Art Garfunkel (nickname: Art) was born in Forest Hill, New York on November 5, 1941. With Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and Watermark, he amassed a 45 million dollar fortune. The actor, singer, and poet was born under the sign of Scorpio and is currently 80 years old.
Art Garfunkel’s Childhood
Arthur Ira Garfunkel was born in the borough of Queens in the city of New York on November 5th, 1941. Art’s early musical experiences included singing at the synagogue where he grew up in Romania with his two brothers, which was part of his upbringing in a Jewish household.
Art is connected to the late Lou Pearlman, who was the driving force behind both the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC’s success.
Garfunkel was already giving himself chills when he performed songs like “Unchained Melody” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” when he was in the first grade. Art’s father bought him a wire recorder as a gift when he was a youngster, and he used it to record himself singing.
After that, he listened to the recordings to see where he might make improvements. As part of his bar mitzvah celebration, he took on the customary position of a cantor and sang constantly for the entirety of the ceremony, which lasted four hours.
When Art was a teenager, he was forced to stop singing for the whole summer owing to a lung ailment. He spent that time improving his basketball shooting talents rather than singing. Even today, he shows no signs of relinquishing his love for basketball. Paul Simon and Garfunkel met for the first time when they were both in sixth grade.
The two were both performing in a school performance of “Alice in Wonderland” at the time. Simon got interested in singing after witnessing Garfunkel perform on a talent event, according to Garfunkel. The singer was Simon and Garfunkel.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel cooperated as a musical duet under the moniker “Tom & Jerry” from the middle of the 1950s until the early 1960s. The duo performed often at school dances, singing in two-part vocal harmony. The Everly Brothers had inspired them to do so. In 1957, they released “Hey Schoolgirl,” which reached number 49 on the charts.
At this point in time, Simon and Garfunkel had their first major disagreement. A record label executive, Sid Posen, contacted Paul Simon with an offer of a contract for two more singles (as a solo artist). Garfunkel felt betrayed as a consequence of Simon’s inability to notify him of this information. After spending time with Tom and Jerry, they went their own ways.
After finishing his high school education, Garfunkel continued his study at Columbia University, where he sought a degree in architecture.
He was a member of a variety of sporting teams at the university, including bowling, skiing, tennis, and fencing. He also maintained his musical career by joining the Columbia Kingsmen, an all-male a cappella group. Art graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history in 1965 and a Master of Arts degree in mathematics instruction in 1967.
Simon & Garfunkel (Simon & Garfunkel)
Art and Garfunkel met paths again when Paul Simon graduated from Brooklyn School of Law in 1963. The year was 1963 at the time. Despite their worries, they chose to continue working together as a couple.
They also decided to alter their name from “Tom & Jerry” to “Simon & Garfunkel,” thus they changed their name from “Tom & Jerry” to “Simon & Garfunkel.” Despite their concerns that their venture would sound too much like a legal practice at the time, they went forward with it nevertheless.
The title of their debut studio album, issued by Columbia Records in 1964, was “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” The record was welcomed with deafening silence from the public, and the media gave it little attention.
The pair split up as a consequence of this setback, with Art preferring to focus on his studies at Columbia University. Thankfully, producer Tom Wilson re-released “The Sound of Silence” as a single in 1965, and it swiftly soared to the top of the charts after its original release. Higher education students were very enthusiastic about the song.
“When no one was listening, I sought to make beautiful vowel sounds for my own ears’ sake… Walking in rhythm over sidewalk cracks, I sang my tune. Then did it again in the next higher key. I was on my way to first grade.” – AG
Happy Birthday and many more walks, Art Garfunkel! pic.twitter.com/50e8Ovu4zR
— Simon & Garfunkel (@SimonGarfunkel) November 5, 2019
Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon met together again after Paul Simon graduated from Brooklyn School of Law in 1963. It was the year 1963 this time. Despite their skepticism about the notion of working together again, they chose to reconnect as a pair.
They also changed their name, going by the appellation “Simon & Garfunkel” instead of “Tom & Jerry.” The two persons were apprehensive that this could sound too much like a legal practice at the time, but they went forward with it nonetheless.
