first single "Hey, Schoolgirl" sold about 150,000 copies, but the two went their separate ways and briefly interrupted their collaboration.
In 1964, they reunited as Simon and Garfunkel. The album "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." was not initially a big success, but the song "The Sound of Silence" received a new electric arrangement. In 1965, it reached number one in the American charts and changed the direction of their career.
Followed by „Sounds of Silence“, „Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme“, „Bookends“ and „Bridge Over Troubled Water“. Songs such as „Mrs. Robinson“, „The Boxer“, „The Roadhouse“ and „Bridge Over Troubled Water“ made the duo one of the symbols of American music of the 60s.
The breakup with Art Garfunkel
„Bridge Over Troubled Water“ was released in 1970 and won a „Grammy“ for album of the year. After it, Simon and Garfunkel split. The reasons are related to differences in the direction of the work, tension between the two and their desire to build a separate identity.
In a 1975 interview, Simon rejected the notion that their relationship was reduced to only hostility: “It's easy to sing with Artie. I've been doing it my whole life.“ That same year, the two recorded “My Little Town“, included simultaneously on their solo albums “Still Crazy After All These Years“ and “Breakaway“.
In 1981, the concert in Central Park gathered hundreds of thousands of spectators and began a new period of joint performances. The two later received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy in 2003, but their partnership never became a permanent group again.
The solo path leads to “Graceland“
Simon began his solo career with the album “Paul Simon“ in 1972. This was followed by “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon“ and "Still Crazy After All These Years," which won him his first solo Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
His boldest turn came with "Graceland" in 1986. It combined American pop, South African rhythms, gospel, and folk influences. The South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo also participated in the recordings. The album won Grammys for Album and Record of the Year and made cultural dialogue part of the mainstream pop scene.
Paul Simon has 16 Grammy Awards, three of which are for Album of the Year. In 1990, Simon and Garfunkel were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their story remains a tale of both harmony and separation, and their songs continue to resonate as a memory of a time when two voices could define an entire era.
Sources: pbs.org, theguardian.com, biography.com