It should come as no surprise that the duo was invited to play at Woodstock, the legendary outdoor festival held in the summer of 1969. The folk-rock duo – the kind of music that flourished at Woodstock – was one of the most popular acts in America, or maybe even the world, but they turned the offer down.
Art Garfunkel was in the middle of filming “Catch-22”. After Garfunkel finished with his acting, the duo wanted to sit down and pound out the songs that would become the album “Bridge Over Troubled Water”.
Simon's Solo Inclusion
Simon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 as a solo artist. It was during the time his friendship with Garfunkel was at a low point following an acrimonious decade.
Yet, Simon had kind words during his speech at the Hall: “I regret the ending of our friendship. I hope that someday before we die we will make peace with each other.” He paused for a moment. And then: “No rush.”
Songs That Can Wound
Simon and Garfunkel used their stage to jab at a number of deserving people. “A Simple Desultory Philippic” takes a shot at Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense under JFK and LBJ, who increased America's involvement in the Vietnam War. “Blessed” attacks Christians who pay lip-service to dogma without understanding it.
“The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine” is a parody of advertising, and even “The Boxer” was thought to be an attack on Bob Dylan, though Simon has said it isn't true (which didn't stop Dylan from covering the song and returning the salvo to the duo).
Not Letting the Old Shame Die
You may think that these two players were more than willing to let their past as Tom and Jerry die a quick and unnoticed death, but you'd be wrong. Well, a little bit wrong.
They never went as Tom and Jerry once they made the switch to an eponymous name, but they still brought out some of the old songs to the delight of the older fans. In fact, when they would play their original hit “Hey Schoolgirl” during shows and resurrect their childish, good-natured, clean-cut fifties personas for a little bit of fun.
Those Meddling Executives
Recording executives – or all kinds of arts executives – can be a handful, and the pair had their run-ins with them. We've already mentioned the time when they threw in a bunch of extra instruments to "Sounds of Silence", though that ended up being a big boon to music lovers and Simon and Garfunkel.
The added instruments were played by Bob Dylan's recording musicians since Dylan had pioneered the more rocky folk music. The backing band goes out of sync with the original track at one point, since they were all recording after the fact.