Reminisce The Brilliance Of Simon And Garfunkel As They Sing 'The Sound of Silence' Live
Feb 12, 2020 by apost team
Of all the artists of yesteryear, few are as iconic as Simon & Garfunkel. Their music defined a generation and helped save one of the nation's most famous parks. You would never imagine that their roots began in a much more humble setting.
The Beginning
In 1953, they met in elementary school in Queens, New York. Together, they began to sing and write music. Under the name Tom & Jerry, they had their first modest success with a song titled "Hey Schoolgirl." In 1963, they came to Columbia Records with the name Simon & Garfunkel.
They would ultimately go on to win 10 Grammy Awards and be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. "The Sound of Silence," their most popular song, was written by Paul Simon in 1963 and 1964. It was a initially a commercial flop. After the producer remixed the single, the song shot to the top of the Billboard Top 100.
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The Legend
In the 1970s and 1980s, New York's Central Park was in a state of decay. City officials and a prominent concert promoter planned a free, open-air concert that would pump money into park coffers to help with maintenance and redevelopment — money that would come from television, merchandising, and video rights. As Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had been raised in New York, they were a natural choice.
On September 12, 1981, The New York Times noted that the Parks Department expected a crowd of 300,000 for The Concert in Central Park. A week later, the show became one of the most attended in history with over 500,000 attendees. Paul Simon expressed that he had not realized the magnitude of the event at the time. He only understood after he saw it on the news and read the newspapers.
They played 21 songs that night — songs from their time together and songs from their solo careers. The concert was recorded and released as an album in 1982, "The Concert in Central Park." Unfortunately, their reunion was brief, and they continue to share a rather troubled relationship.
Let Art Garfunkel's simplicity and sincerity inspire you; let Paul Simon's darker lyrical machinations speak to those lonely places in your soul. Experience the duo together, performing their most popular song. Introduce new generations to the legend. Reflect on what you've seen and read, and leave your thoughts for us.