Art Garfunkel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Art Garfunkel
Garfunkel performing in 2017 at the London Palladium
Background information
Birth name	Arthur Ira Garfunkel
Born	(1941-11-05) November 5, 1941 (age 83) New York City, U.S.
Genres	Folk rock pop
Occupation(s)	Singer actor poet
Years active	1956–present
Labels	Columbia Manhattan Atco
Signature

Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor, and poet. He is most famous for being one half of the folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, alongside Paul Simon.

Art Garfunkel grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. He met Paul Simon in elementary school during a play. They started making music together in the 1950s. In the 1960s, Simon & Garfunkel became very popular. They had many hit songs like "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "Scarborough Fair", "The Boxer", and "Bridge over Troubled Water". Their last album together, released in 1970, was also called Bridge over Troubled Water.

After the duo split up, both Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon had successful solo careers. Art Garfunkel's solo music career includes many popular songs. He has won eight Grammy Awards, including a special Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1990, he and Paul Simon were added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine listed him as one of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time."

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Art Garfunkel was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City. His parents were Rose and Jacob "Jack" Garfunkel. He had two brothers, Jules and Jerome. His grandparents came to the United States from Iași, a city in Romania. When he was young, Art often sang in his synagogue.

Art Garfunkel's love for singing started when he was very young. He enjoyed the echo in stairwells and would sing songs like "Unchained Melody". His father bought him a special recorder, and Art would spend hours singing, recording himself, and listening to improve his voice.

In 1954, at his bar mitzvah, Art sang for over four hours for his family. As a teenager, he loved basketball. He spent a summer practicing foul shots and became very good. He met Paul Simon in sixth grade when they were both in a school play, Alice in Wonderland. Art Garfunkel said that Paul Simon became interested in singing after hearing him sing "Too Young" at a school talent show.

Forming "Tom & Jerry"

From 1956 to 1962, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon performed together as "Tom & Jerry." This name was given to them by their record label. They often sang at school dances. They looked up to The Everly Brothers and tried to sing with close two-part harmonies like them. In 1957, they recorded "Hey, Schoolgirl," which became a minor hit. After "Tom & Jerry," Art Garfunkel released a few songs on his own under the name Artie Garr, but they did not become popular.

College Years and Reunion

After high school, Art Garfunkel went to Columbia University. He studied architecture and later art history. He also joined an a cappella singing group. A friend of his, Sanford Greenberg, became blind, and Art helped him by reading textbooks aloud. This friend later gave Art $500 to record a demo of "The Sound of Silence." Art Garfunkel earned his bachelor's degree in 1965 and a master's degree in mathematics education in 1967. He even started working on a doctorate during the peak of Simon & Garfunkel's success but later left the program.

Music Career

Simon & Garfunkel Duo

Garfunkel with Paul Simon at Madison Square Garden, 1972

In 1963, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon decided to sing together again, using their real names. They released their first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., in 1964. It wasn't very successful at first, and they went their separate ways. However, a year later, a producer added electric instruments to their song "The Sound of Silence" and released it as a single. This new version became a number one hit!

Paul Simon had moved to the United Kingdom to start a solo career. But when "The Sound of Silence" became popular, he returned to the U.S. to reunite with Art Garfunkel. They then recorded four more very successful albums: Sounds of Silence, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Bookends, and the hugely popular Bridge over Troubled Water.

They also contributed to the music for the 1967 film The Graduate. While writing the song "Mrs. Robinson", Paul Simon thought about calling it "Mrs. Roosevelt." But the film's director quickly told him, "Don't be silly! It's Mrs. Robinson!"

Even though Art Garfunkel didn't write many songs for the duo, he was very important. He helped arrange the vocals, deciding who would sing which parts and how the songs would sound. He also wrote a poem called "Canticle" for the song "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" and helped create the sound montage "Voices of Old People" on the Bookends album.

Simon & Garfunkel decided to split up in 1970 after their album Bridge over Troubled Water. They wanted to work on their own projects. They did get back together sometimes, like in 1975 for their hit song "My Little Town". In 1981, they performed a famous concert in Central Park in New York City. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 2003, they reunited again after receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. This led to a successful tour called "Old Friends." In 2004, they performed a free concert at the Colosseum in Rome, which was attended by 600,000 people!

Solo Music Career (1970s)

After Simon & Garfunkel broke up, Art Garfunkel took a break from music. He acted in two films by Mike Nichols: Catch-22 (1970) and Carnal Knowledge (1971). He also spent some time teaching geometry to high school students.

In 1972, Art Garfunkel was ready to return to music. His first solo album, Angel Clare, came out in 1973. It included songs like "All I Know". In 1974, he released the popular single "Second Avenue".

His next album, Breakaway (1975), featured a brief reunion with Paul Simon on the song "My Little Town". This album also had the hit song "I Only Have Eyes for You", which became Art Garfunkel's first number one hit in the UK.

In 1977, he released the album Watermark. It included his cover of Sam Cooke's "(What a) Wonderful World", which became a number one hit on the Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S. Paul Simon and James Taylor sang backing vocals on this song.

His last album of the 1970s was Fate for Breakfast (1979). This album had a huge hit in the UK called "Bright Eyes", which was also featured in the movie Watership Down.

Later Years and Vocal Challenges

Garfunkel in a concert in Dublin, c. 1982

Art Garfunkel released the album Scissors Cut in 1981. After this, he reunited with Paul Simon for The Concert in Central Park and a world tour. They had some disagreements during the tour.

Art Garfunkel took another break from music after his father passed away. In 1985, he met Kathryn "Kim" Cermak, who would become his wife in 1988. His next album, Lefty, was released in 1988.

