Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
Compilation album by Simon and Garfunkel
Released	June 14, 1972 (1972-06-14)
Recorded	March 1964 – November 1969
Genre	Folk rock
Length	43:25
Label	Columbia Records
Producer	Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone (favorable) link
Simon and Garfunkel chronology
Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970) Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits (1972) The Concert in Central Park (1982)

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits is the first compilation album from Simon and Garfunkel, released on June 14, 1972 well after the pair broke up.

The album was a unique mix of original studio recordings and four previously unreleased live recordings. The album's minimalist packaging does not date the latter, although some have placed them to a November 1969 concert. In any case, the live settings benefitted the emotional straightforwardness of Paul Simon's lyrics on "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" and "Homeward Bound", while "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" rang with newfound purpose due to the simple purity of Art Garfunkel's vocal.

The remaining ten studio songs comprise eight singles released between 1965 and 1972, "America" being issued as a single several years after its appearance as a track on the Bookends album, and two album tracks, "Bookends" and "The Boxer." All but "America" and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" made the Top Ten, with the latter peaking at #11, and "Mrs. Robinson" topped the chart aided by its appearance in Mike Nichols' hit movie The Graduate. "The Sound of Silence" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" both peaked at #1 as singles in their studio versions, and "The Boxer" peaked as a single at #7 in an edited form.

Greatest Hits peaked on the U.S. albums chart at #5. On the UK Album Chart, it was a #2 hit. Regardless of initial placements, the album has proven a long and durable seller, currently being certified for 14 million units sold in the U.S. alone. As such it is easily their best-selling album ever in the U.S., and indeed holds the record in the U.S. for the best-selling album ever by a duo.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 293 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Side one 1.2 Side two 2 Personnel 3 See also

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Paul Simon unless otherwise noted.

[edit] Side one

1. "Mrs. Robinson" – 3:51
2. "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" (live) – 2:25
3. "The Boxer" – 5:08
4. "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" (live) – 1:50
5. "The Sound of Silence" – 3:04
6. "I Am a Rock" – 2:52
7. "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel) – 3:09

[edit] Side two

1. "Homeward Bound" (live) – 2:42
2. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" – 4:51
3. "America" – 3:33
4. "Kathy's Song" (live) – 3:22
5. "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" (Paul Simon, Jorge Milchberg, Daniel A. Robles) – 3:07
6. "Bookends" – 1:19
7. "Cecilia" – 2:53

[edit] Personnel

For newly released tracks only:

• Paul Simon – acoustic guitar, vocals
• Art Garfunkel – vocals

[edit] See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States

v • d • e Simon and Garfunkel Paul Simon | Art Garfunkel Original studio albums Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. | Sounds of Silence | Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme | The Graduate | Bookends | Bridge over Troubled Water Live albums The Concert in Central Park | Live from New York City, 1967 | Old Friends: Live on Stage | Live 1969 Compilations, reissues, and unreleased material albums Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits | Collected Works | Old Friends | The Best of Simon and Garfunkel | The Columbia Studio Recordings (1964-1970) | The Essential Simon & Garfunkel Video releases The Concert in Central Park | Old Friends: Live on Stage Other related articles Simon and Garfunkel discography | List of Simon and Garfunkel songs Categories Simon and Garfunkel albums | Simon and Garfunkel songs | Paul Simon songs