ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 23, 2003
NEW YORK - The recently reunited Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel announced another collaboration Tuesday: A joint $1 million donation to The Children's Health Fund.
Simon and Garfunkel, members of the Rock Hall of Fame who launched a reunion tour earlier this year, made a two-part donation. Half the money will go to CHF's national network for poor and homeless children; the other half will get to a pediatric preparedness program run by CHF at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
``Paul and Artie are American icons, and their actions today show that they are committed to improving the quality of life and opportunities for all of America's children,'' said Dr. Irwin Redlener, president of the fund.
The Simon and Garfunkel tour this fall was their first since 1982-83.
The Children's Health Fund was co-founded by Redlener and Simon in 1987, focusing on medical help for New York's homeless children. The nonprofit organization has since expanded to cover 16 communities nationwide.
THE MIAMI HERALD
December 22, 2004
By Daisy Oliveira
While thousands of Simon and Garfunkel fans at the AmericanAirlines Arena enjoyed a concert of favorites from the pair of legendary performers on Wednesday, money was being raised for the Children's World Blood Bank, created to develop a safe blood supply for children by providing technology, training and blood for pediatric hospitals.
An exclusive group of about 50 corporate leaders and philanthropists with a passion for music and helping children paid $500 a ticket for admission to a private suite for the concert, cocktails and dinner.
Among the guests Wednesday: Louise Valdes-Fauli; John Flynn, president of South Florida Blood Banks, and wife Maria, CEO of South Florida Blood Banks; Michael Fraser, vice president of the Bentley Group; actor Ed Cutler; developer Michael Lattener; attorney Luis Rojas; Peter Blacker, vice president of International and US Hispanic Interactive Marketing for America OnLine; Denita Munden, geographic and community outreach manager for Anheuser-Busch.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dec. 24, 2003
Simon & Garfunkel's first reunion tour in more than a decade averaged the most — $136.90 per seat.
Bruce Springsteen was the boss of the concert business in 2003, raking in $115.9 million to rank second only to the Rolling Stones for the most money ever earned by a concert act in a year.
Springsteen and his E Street Band earned the money on 47 concerts, concluding their tour with a staggering 13 stadium shows in the New York area, the concert industry trade publication Pollstar reported Tuesday.
The Stones' $121.2 million earned in 1994 still stands as the record, Pollstar said. The Stones brought in $38.5 million this year, to rank 14th.
Springsteen's reported earnings don't count the concert dates he played outside of North America, or in 2002, when "The Rising" tour began.
Pollstar hasn't finished its calculations yet, but Editor Gary Bongiovanni predicted 2003 will be the fourth record-setting year in a row with around $2.4 billion in concert business.
It's largely because fans have accepted higher ticket prices for big-name acts, particularly veterans, he said.
"Back in 1994 when the Eagles charged $100 a ticket, there was practically rebellion in the streets," Bongiovanni said.
Four acts in Pollstar's top 10 earners for the year — Celine Dion, the Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel and the Billy Joel-Elton John double bill — charged more than $100 per ticket, on average.
Simon & Garfunkel's first reunion tour in more than a decade averaged the most — $136.90 per seat.
The cheapest average ticket price in Pollstar's top 20 was Kenny Chesney's $35.76.
It was a good year for country, which had five of Pollstar's top 20 tours. The Dixie Chicks, despite being dogged by controversy over a remark made about President Bush, had the most lucrative country tour of all time.
Celine Dion finished second to Springsteen, earning $80.5 million for a one-city, 145-date "tour": her residency at a Las Vegas casino.
"If you're wondering why Elton John is considering camping there for a while — that's why," Bongiovanni said. "You can make a lot of money and you don't have to travel."
TOP CONCERT GROSSES FOR 2003:
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band -- $115.9 million.
Celine Dion -- $80.5 million.
Eagles -- $69.3 million.
Fleetwood Mac -- $69 million.
Cher -- $68.2 million.
Simon & Garfunkel -- $64.5 million.
Aerosmith-Kiss -- $64 million.
Dixie Chicks -- $60.5 million.
Billy Joel-Elton John -- $50.9 million.
Summer Sanitarium Tour with Metallica -- $48.8 million.
Dave Matthews Band -- $47.1 million.
Toby Keith -- $44.2 million.
Shania Twain -- $40.8 million.
The Rolling Stones -- $38.5 million.
