Art Garfunkel

Art Garfunkel biography

Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, and actor. He is best known as half of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, which split in 1970, at the height of their popularity. He received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Sandy Kaufman in 1971's Carnal Knowledge.

Highlights of his solo music career include a top 10 hit, three top 20 hits, six top 40 hits, 14 Adult Contemporary top 30 singles, five Adult Contemporary number ones, two UK number ones and a People's Choice Award. Through his solo and collaborative work, Garfunkel has earned six Grammys, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1990, he and former musical partner Paul Simon were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early life and career

Art Garfunkel was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, the son of housewife Rose and traveling salesman Jacob "Jack" Garfunkel on November 5, 1941. Art has two siblings; the older one named Jules and the younger one named Jerome, who was an actor in his earlier years in Dayton, Ohio, before becoming a travelling menswear salesman. He is Jewish. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Iași in Romania. His cousin on his mother's side is con-artist and founder of 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, Lou Pearlman. Garfunkel attended the Forest Hills High School. According to the Across America DVD, Garfunkel's love for singing "came in the first grade. When we were lined up in size order, and after everyone else had left, I'd stay behind and enjoy the echo sound of the stairwell tiles and sing 'Unchained Melody' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone', learning to love this goose-bumps song from the tender age of five." Later, Garfunkel's father bought him a wire recorder and from then on, Garfunkel spent his afternoons singing, recording and playing it back, so he could listen for flaws and learn how to improve.

At his bar mitzvah in 1954, Garfunkel performed as a cantor performing over four hours of his repertoire to his family. As a young teen, Garfunkel was struck with a lung infection, leading to a love for basketball. He explained in a 1998 Interview: "In the summer of '55, I had a lung infection. I couldn't run around, but I love basketball and there was a hoop nearby. Much of the summer I spent methodically hitting 96, 98 foul shots out of 100. Then 102! I never played on a team after Junior High School. Just 3 against 3, half court pick up games in the schoolyard." He met his future singing partner Paul Simon in the sixth grade - PS 164, Queens, when they were both cast in the elementary school graduation play, Alice In Wonderland. It has been said by Garfunkel that Simon first became interested in singing after hearing Garfunkel sing a rendition of Nat King Cole's "Too Young" in a school talent show.

Between 1956 and 1962, the two had performed together as "Tom & Jerry", occasionally performing at school dances. Their idols were The Everly Brothers, whom they imitated in their use of close two-part vocal harmony. In 1957, Simon and Garfunkel recorded the song "Hey, Schoolgirl" under the name Tom & Jerry, given to them by their label Big Records. The single reached number forty-nine on the pop charts. Garfunkel ("Tom Graph") chose his nickname because he liked to track, or "graph" hits, on the pop charts. He also released some singles as a solo artist under the name Artie Garr, a shortened version of his name. In interviews, Garfunkel has noted himself how these early singles distinguished him as a folk-styled crooner, with songs like "Beat Love" and "Dream Alone" (both released 1959).

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