Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel
(born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet and actor, best known as half of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel.
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Early life and career
Garfunkel was born in
Forest Hills, Queens,
New York City, the son of Rose, a housewife, and Jacob "Jack" Garfunkel, a travelling menswear salesman.
[1] [2] [3] His family was
Jewish with his paternal grandparents having immigrated from
Iasi in
Romania and Garfunkel is the first cousin of pop impressario
Lou Pearlman on this mother's side.
[4] [5] [6] Garfunkel attended
Forest Hills High School.
He met his future singing partner,
Paul Simon, in the sixth grade - PS 164, Queens. Between 1956 and 1962, the two had performed together as Tom & Jerry. Garfunkel ("Tom Graph") chose his nickname because he liked to track, or "graph" hits, on the pop charts. Garfunkel attended
Columbia College in the early 1960s, where he sang with the Kingsmen, an all-male
a cappella group (not to be confused with
The Kingsmen of "Louie Louie" fame) and was a Brother in the
Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity [7]. In 1962, Garfunkel earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in
art history, followed by a
Master's degree in
mathematics.
Simon and Garfunkel
In 1963, he and Simon reformed their duo under their own names as "Simon and Garfunkel" and released their first album,
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
on
Columbia Records in October 1964. It was not a critical success, and the duo subsequently split again. The next year, producer
Tom Wilson lifted the song "
The Sound of Silence" from the record, dubbed an electric backing onto it, and released it as a single that went to #1 on the
Billboard pop charts. Simon and Garfunkel reunited and went on to become one of the most popular acts of the 1960s, releasing four more studio albums. Citing personal differences and divergence in career interests, they split following the release of their most critically acclaimed album,
Bridge over Troubled Water
, in 1970.
Solo career
thumb fairground on
June 4 1998
Garfunkel pursued an acting career in the early 1970s, appearing in two Mike Nichols's films
Catch-22
(1970) and
Carnal Knowledge
(1971). He later appeared in Nicholas Roeg's
Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession
(1980),
Good to Go,
(1986) directed by Blain Novak,
Boxing Helena
(1993) directed by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, and
The Rebound
(2008) directed by Bart Freundlich. He has recorded several solo albums, scoring hits with "
I Only Have Eyes For You" (a 1934 song written by
Harry Warren)
[8] and "
Bright Eyes" (a song written by
Mike Batt, both British #1 hit singles), and "All I Know" (#9 in the United States). A version of "Bright Eyes" also appeared in the movie (based on the famous novel)
Watership Down
. Garfunkel briefly reunited with Paul Simon for the 1975 hit "
My Little Town"; Simon, and mutual friend
James Taylor, also contributed backing vocals to Garfunkel's 1977 cover of
Sam Cooke's "
(What a) Wonderful World", which reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #17 pop.
Following disappointing sales of his 1981 album
Scissors Cut
(dedicated to
Laurie Bird), Garfunkel reunited with Simon for
The Concert in Central Park and a world tour. They had disagreements during the tour. In 1984
Stereo Review
Magazine reported that Simon mixed out Garfunkel's voice from a new album, initially slated to be a Simon and Garfunkel studio reunion, but ultimately released as a Simon solo album (
Hearts and Bones
). Garfunkel then left the music scene until his 1988 album,
Lefty
and later 1993's
Up 'til Now
, neither of which received significant critical or commercial success. His live 1996 concert
Across America
, recorded at the registry hall on
Ellis Island features musical guests
James Taylor, Garfunkel's wife, Kim, and his son James.
[9]
Garfunkel performed the theme song for the 1991 television series,
Brooklyn Bridge
, and "The Ballad of Buster Baxter" for a 1998 episode of the children's educational television series
Arthur
, where he was depicted as a singing/narrator moose.
[10] Garfunkel's performance of
Monty Python member
Eric Idle's "
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was used in the end credits of the 1997 film
As Good as It Gets
.
Recent events
In 2003, Garfunkel made his debut as a songwriter on his
Everything Waits to Be Noticed
album. Teaming up with singer-songwriters
Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock, the album contained several songs whose origins were
poems written by Garfunkel. The album is recognized as his first effort at songwriting since his teenage years with Tom & Jerry.
In 2003, Simon and Garfunkel reunited again for a successful world tour that extended into 2004. In 2005, his song "Sometimes When I'm Dreaming" from
The Art Garfunkel Album
(1984) (written by
Mike Batt) was re-recorded by ex-
ABBA singer
Agnetha Fältskog on her album
My Colouring Book
.
In 2006, Garfunkel signed with
Rhino Records (revived
Atco Records), and his first Rhino/Atco album
Some Enchanted Evening
was released in America on
January 30,
2007.
[11] In late February 2007 during a German television interview to promote the new album, he expressed interest in reuniting with Paul Simon on a new Simon and Garfunkel album.
In 2009, Garfunkel appeared as himself on the HBO television show "
Flight of the Conchords" episode entitled "Prime Minister." He continues to tour in 2009 with four talented musicians and his son.
[12]
Personal life
Garfunkel married Linda Marie Grossman in 1972; they divorced in 1975. He was romantically involved with actress and photographer
Laurie Bird until her death in 1979.
[13] On 18 September 1988, he married former model Kathryn (Kim) Cermak. They have two children, James, born 15 December 1990, and Beau Daniel, born 5 October 2005 via surrogate mother.
[14]
Garfunkel is an avid reader and
bibliophile; his website contains a year-by-year listing of every book he has read since 1968.
[15] Currently the list contains more than 1,000 books.
