Arthur Ira Garfunkel was singing by the age of four,
and received encouragement from his dad in the shape of a tape recorder,
which young Arthur was fascinated with, being able to sing and play it
back.Years later, use of tape recorders
would be instrumental in helping Simon
& Garfunkel
hone their
unique sound.During one of the
duo's many hiatuses, Art attended Columbia University, where he
received a B.A. in Art History and a Masters in Math.While in college, he laid down some
solo tracks, under the pseudonym Artie Garr, and performed with the a
cappella group The Kingsmen.Simon
& Garfunkel went their
separate ways in 1970, and Art acted in a couple of films, Carnal Knowledge and Catch-22.Art did not release a solo album
until 1973's Angel Clare,
which yielded the top-ten single, "All I Know".He followed this up with
1975's Breakaway, which
reached #7 on the Billboard Top 200 and spawned a #1 hit in the U.K. with
"I Only Have Eyes For You", a remake of the old Flamingos song,
which also cracked the top twenty in the States.Art's next album was not as
successful:Watermark, originally released in 1977,
eventually required the services of Paul
Simon and James
Taylor
, who
sang background vocals on a remake of "Wonderful World", the
old Sam Cooke hit.The album
was re-released with the new track in 1978 and "Wonderful
World" managed #17 on the Billboard chart.Fate
For Breakfast, Art's 1979 offering, was a massive hit in the
U.K., peaking at #2, but scored a modest #67 in the States.Things were much worse on the home front,
however.Laurie Bird, his
live-in girlfriend, committed suicide.Art took a break from recording and returned to the silver screen in
Bad Timing and Illusions.His 1981 release, Scissors Cut, flopped.Simon
& Garfunkel's famous
concert in Central Park, followed by an international tour, was just the
balm needed to soothe Art's wounded career.That,
and a long walk; a very long
walk; across Japan.A
real-life Forrest Gump, Art spent fourteen years walking across America,
from New York to Washington.He
followed this up with a trek through Europe.Obviously, he made several stops
along the way, long enough to make another movie, Good To Go, and to record 1988's Lefty and its follow-up, Up
'til Now.In 1990, Simon
& Garfunkel
were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame.Six years later, at Ellis Island, Art performed the aptly
titled Across America concert with his son James, wife Kim, and James
Taylor
.In 1997, Art returned to film, this time as a vocalist, covering
Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"
for the Jack Nicholson film, As Good
As It Gets.In 2002, Art
finally released an album of original material, much of it culled from his
own poetry, Everything Waits To Be
Noticed.Five
years later, he teamed up with producer Richard
Perry
for an album of standards, Some Enchanted Evening.As of 2008, Art was in the middle
of a U.S. tour, with tentative plans to re-unite with Paul
Simon
.
