Simon & Garfunkel
This highly successful vocal duo first played together during their early years in New York. Paul Simon (b. 13 October 1941, Newark, New Jersey, USA) and Art Garfunkel (b. Arthur Garfunkel, 5 November 1941, Forest Hills, New York, USA) were initially inspired by the The Everly Brothers and under the name Tom And Jerry enjoyed a US hit with the rock ‘n’ roll styled Hey Schoolgirl. They also completed an album which was later reissued after their rise to international prominence in the '60s. Garfunkel subsequently returned to college and Simon pursued a solo career before the duo reunited in 1964 for WEDNESDAY MORNING, 3A.M.. A strong, harmonic work, which included an acoustic reading of THE SOUND OF SILENCE, the album did not sell well enough to encourage the group to stay together. While Simon was in England the folk rock-boom was in the ascendant and producer Tom Wilson made the presumptuous but prescient decision to overdub Sound Of Silence with electric instrumentation. Within weeks, the song was number 1 in the US charts, and Simon and Garfunkel were hastily reunited. An album titled after their million-selling single was rush-released early in 1966 and proved a commendable work. Among its major achievements was Homeward Bound, an evocative and moving portrayal of life on the road, which went on to become a transatlantic hit. The solipsistic I Am A Rock was another international success with such angst-ridden lines as, ‘I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain’. In keeping with the social commentary that permeated their mid-'60s’ work, the group included two songs whose theme was suicide: A Most Peculiar Man and Richard Cory. Embraced by a vast following, especially among the student population, the duo certainly looked the part with their college scarves, duffle coats and cerebral demeanour. Their next single, The Dangling Conversation, was their most ambitious lyric to date and far too esoteric for the Top 20. Nevertheless, the work testified to their artistic courage and boded well for the release of a second album within a year: PARSLEY, SAGE, ROSEMARY & THYME. The album took its title from a repeated line in Scarborough Fair, which was their excellent harmonic weaving of that traditional song and another, Canticle. An accomplished work, the album had a varied mood from the grandly serious For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her to the bouncy 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) (subsequently a hit for Harpers Bizarre). After two strong but uncommercial singles, At The Zoo and Fakin' It, the duo contributed to the soundtrack of the 1968 film, THE GRADUATE. The key song in the film was Mrs Robinson which provided the group with one of their biggest international sellers. That same year saw the release of BOOKENDS, a superbly-crafted work, ranging from the serene Save The Life Of My Child to the personal odyssey America and the vivid imagery of Old Friends. BOOKENDS is still felt by many to be their finest work. 
In 1969 the duo released The Boxer, a long single that nevertheless found commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic. This classic single reappeared on the group's next album, the celebrated BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER. One of the best-selling albums of all time (303 weeks on the UK chart), the work's title track became a standard with its lush, orchestral arrangement and contrasting tempo. Heavily gospel-influenced, the album included several well-covered songs such as Keep The Customer Satisfied, Cecilia and El Condor Pasa. While at the peak of their commercial success, with an album that dominated the top of the chart listings for months, the duo became irascible and their partnership abruptly ceased. The release of a GREATEST HITS package in 1972 included four previously unissued live tracks and during the same year the duo performed together at a benefit concert for Senator George McGovern. In 1981 they again reunited. The results were captured in 1981 on THE CONCERT IN CENTRAL PARK. After a long break, a further duet occurred on the hit single My Little Town in 1975. Although another studio album was undertaken, the sessions broke down and Simon transferred the planned material to his 1983 solo HEARTS AND BONES. In the autumn of 1993 Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel settled their differences long enough to complete 21 sell-out dates in New York.