Garfunkel has undertaken several cross-continental walks in his lifetime, writing poetry along the way. In the early 1980s, he walked across
Japan in a matter of weeks.
[16] From 1983 to 1997, Garfunkel walked across America,
[17] taking 40 excursions to complete the route from New York City to the Pacific coast of Washington. In May 1998, Garfunkel began an incremented walk across Europe.
[18]
Garfunkel has been arrested twice for the possession of
cannabis: in early 2004 and again in August 2005.
[19]
Garfunkel is the brother of Jerome Garfunkel, the former member of the American (ANSI) and International (ISO) Committees that wrote the specification for the
COBOL programming language.
Garfunkel is the younger brother of Jules B. Garfunkel, a United States Navy Veteran and financial analyst. Jules Garfunkel died on
September 17,
2006 in
Sofia,
Bulgaria.
Garfunkel had the skin condition
Psoriasis.
[20]
Awards
- 1969 Grammy Award, Record of the Year, for "Mrs. Robinson" (with Paul Simon)
- 1969 Grammy Award, Best Contemporary Pop Performance, for "Mrs. Robinson" (with Paul Simon)
- 1970 Grammy Award, Best Album, for Bridge Over Troubled Water
- 1970 Grammy Award, Best Single Record, for "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
- 1970 Grammy Award, Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists, for Bridge Over Troubled Water
- 1977 Britannia Award, Best International Pop LP and Single, 1952-77, for "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Discography
See
Simon & Garfunkel discography for joint works with Paul Simon.
Solo albums
- 1973 – Angel Clare
(US #5, UK #14) (RIAA: Gold, BPI: Silver)
- 1975 – Breakaway
(US #9, UK #7) (RIAA: Platinum, BPI: Gold)
- 1977 – Watermark
(US #19, UK #26) (RIAA: Gold, BPI: Silver)
- 1979 – Fate for Breakfast
(US #67, UK #2) (BPI: Gold)
- 1981 – Scissors Cut
(US #113, UK #51)
- 1984 – The Art Garfunkel album
(Non-US collection) (UK #12) (BPI: Gold)
- 1986 – The Animals Christmas Album
(with Amy Grant)
- 1988 – Lefty
(US, #134)
- 1989 – Garfunkel
(collection)
- 1993 – Up 'til Now
- 1996 – Across America
(UK #35) (BPI: Silver)
- 1997 – Songs from a Parent to a Child
- 2002 – Everything Waits to Be Noticed
- 2007 – Some Enchanted Evening
(UK #82)
Singles
- 1973 – "All I Know" (US #9, US AC #1)
- 1973 – "I Shall Sing" (US #38, US AC #4)
- 1974 – "Traveling Boy" (US #102, US AC #30)
- 1974 – "Second Avenue" (US #34, US AC #6)
- 1975 – "Breakaway" (US #39, US AC #1)
- 1975 – "I Only Have Eyes for You" (US #18, US AC #1, UK #1)
- 1977 – "Crying in my Sleep" (US AC #25, UK #25)
- 1977 – "Wonderful World" (with Paul Simon and James Taylor) (US #17, US AC #1)
- 1979 – "In A Little While (I'll Be On My Way)" (US AC #12)
- 1979 – "Since I Don't Have You" (US #53, US AC #5, UK #38)
- 1979 – "Bright Eyes" (US AC #29, UK #1)
- 1981 – "A Heart in New York" (US #66, US AC #10)
- 1984 – "Sometimes When I'm Dreaming" (UK #77)
- 1988 – "So Much in Love" (US AC #11)
Soundtracks
- 1989 - Sing
, "We'll Never Say Goodbye"
- 1992 - A League Of Their Own
, "Two Sleepy People"
- 1998 - As Good As It Gets
, "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life"
Appearances
- The Wide World Over
, The Chieftains (2002) — performed "Morning Has Broken"
- Prime Minister
, Flight of the Concords
(2009) - played himself
- Arthur (TV series)
The Ballad of Buster Baxter - singing moose
Filmography
- Catch-22
(1970)
- Carnal Knowledge
(1971)
- Bad Timing
(1980)
- Good to Go
(also known as Short Fuse
) (1986)
- Boxing Helena
(1993)
- The Rebound
(2008)
- ''Flight of the Conchords
References
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3663214/Garfunkel%27s-ageless-art.html
- http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities
- Martin, Douglas. "About New York; Just Simon in the Park, to Garfunkel's Disappointment", ''The New York Times'', August 14, 1991. Accessed June 2, 2009. "Soon, he and Paul Simon, two sons of Forest Hills, Queens, who became bards of the 60's, would stride to the shimmering center of a vast Central Park stage, and a generation growing overweight and apart would for a few fleeting hours feel forever young."
- http://www.artgarfunkel.com/articles/cjn.html
- http://www.artgarfunkel.com/articles/exponent.html
- http://www.artgarfunkel.com/articles/dayton.html
- http://www.studentloaninfo.org/blog/rockstars-academic-degrees/
- I Only Have Eyes For You (1975 version)
- simon and garfunkel the sound at jgarfunkel.com
- http://www.artgarfunkel.com/chrono/1998.html
- New Art Garfunkel CD - Rhino Press Release #455
- http://www.artgarfunkel.com/concerts.html
- Art Garfunkel - Official Website
- Baker, KC, "Art Garfunkel a Father Again at 64", ''People'' (December 7, 2005)
- Art Garfunkel - Official Website
- Art Garfunkel - Official Website
- Art Garfunkel - Official Website
- Art Garfunkel - Official Website
- Garfunkel arrested over marijuana possession. 31/08/2005. ABC News Online
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