The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Simon & Garfunkel

paul simon and art garfunkel met in 1953 while at school in queens together they formed the folk rock duel simon and garfunkel becoming one of the best-selling groups of the 1960s tragically though their friendship couldn't survive fame and fortune here's the troubled real-life story of simon and garfunkel for paul simon music came easy his father louis simon was a bandleader who had already appeared on tv shows including the jackie gleason show when the family moved to queens new york when paul was around four years old living just three blocks away was art garfunkel who according to his website became interested in music at the age of four when his father brought home an early audio recorder in 1953 the two became friends while attending parsons junior high school together after appearing in a school production of alice in wonderland they started their own street corner doo-wop group in 1957 they decided to try singing as a duo under the name tom and jerry their first single a schoolgirl was a top 50 hit not bad considering they were still just 16 years old simon and garfunkel's time as tom and jerry was short-lived sid prosin the record executive who got them the hay school girl gig managed to land them a spot on american bandstand but he also signed simon to a solo deal which garfunkel viewed as a betrayal the duo split up it was just the first of many breakups after reuniting in 1963 they performed for a while under the name kane and garr a record exec heard them and signed them to columbia records where they made their first album under their real names wednesday morning 3am barely sold anything when it came out in 1964 so they split up again and went their separate ways a funny thing happened though their song the sound of silence began finding an audience at the end of 1965 and in early 1966 it hit number one on the billboard charts almost two years after it was released simon and garfunkel reunited and hit after hit followed with the single mrs robinson hitting number one in 1968 after being featured in the classic film the graduate simon and garfunkel were on top of the world which meant the only direction they could go was down 1970 would prove to be the biggest year ever for simon and garfunkel it would also effectively be their last together tensions arose between the parallel working on what would become their final studio album bridge over troubled water at the same time the duo was cast by the graduate director mike nichols in his latest film catch 22 but shortly before filming simon's role was cut from the script garfunkel who was becoming more interested in acting went ahead with his part and then took a role in nichols next film as well carnal knowledge fellow actor and documentary producer charles grodin blamed nichols for spurring the duo's official breakup according to the hollywood reporter grodin said i just think this is outrageous you don't take simon and garfunkel and ask them to be in a movie and then drop one of their roles on them you just don't do that bridge over troubled water though was a runaway commercial success becoming the best-selling album of 1970 and at one point the best-selling album of all time in march 1971 bridge over troubled water also made grammy's history simon and garfunkel as a group won two awards for record and album of the year while paul simon was awarded seven grammys total a record that would stand until 1984. the accolades were bittersweet though because by then the duo had broken up once again and this time it would be permanent sort of while their professional relationship was on the rocks both simon and garfunkel were also struggling with their individual personal lives in 1969 just prior to the duo's breakup simon married peggy harper the two had a son in 1972 but the marriage fell apart leading to divorce in 1975. simon later became involved with carrie fisher and the two got married in 1983. the marriage only lasted a year but they continued the relationship for nearly a decade after getting divorced it finally ended when simon married fellow musician and current wife edie brakal in 1992 even that relationship has occasionally been fraught however in 2014 the couple was in court for disorderly conduct after getting into a physical dispute at their home though charges were eventually dropped and they seemed to still be going strong garfunkel's love life was equally turbulent following the end of his partnership with simon garfunkel married girlfriend linda grossman in 1972 but garfunkel described the union as quote bitter they divorced in 1975 and reportedly never spoke again garfunkel then began a relationship with actress lori bird who moved in with him tragically though while he was out on the road in 1979 she took her own life at the age of just 25. garfunkel was reportedly devastated and credits a short relationship with legendary director penny marshall for helping pull him out of a deep depression finally in 1985 garfunkel met his current wife kim cermak a longtime fan who was lucky enough to score a date with the legendary musician she told the savannah morning news he is really a beautiful human being i can't tell you how much i love him in the turbulent years following the end of simon and garfunkel simon launched a highly successful solo career producing eight albums between 1970 and 2000 songs that dealt intimately with the saddest and darkest moments of simon's life in 1972 he discussed his mental health struggles with dick cavett explaining the benefits of psychoanalysis i think i was pretty crazy when i started you know and i think i'm at a level of craziness now where i can just walk around and be okay in 1984 simon revealed to playboy that he became quote immobilized by depression until he finally got the help of a psychiatrist who helped him find answers within himself he said most people look at me and wonder how could that guy be depressed the answer is that simon was dealing with the same things as many people famous or not self-doubt and self-esteem issues you could say that being short is bad news not having a voice that you want not looking the way you want to look having a bad relationship some of that is real and if you start to roll it