Phish -- $35.8 million.
Kenny Chesney -- $34.5 million.
Tim McGraw -- $32.7 million.
Justin Timberlake/Christine Aguilera -- $31.8 million.
Jimmy Buffett -- $29.3 million.
Pearl Jam -- $29.1 million.
TAMPA TRIBUNE
Dec 19, 2003
15 Ways To Stump A S&G Fan
Kurt Loft
So you think you know a few things about Simon & Garfunkel, and constantly amaze your friends with esoteric trivia about Paul Simon's solo career. Then test your knowledge with the following puzzlers:
1. Where did Simon and Garfunkel first meet?
2. Why did Simon compose the album ``Still Crazy After All These Years'' on the piano rather than the acoustic guitar?
3. In the song ``At the Zoo,'' from what personality defect did giraffes suffer?
4. What was the duo called before they became Simon & Garfunkel?
5. What was their first recorded song?
6. What Simon tune was recorded by The Cyrkle and climbed to No. 2 on Billboard's singles chart in 1966?
7. In the song ``America,'' who was the man in the gaberdine suit?
8. What does Simon regard as his finest song?
9. What was the original name for Simon's hit ``Kodachrome''?
10. Why did the character in ``The Boxer'' squander his resistance?
11. The song ``Peace Like a River,'' from Simon's eponymous solo debut, refers to what event in history?
12. What violinist accompanied Simon on the instrumental ``Hobo's Blues''?
13. Where were Simon & Garfunkel on a Wednesday at 3 a.m. in 1964?
14. What was the original name for the song ``Mrs. Robinson''?
15. What band played on the song ``El Condor Pasa (If I Could)''?
Answers
1. Forest Hills, N.Y.
2. He developed a calcium deposit on one of his fingers, which prevented him from playing the guitar.
3. Insincerity
4. Tom & Jerry
5. ``Hey, Schoolgirl'' in 1957
6. ``Red Rubber Ball''
7. A spy (with a camera in his bow tie)
8. ``Bridge Over Troubled Water''
9. ``Going Home'' (Simon changed it because he had used the words in ``The Boxer.'')
10. For a pocketful of mumbles
11. The Vietnam War
12. Stephane Grappelli
13. In a New York subway
14. ``Mrs. Roosevelt''
15. A Peruvian group called Los Incas
TAMPA TRIBUNE
By CHERYL SCHMIDT
Tampa Tribune readers have seen his sculptures and illustrations for 20 years, accompanying celebrity profiles, concert previews, Buccaneers features and many other stories.
David O'Keefe, 42, an award-winning illustrator for the news graphics department, creates art that entertains and amuses.
Many readers have asked about his clay-model process, which has been featured in arts magazines.
This weekend's Simon & Garfunkel concert at the Forum offers an opportunity to share O'Keefe's sculpting methods. These photographs show the process he used to create clay models of singers Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel for today's Friday Extra cover.
All the sculptures are fun to make, O'Keefe says, and each presents a different challenge. In this case, the material for Garfunkel's hair came from an old macrame wall hanging.
``I had that thing laying around in a box for probably eight years and didn't know how I would use it,'' O'Keefe says. As he thought about Garfunkel's ``real tight curls'' and the color of his hair, it all came together. ``The hair wasn't even in the hair drawer.''
Before joining news graphics, O'Keefe was a promotion artist for the Tribune, where he created promotional posters for the newspaper and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Rowdies organizations. It was as a promotion artist that O'Keefe first used clay as an illustration medium.
O'Keefe has honed his sculpting skills over the years and, with advances in digital photography and imaging software, he is able to create sculpted illustrations in the limited time required to meet newsroom deadlines. O'Keefe's work has appeared in Time, Sports Illustrated, Mad magazine and The Village Voice.
A native of Orange, Conn., O'Keefe moved to Riverview at age 10 and attended Brandon High School. You can see more of his work at davidokeefe.com
THE LEDGER
December 23, 2003
By Bill Dean
Four decades ago, Simon and Garfunkel surprised themselves and the musical world when "The Sound of Silence" hit No. 1, popping through the topsoil of Beatlemania like a daisy in the desert.
Now both 62 years old, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel retained -- and showcased Sunday night in Tampa -- the same, surprising power of gentle, soft-spoken song.
