Art Garfunkel

Known for the duo Simon & Garfunkel formed with Paul Simon, which produced numerous hits in the 1960s, Art Garfunkel also went solo, with less success. Born Arthur Ira Garfunkel in Forest Hills, New York, on November 5, 1941, he met Paul Simon as a teenager in high school, and formed a duo with him that initially went by the name Tom & Jerry from 1956 to 1960. After a few singles under this name, including the 1957 hit "Hey Schoolgirl" (ranked #49 in the pop charts), they reunited at the end of their studies and performed under their own names for a series of successful albums on Columbia, before splitting up over musical differences. He went on to star in films such as Catch-22 (1970) and Carnal Knowledge (1971) and teach mathematics, before returning to music with the albums Angel Clare (1973, #5 Billboard) and Breakaway (1975, #7). Between the duo's reformations in 1975 for the song "My Little Town" and in 1981 for The Concert in Central Park, came the solo albums Watermark (1977), half composed by Jimmy Webb, and Fate for Breakfast (1979), containing a few minor hits. Having fallen into depression after the suicide of his partner in 1979, Art Garfunkel returned in 1981 with the album Scissor's Cut, then kept a low profile, singing a duet with Amy Grant on the Christmas album The Animal's Christmas (1985) and working on a musical adapted from Lewis Carroll's The Snark Hunt in 1986. Returning in 1988 with the album Lefty, he disappeared again until the live album Across America (1996) and the Grammy-nominated studio album Songs from a Parent to a Child, recorded for his son in 1997. Previously known as a singer with a high voice, he co-wrote six songs on the album Everything Waits to Be Noticed (2002), produced with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock. The Simon & Garfunkel duo reformed for a tour in 2003-2004 and again in 2009, following Art Garfunkel's return for the album of standards covers Some Enchanted Evening (2007). His eldest son James Garfunkel embarks on a singing career in Germany under the stage name Arthur Garfunkel Jr., and the two join forces in the studio for the album Father and Son (2024).