The final version of the song was completed on February 2, 1968, and was released to the general public three months after “The Graduate” came out. To call it an instant hit is to do the song a disservice. It was everywhere. Every radio played it, and every home listened to it.
It became impossible to separate the song from the film, and the film’s promotion during its initial theater run made heavy use of the track – the song was practically mandatory listening whenever you saw a poster or other piece of advertisement for the film.
The Problems Between the Two
Simon was using Garfunkel's popularity to advance his career, and Garfunkel, being more laid-back, was using Simon's drive. Garfunkel admitted he might not have had a career if not for the constant motion that Simon encouraged.
They began working on another album after "Bridge" named "The Boxer and Baby Driver" when Garfunkel made a decision. It was all thanks to Mike Nichols, a big fan of the duo and the director of an upcoming movie, "The Graduate". You see, he wanted Simon and Garfunkel to contribute some music for his film. That's not too much to ask, is it?
Mrs. Roosevelt?
"The Graduate" was a hit, and the duo's soundtrack song, “Mrs. Robinson,” was a similar hit. Both the movie and the song are considered some of the best, and the duo also added plenty of other songs to the soundtrack beyond the famous single.
The original title for the song was “Mrs. Roosevelt,” and while Garfunkel was still playing around with it, he talked to John Nichols about it, who shook his head. “Don't be ridiculous! We're making a movie here! It's Mrs. Robinson!” Thankfully Garfunkel agreed, and the famous song had its famous name.
The Jump to Film
As he was working on Nichol's movie, Garfunkel thought it would be fun to try acting. Any director would be a fool to turn down a name that would get so many eyes on his next project, which is why Nichols cast Garfunkel as Lieutenant Nately in his next film, "Catch-22".
Simon also got a role in the movie, but right before filming Nichols informed him that the role, a serviceman, had been cut from the final script. As you might imagine, it was yet another wedge driven between the two friends, all while they were still working on "Bridge".
A Partnership's Problems
While Garfunkel rose to fame as both a musician and an actor, Simon became resentful. As Garfunkel had the time of his life on set with actors and palled around with other celebrities, Simon stayed in New York writing material for the upcoming album.
Frustrations grew and expanded, and a pair of songs in particular really got them thinking about their future and relationship. We can certainly understand why when one member of a duo starts to get really famous, the other member can be resentful. It's happened plenty of times to plenty of artistic partnerships, musical or otherwise.