Paul Simon’s staggering solo success has made his music recognizable all over the globe, yet there is undeniably a different sort of magic when Art Garfunkel’s hypnotic, soothing sound accompanies his former partner’s salient writing style and innovative voice.
The duo bid farewell at the top of their game on Jan. 26, 1970, as Bridge Over Troubled Water put their stamp on music history with one of the most profound records of a generation. This blend of rangy melodies and harmonies stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it as a young doe-eyed teenager. And even now, when I drop the needle on the wax, that crackling resonance takes me to a better place.
There are reports that Simon and Garfunkel worked on “The Boxer” for nearly 100 hours in order to get the product that you hear on the album. This song about life, the struggles, the sadness and the resiliency of human spirit possibly reached its most epic moment when Paul Simon played it on Saturday Night Live four days after the events of 9/11 with a collection of New York City first responders standing in the background.
Another round of Simon and Garfunkel followers came on board when Scrubs actor Zach Braff used “Only Living Boy in New York” in his directorial film debut, 2004’s Garden State. Toward the ending of the movie, after the main character of the film (played by Graff) finally finds peace after years of darkness, he stands on top of a rusted abandoned bus looking over a deep wooded New Jersey ravine with his hands raised. The background music said it all: “Half of the time we’re gone, but we don’t know where. And we don’t know where.”
Simon and Garfunkel won numerous Grammys for Bridge Over Troubled Water in 1971, opening the door for the Garden State soundtrack’s Grammy for best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture decades later.
Still more fans have no doubt discovered this album since then – and, in the end, that’s a tribute to the songs.
Although covered by possibly half of the working artists in the ’70s, the title track’s amazing wall of sound and dramatic message still has the goose-bump effect – because well, frankly, we’ve all been down and out and needed a helping hand. “Cecilia” also leaves the listener with a happy ending, as the upbeat tune gives the ever-so-common story of two lover’s breakup before reuniting and feeling so good.
“The Boxer,” the diamond of Simon and Garfunkel’s fifth and final studio album, stands as Simon’s counter punch to the snide New York City music critics who weren’t treating them very kind: “In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade, and he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him. ‘Til he cried out in his anger and his shame. I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains.”
So does Bridge Over Troubled Water.
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Simon had a penchant for writing some incomprehensible lyrics but he also wrote some of the most straightforward and moving lyrics in pop. Both "Bridge" and "The Boxer" prove that and they have always been two of my S & G favorites. I also am a big fan of "America," "Sounds of Silence," "Homeward Bound," and "I am a Rock." The last song was the first time I ever recall hearing about alienation on a rock radio station. It ends with the lines, "and rock feels no pain, and an island never cries." The song really got me thinking.
As for Artie, my wife and I saw him live a couple of years ago and, of course, he closed the show with "Bridge." Needless to say we had goosebumps. He hasn't lost anything off of his voice.
Great article! Bridge Over Troubled Water was my favorite song that S & G did.