together that's what you focus on i was unable to absorb the bounty that was in my life if you've ever achieved something absolutely wonderful only to have someone pop your balloon paul simon knows just how you feel in 1984 he was inspired by south african music to create a new album combining musical traditions he called it graceland and he flew to south africa to record with local african musicians the album which was released in 1986 earned simon two more grammy wins but it also brought with it a ton of controversy that's because some accused him of breaking the cultural boycott against the apartheid government of south africa others accused him of cultural appropriation but simon vigorously defended himself making a distinction between performing for white audiences and recording with black artists in 2012 he told national geographic what was unusual about graceland is that it was on the surface apolitical but what it represented was the essence of the anti-apartheid in that it was a collaboration between blacks and whites to make music that people everywhere enjoyed it was completely the opposite from what the apartheid regime said which is that one group of people were inferior here there were no inferiors or superiors just an acknowledgement of everybody's work as a musician it was a powerful statement in 1990 simon and garfunkel received one of the most prestigious honors a musician can have the duo was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame and they celebrated by treating the world to a hall of fame level diss during their induction garfunkel ended his speech by saying i want to thank most of all the person who has most enriched my life by putting those songs through me my friend paul here to which simon replied arthur and i agree about almost nothing but it's true i have enriched his life quite a bit simon seemed to be joking but he no doubt received some satisfaction that in 2001 he was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame again but this time as a solo act so did either of them ever have issues with drugs simon and garfunkel is poetry yes it's poetry it is a poetry of drugs and promiscuous sex honey they're on pot turns out she was right simon told dick cavett in 1972 that he had quit drugs as well as smoking but it took a lot longer for garfunkel to give up his vices in 2004 garfunkel was arrested for possession of marijuana when his limo was pulled over for speeding that time he got off with a fine but he was arrested again in 2005 for driving while smoking a joint and ended up having to go to court in 2010 though garfunkel quit smoking for good and for good reason after reunions in 1980 1983 and 2003 simon and garfunkel went out on the road again in 2010 but during their first show garfunkel's voice suddenly gave out it turned out he had a paralyzed vocal cord that required rehab rehab that required him to quit his smoking habits the tour was postponed and then eventually canceled when it took garfunkel much longer than expected to recover simon felt garfunkel hadn't taken the rehab seriously and blamed garfunkel for stringing him along in the book paul simon the life simon told author robert hilburn he let us all down i was tired of all the drama i didn't feel i could trust him anymore voice issues were not art garfunkel's only trouble in february 2015 the new york post reported that while the singer was out of the country his 15th floor penthouse at 5th avenue and 79th street caught fire according to the new york daily news a pipe had frozen and when maintenance crews tried to thaw it sparks led to smoke which led to firefighters ripping down a wall doing so damaged several books from garfunkel's extensive library in spite of the damage garfunkel issued a statement that read in part we can't praise the speed and effectiveness of the firefighters enough and extend the most heartfelt and sincere gratitude to the men and women that protect this city garfunkel later told rolling stone that the damage hadn't been too bad but that he had lost roughly 100 books to water damage an avid bibliophile with over a thousand books on display in his apartment he said i love my books so i replaced them every damn one of them if it seems like a lifetime ago that paul simon and art garfunkel shared their first cigarette as boys that's because it has been in the 60-something years since the musicians first met they have produced albums both together and separately pursued successful solo careers written books acted in movies and traveled around an entire world that knows who they are and one of them is tired of it all simon told the new york times in 2016 showbiz doesn't hold any interest for me none he also seemed to shut the door for good on any possible reunion with garfunkel telling npr in 2016 quite honestly we don't get along so it's not like it's fun if it was fun i'd say okay sometimes we'll go out in singled songs in harmony that's cool but when it's not fun you know and you're going to be in a tense situation well then i have a lot of musical areas that i like to play in so that'll never happen again that's that simon seems to mean it as he announced his retirement from touring in 2018 but as usual art garfunkel still spins in the opposite direction of his longtime partner garfunkel's website cited a full concert schedule for 2020 with more shows planned to come in 2021 and he has a message for paul simon garfunkel wants simon to get in touch quoting a line from bridge over troubled water garfunkel told american songwriter i'll be your friend when you're in trouble well i'm in trouble now that i'm 78 paul if paul is supposed to be my friend give me a call paul read this american songwriter interview and give me a phone call so will there be another reunion it sure seems unlikely but given the mercurial nature of their relationship you can never say never even if simon already said exactly that we'll just have to wait and see if you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts please call or chat online with the national suicide prevention lifeline at 1-800-273-top that's 1-800-273-8255

Channel: Grunge

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Id: pzl4c4M8R7I

Length: 13min 29sec (809 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 09 2020