In 1964, Columbia Records published the album “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” which marked their debut. Reviewers were deafeningly silent upon hearing the record, and they gave it no attention at all. Following this setback, the pair decided to divorce, with Art returning to Columbia University to resume his studies.
Thankfully, producer Tom Wilson re-released “The Sound of Silence” as a single in 1965, and it swiftly soared to the top of the charts following its original release. The song piqued the attention of students at a variety of educational institutions.
Art Garfunkel’s Career as a Solo Artist
It seemed virtually inevitable that Art and Paul would split ways when their personal differences were brought to light once again. During this period, Paul felt isolated since Art was gaining playing parts in films like “Carnal Knowledge” and “Catch-22.”
In 1970, they decided they no longer wanted to work together, and they each moved on to start their separate businesses. Despite this, they continued to visit each other at other performances on a regular basis. In 1973, Garfunkel released his debut solo album, “Angel Clare.” Despite reaching number five on the charts, the album received mixed reviews from critics.
Bottoms up! 🍻 #ArtGarfunkel celebrates his 77th birthday… 🎂 as he continues reading, writing, singing, and loving Kathyrn & Sons. 📚 ✏️ 🎤 💕
– ‘fate for breakfast’ 🍳
– – ‘doubt for dessert’ 🍦 pic.twitter.com/hga70aAf47— Simon & Garfunkel (@SimonGarfunkel) November 6, 2018
His next album, “Breakaway,” had more commercially successful songs like “I Only Have Eyes For You” and “My Little Town,” both written by Paul Simon. Art’s work existence was tarnished by a series of missteps and bad events during the next several years.
Following the loss of his longtime partner Laurie Bird in 1974, Art did not feel motivated to write music for a period of years. Her death was a result of suicide. Following the release of the lackluster album “Scissors Cut,” Garfunkel sank into a profound melancholy and retreated almost completely from public life. Things grew much tougher when his father died during this time period.
Garfunkel made a return in the latter part of the 1990s, bringing with him a number of notable successes, and, for the first time, he started creating his own songs.
For the first time in a long time, Art and Paul started performing together again in 2009; unfortunately, their relationship began to deteriorate once again after Garfunkel was forced to cancel a lucrative tour due to vocal chord paresis. This failure signaled the start of the duo’s demise. The inability of art to be “honest,” according to Paul Simon, is to blame for “letting us all down.”
Art Garfunkel’s Net Worth Is Estimated to Be in the Millions of Dollars
Art Garfunkel has a net worth of $95 million after a successful career as a singer and composer in the United States. Artie Garfunkel is best known as one half of the folk-rock duet Simon & Garfunkel, which produced a series of chart-topping tunes.
“Mrs. Robinson” and “The Sound of Silence” are two instances of this. His professional connections with Paul Simon were often marred by their feuds and disagreements. The two artists created the appearance of being unable to work together successfully for long periods of time, and as a consequence, they chose to continue their careers on different paths.
Despite the fact that most of the credit was usually given to Paul Simon since he was the principal songwriter for Simon & Garfunkel, Art ultimately became a successful solo performer. As a solo artist, Garfunkel had a lot of success, having a lot of songs that charted highly, including one that made the top 10.
Over the course of his career, Art has received nine Grammy Awards and a People’s Choice Award. In 1990, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Paul Simon. Garfunkel is now universally regarded as one of the most brilliant voices in the world’s history.
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Wife and Children of Art Garfunkel
In 1972, Art Garfunkel married architect Linda Marie Grossman, and the couple separated in 1975. Since the divorce, he has stated that the marriage was tumultuous, and he has not talked to her.
He was romantically connected with actress Laurie Bird from 1974 till 1979 when she committed herself. “I questioned myself continually why I didn’t marry her, since clearly, she was the apple of my eye,” Garfunkel remarked in a 1986 interview.
“She embodied all I want in a woman.” But, since my previous marriage had left me deeply wounded, I was especially apprehensive about marrying Laurie. I was devastated. It knocked me out. When the sun went down, I used to be really melancholy. For me, the evenings were incredibly lonely.”
While shooting Good to Go in 1985, Garfunkel met former model Kathryn Cermak. They married in 1988 and have two children: James (born 1990) and Beau Daniel (born 1992). (born 2005, via a surrogate mother).