At the St. Pete Times Forum, such nourishing sound and harmony did what many performers before them couldn't: Transform a giant hockey rink into a coffeehouse and fitting setting for the last stop on the duo's first tour in 20 years.
Backed for the night by a seven-piece band but relying solely on Simon's acoustic guitar at times, the pair rolled through all of their big hits and bestknown material, from an opening "Old Friends" to a final reprise of "Mrs. Robinson," when the crowd simply refused to leave.
In the two hours between, the audience of nearly 17,600 evolved from a house of spellbound listeners into a thunderclapping crowd that won a little something extra for their troubles.
And they received a refresher course on all that made Simon and Garfunkel an unlikely pair of pop kings in the mid-to-late 1960s.
As they did originally on records, Simon's lyrics of resigned loneliness searching for resolution came through crystal clear, whether on aching ballads of alienation ("The Sound of Silence," "Bridge Over Troubled Water") or on more upbeat, buoyant fare ("Homeward Bound," "The Boxer").
And as performed in their original decade, and very winningly Sunday night, Simon's musical themes varied from the psychedelic-flirtation of "Hazy Shade of Winter" and the Inca-influenced "El Condor Pasa," to the goodtime groove of "Baby Driver" (paired in a medley with "At the Zoo") and, of course, "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)."
The latter would have ended a four-song encore that also included "Cecilia," "The Boxer" and "Leaves That Are Green" were it not for the aforementioned reprise of "Mrs. Robinson," which became even more of a handclapping jam the second time around.
But enough can't be said for Simon's still-crisp guitar playing and for the vocalizations of both singers -- especially Garfunkel, the partner often given short shrift in the past.
All the high notes were there, whether Garfunkel was singing lead on "Scarborough Fair" or "Kathy's Song," or harmonizing above Simon on "Homeward Bound," "Old Friends" and others.
Throughout the night, the pair joked about their fit, such as when Garfunkel said he wanted to called the group "Garfunkel and Simon" but that Paul insisted on "going in alphabetical order."
And they paid tribute to it, surprising many in the crowd by bringing out their chief role models, The Everly Brothers, for a satisfying set of four songs including "Wake Up Little Suzie" and "Bye Bye Love."
But most strikingly, Simon and Garfunkel simply seemed "together," and at peace in that setting, perhaps more than they have ever been.
Such a feel gave their final, raised hand-clasp -- fittingly held high above their heads -- a poignant stance, as if they really were "Homeward Bound."
TAMPA BAY ONLINE
Dec 22, 2003
By CURTIS ROSS
TAMPA - It didn't really matter that the most recent song performed Sunday night had its first public airing in 1977.
At least it doesn't matter when performers bring those old songs to life so vividly that age becomes irrelevant.
That's what Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel and a superb seven-piece band did Sunday night before a St. Pete Times Forum crowd of 17,597.
A number of Simon & Garfunkel's hits - ``Mrs. Robinson,'' ``The Sound of Silence'' and ``Bridge Over Troubled Water,'' to name but three - inevitably come up when the term ``soundtrack of the '60s'' gets tossed around.
And sure, it was a kick to hear those tunes, as well as ``I Am a Rock,'' ``America'' and name your favorite, played live and played well.
But some of the most illuminating moments came with less celebrated tunes.
Consider the performance of ``The Only Living Boy in New York,'' which showed that song capable of going toe-to-toe with any of the aforementioned favorites.
Or take the duo's versions of two songs from Simon's solo albums. ``Slip Slidin' Away'' was even more heartbreaking live than on Simon's original. But then Garfunkel's high harmony burst through like a ray of sunshine through the dark clouds of the lyrics.
And Garfunkel made ``American Tune'' soar. The song, from 1973, showed Simon still willing to ask the questions his peers had by then abandoned.
The duo also entertained with some self-effacing midset patter that was as sunny as their relationship has been stormy. Garfunkel pointed out that this was the 50th anniversary of their first performance together - in a sixth-grade presentation of ``Alice in Wonderland.'' Simon responded that they began singing together at age 13 and arguing at 14.
The Everly Brothers, whose influence on Simon & Garfunkel was evident in a performance of ``Hey Schoolgirl,'' their first single (recorded as Tom & Jerry), came out to perform a trio of songs. The duo's country-tinged harmonies still shone. Simon & Garfunkel then joined their heroes for ``Bye Bye Love.''
