Simon & Garfunkel, The #22 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

 

But making it to superstardom takes more than talent, and in this case, Simon & Garfunkel got a big boost when director Mike Nichols became a huge fan of the duo.  Nichols asked Columbia exec Clive Davis for permission to license Simon & Garfunkel music for his upcoming movie The Graduate, and Simon wrote new songs for the film.  

One of the new songs, although incomplete, bowled Nichols over.  The song became "Mrs. Robinson", a #1 smash in 1968 and another of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.

The Graduate also highlighted "Sound Of Silence" and "Scarborough Fair", as those three songs played repeatedly during the movie.   "Mrs. Robinson" won both Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammy Awards.  Simon and Garfunkel then released the amazing album Bookends, which went to #1.    

"A Hazy Shade Of Winter" is another underrated song, stalling at #13.  

Bookends spent a total of seven weeks at #1, as the duo proved they could compete with the likes of the Beatles, the Doors, and the Rolling Stones.  Bookends was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.

 

Next up was the fun "At The Zoo", which peaked at #16.  It was later licensed to zoos in the Bronx and San Francisco in the late 70's for television commercials.

Simon and Garfunkel shows were no longer in small clubs, and they were now sellout performances.  After recording songs for their next album, the duo performed at the Monterey Pop Festival. 

This song finds Simon wondering what he would have done had he been born 100 years earlier and he surmised he may have been a tailor.  The spoken word section "Good morning, Mr. Leitch.  Have you had a busy day?" is done by singer Beverley Martyn, who was friends with Donovan; hence the mention of Donovan's last name in the song.  "Fakin' It" also charted, peaking at #23.  

Members of the famous Wrecking Crew played on this song:  drummer Hal Blaine, bassist Joe Osborn and Larry Knechtel on organ.  It seems to gain in popularity each year as more people discover the promise of "America".

Garfunkel, reflecting on this song in 2014, told The Mail on Sunday's Event magazine "It's amazing that a 24-year-old Paul Simon could write with such wisdom about an older person's perspective."  Here is the wonderful track "Old Friends".

 Producer John Simon and the musicians spent over 50 hours perfecting "Punky's Dilemma" in the studio before they were satisfied.

Garfunkel began acting, playing in the movie Catch-22.  After production, the duo reunited for a tour, with the U.S. portion ending in a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall in November.  They then worked with director Charles Grodin for a special on CBS, Songs of America.

 

In 1970, Simon and Garfunkel released their incredible final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water.  Another of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* was the lead single--"The Boxer".  One of the duo's masterpieces, the incredible finished product took over 100 hours to record to make it sound the way it does.

The chorus was recorded in St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University in New York and it's tiled dome had great acoustics.  Blaine was responsible for the famous thundering drum.  Producer Roy Halee placed the drums in front of an elevator in the Columbia offices.  Blaine recalled in the 2011 documentary Making of Bridge Over Troubled Water that he pounded the drum at the end of the "Lie la lie" vocals playing in his headphones.  Blaine said that at one point, an elderly security guard was startled when he came out of the elevator to hear the thundering drums.

 

The album topped charts in 10 countries, including a 10-week stay atop the U.S. chart and an amazing 35 weeks at #1 in the U.K.   It not only was the best selling album in 1970, 1971, and 1972, but the biggest-selling album of all-time to that point in the U.K.

Bridge Over Troubled Water has now sold over 25 million copies, and is one of The Top 100 Albums of the Rock Era*.  Although Simon felt his initial writing of the title song was better than most of his songs, he didn't fully appreciate it until Garfunkel and Columbia head Clive Davis convinced him to write the legendary third verse.  It is now one of the most recorded songs in history.  

The classic title song is one of a select few to top charts in both the U.S., where it spent six weeks at #1, and the U.K., where it led the way for three weeks.  "Bridge Over Troubled Water " is another of The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era*, ranked #4.

 

The duo toured Britain playing to huge crowds.  The album captured six awards at the Grammys, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Contemporary Song, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists and Best Engineered Recording (for the title song).  "Bridge Over Troubled Water was also nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.  "Cecilia" hit #1 in the Netherlands, #2 in Germany, #4 in the United States and #6 in Australia.

 

"El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" is from a song Peruvian songwriter Daniel Robles recorded in 1913.  It was released as a single in some countries and topped charts in Germany, Australia and the Netherlands.

 Simon & Garfunkel, the second best duo of the Rock Era, were greatly influenced and inspired by the harmonies of the Rock Era's #3 duo, the Everly Brothers.  Paul and Art do a great version of "Bye Bye Love" on the album, and interestingly enough, the Everlys often appeared with Simon & Garfunkel on reunion tours when the two legendary duos stood on stage and sang it.

 Simon wrote "So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" for Garfunkel, who majored in architecture at Columbia University and was a fan of architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  Paul also personalized it with "I remember the nights we'd harmonize till dawn, I never laughed so long, so long, so long...  The repeated use of "so long" could be interpreted as a goodbye to Art.  

 

"The Only Living Boy In New York" reflects Simon's frustration that while he was toiling away in New York City on the album, Garfunkel was in Mexico at the request of Mike Nichols to act in the movie Catch-22.

 "Baby Driver" is another standout on this amazing album.

"Keep The Customer Satisfied", about the difficulties of constant touring, was the flip of "Bridge Over Troubled Water", but has gained much in stature over the years.

In 1970, Simon & Garfunkel had never been more popular--they were at their peak.  But musical differences had caused a riff in their relationship, and Paul and Art broke apart following this last amazing album.

 

The duo have reunited several times, first to perform a benefit for presidential candidate George McGovern in 1972.  After visiting a recording studio with John Lennon and Harry Nilsson in 1975, they hoped to make a more permanent reunion, but only one song, "My Little Town" resulted.  The single, included on both Simon's album Still Crazy After All These Years as well as Garfunkel's album Breakaway, reached #9.  

"My Little Town" was nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.  Later that year, Simon & Garfunkel performed a medley of three songs on Saturday Night Live, and two years later, Garfunkel joined Paul on the television show The Paul Simon Special.

 

In 1978, Simon and Garfunkel teamed up with James Taylor for their remake of "(What A) Wonderful World", which reached #17.

In 1981, the pair famously reunited for The Concert in Central Park  which drew over 500,000 people, one of the largest concert audiences in history.  Warner Brothers released the live album The Concert in Central Park, which sold over two million copies.

The concert led to a tour on the heels of renewed interest in their music, but the relationship once again soured, and the pair performed while rarely speaking to each other.

In 1990, Simon & Garfunkel were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In 1993, they toured the Far East.

In 2003, the duo were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys and after performing, they went on their biggest tour in years, playing 40 dates and earning an estimated $123 million.  They performed 20 more dates in 2004 and toured Europe as well.  They concluded their European leg with a concert in front of the Colosseum in Rome, which drew 600,000 fans.

In 2005, they performed at a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert in Madison Square Garden, and toured Australia and Asia in 2009.

The duo has sold over 100 million albums and won 10 Grammy Awards.  "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "Mrs. Robinson", and "The Sound Of Silence" as well as the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme have all been accepted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Simon & Garfunkel posted 20 career hits, with 8 of those going Top 10 and three #1's that were all among the biggest hits of the Rock Era.