Recent Events and Tours

Garfunkel's live concert album Across America was released in 1996. It was recorded at Ellis Island and featured guests like James Taylor.

He sang the theme song for the TV series Brooklyn Bridge in 1991. In 1998, he sang "The Ballad of Buster Baxter" for an episode of the children's TV show Arthur, where he was shown as a singing moose.

In 2002, Art Garfunkel wrote songs for the first time on his album Everything Waits to Be Noticed. He worked with other singer-songwriters, and some songs were based on his own poems.

In 2003 and 2004, Simon and Garfunkel had another successful world tour. In 2007, Art Garfunkel released Some Enchanted Evening, which celebrated classic pop songs from his childhood.

Art Garfunkel in New York City, 2013

In 2009, Art Garfunkel appeared as himself on the TV show Flight of the Conchords. He continued to tour with musicians and his son. In 2009, Simon and Garfunkel also performed together at the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts.

In 2010, Art Garfunkel experienced vocal problems due to damage to his vocal cords. This made singing difficult. Simon & Garfunkel had to cancel a planned tour. Art Garfunkel worked hard to recover his voice. By 2014, his voice was restored, and he resumed touring.

In 2015, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in a skit. The Simon & Garfunkel song "America" was used in Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. Art Garfunkel supported Sanders' efforts to address wealth inequality.

In 2017, Art Garfunkel released his memoir, What Is It All but Luminous: Notes from an Underground Man. As of July 2025, Art Garfunkel has decided not to tour for the time being.

In November 2024, Art Garfunkel released a new album called "Father And Son" with his son, Art Garfunkel Jr. The album features twelve cover songs, including "Blackbird" and "Blue Moon," and a new recording of "Old Friends."

Poetry and Reading

Art Garfunkel loves to read and has read many books. He said he became a big reader when he went to Columbia University. This is also when he became interested in poetry.

His poetry career began in 1981 while he was on tour in Switzerland. He was riding a motorcycle and started writing a poem about the beautiful countryside. In 1989, his collection of prose poetry, Still Water, was released. It included poems about his feelings after his father passed away, his friendship with Paul Simon, and the joy of returning to music.

Art Garfunkel's website lists every book he has read since 1968, which is over 1,000 books! He has even read the entire Random House Dictionary.

Acting Roles

Art Garfunkel also pursued an acting career in the early 1970s. He appeared in two films directed by Mike Nichols. In Catch-22 (1970), he played a young soldier. In Carnal Knowledge (1971), he played an idealistic character named Sandy, which earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 1972 Golden Globe Awards.

He later appeared in the film Bad Timing (1980) and Good to Go (1986). In 1993, he was in the film Boxing Helena. His most recent film role was in The Rebound (2009), where he played a funny, slightly forgetful father.

Voice Type

Art Garfunkel is a tenor singer. This means he usually sings the higher parts in harmonies. His voice stayed very clear for many years. Around his late fifties, his voice began to get a bit lower. He stopped smoking around 2010 to help his voice recover from a vocal cord issue.

Personal Life

Art Garfunkel was married to Linda Marie Grossman from 1972 to 1975. He was also in a relationship with actress and photographer Laurie Bird from 1974 until she passed away in 1979. Her passing deeply affected him.

In 1985, Art Garfunkel met Kathryn (Kim) Cermak, a former model. They married on September 18, 1988. They have two sons, born in 1990 and 2005. His older son, Arthur Jr., is also a singer. They collaborated on the "Father and Son" album in 2024.

Art Garfunkel enjoys long walks. In the 1980s, he walked across Japan. From 1983 to 1997, he walked across the United States, completing the journey from New York City to the Pacific coast of Oregon in many separate trips. In 1998, he started a walk across Europe, finishing in Istanbul in 2015.

Even though he grew up in New York, Art Garfunkel is a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. He once wrote that he didn't want to follow the crowd and chose the Phillies because of their red pinstripes and certain players.

Awards and Recognition

Nominations

• 1972 Golden Globe Awards, Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, for Carnal Knowledge
• 1998 Grammy Awards, Best Musical Album for Children, for Songs from a Parent to a Child

Awards

• 1969 Grammy Awards, Record of the Year, for "Mrs. Robinson" (with Simon & Garfunkel)
• 1969 Grammy Awards, Best Contemporary Pop Performance, for "Mrs. Robinson" (with Simon & Garfunkel)
• 1970 Grammy Awards, Album of the Year, for Bridge over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel)
• 1970 Grammy Awards, Record of the Year, for "Bridge over Troubled Water"
• 1970 Grammy Awards, Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), for Bridge over Troubled Water
• 1977 Britannia Award, Best International Pop LP and Single, 1952–77, for "Bridge over Troubled Water"
• 2015 German Sustainability Award

Work on Broadway

• Rock 'N Roll! The First 5,000 Years (1982) – revue – featured singer for Mrs. Robinson
• Mike Nichols and Elaine May: Together Again on Broadway (1992) – concert – performer
• The Graduate (2002) – play – featured songwriter

Discography

• Angel Clare (1973)
• Breakaway (1975)
• Watermark (1977)
• Fate for Breakfast (1979)
• Scissors Cut (1981)
• The Animals' Christmas (1986) (with Amy Grant)
• Lefty (1988)
• Songs from a Parent to a Child (1997)
• Everything Waits to Be Noticed (2002) (with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock)
• Some Enchanted Evening (2007)
• Father and Son (2024) (with Art Garfunkel Jr.)

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Art Garfunkel para niños