The duo's band provided superb backing. Guitarist Mark Stewart's effects-laden guitar led the way into an excellent jam at the end of ``Homeward Bound,'' which also featured fine playing from guitarist Larry Saltzman and pianist Warren Bernhardt.
The band took the stage at the end of the evening for an apparently impromptu closing jam on ``Mrs. Robinson.''
But the most transcendent moments belonged to Simon & Garfunkel alone, on numbers such as ``Scarborough Fair'' and ``Kathy's Song,'' in which Garfunkel's still angelic tenor, Simon's subtle but brilliant guitar playing and their trademark harmonies combined to make a sound that exists in a time of its own.
ORLANDO SENTINEL
December 23, 2003
As delivered by the old friends, their songs obviously reflect an era, and yet have lost none of their beauty.
By Jim Abbott
Whatever issues make the friendship of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel so fractious, there's still distinctive harmony on stage.
The duo sailed through a generous assortment of classic hits Sunday at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, the renditions shaped by the passage of time and the pair's long, often bumpy, history.
Nostalgia was thick in the opening video montage, with its 1950s childhood photos and historical clips ranging from Martin Luther King Jr. to President Reagan.
But a song like the opening "Old Friends" -- with its line "how terribly strange to be 70" -- takes on a new significance when the singers are edging closer to that milestone. The most impressive thing about the two-hour performance was how many of these songs remain timelessly beautiful even as they unmistakably reflect the era in which they were written.
Accepting a wave of applause after the sweetly yearning "Kathy's Song," Garfunkel gracefully praised Simon's songwriting.
"The truth is, it's pretty easy to sing when the songs are this good," he said.
The gentle poetry was showcased again on "I Am a Rock," "America," "Homeward Bound," "The Sound of Silence," and other signature hits. Accompanied by an understated seven-piece band, the duo delivered the material with a mixture of subtle reinvention and faithful reproduction.
The two-part harmonies soared in the chorus of "I Am a Rock," which was propelled by heavy bass drum syncopation and instrumental breaks filled with electric guitars and keyboards.
The chorus of "Homeward Bound" resembled a lilting country song, though an Eastern-sounding gut-string guitar solo in an extended instrumental break reflected Simon's world-music excursions on Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints.
"The Sound of Silence," delivered about midway through the show, began with Simon's solitary guitar, then opened into a spacious band arrangement that evaporated to leave the two singers alone in the spotlight for the final verse.
They traded verses on "Bridge Over Troubled Water," with Simon adapting the melody to his almost spoken-word delivery and Garfunkel sticking closer to the original, including the challenging high note in the final phrase. He hit it, but it no longer looks effortless.
Often, the union of their voices was impeccable, especially on the haunting harmonies of "America" and "The Boxer," which closed the first of three encores. The sound mix was excellent, allowing the voices to rise above the instruments even in the most delicate passages.
Do they like each other? If not, they have perfected the art of turning animosity into humorous asides.
While a beaming Garfunkel gushed about the "50th anniversary of this friendship I deeply cherish," Simon spent most of the night wearing the expression your dad might have had just after you had thrown a baseball through a window.
"We started to sing together when we were 13 years old and we started to argue together when we were 14 years old," he joked dryly. "We don't argue anymore; we're exhausted."
Still, Simon looked happy only occasionally, striking goofy rock star poses on faster songs such as "A Hazy Shade of Winter" and a showstopping "Mrs. Robinson." He teamed with Garfunkel on two songs from his solo career, an inspired "American Tune" and a less memorable "Slip Slidin' Away."
But Simon grinned most widely after the Everly Brothers performed a short set in the middle of the show. Brothers Phil and Don sounded terrific and look almost as ageless as Dick Clark.
Even if they don't like each other, Simon & Garfunkel are aging just as well.
ST: PETERSBURG TIMES
December 22, 2003
Folk legends Simon & Garfunkel bring their "Old Friends" tour to Tampa, and their fans revel in the music - and the memories.
By GINA VIVINETTO
TAMPA - It takes a band like Simon & Garfunkel to inspire 17,597 fans, young and old, to gather Sunday at the St. Pete Times Forum and join the legendary folk duo on another winning stop of its "Old Friends" reunion tour. One of this year's top 20 concerts, the tour is averaging $2.2-million in ticket sales in each city.
What other folk duo from the 1960s could pull that off?
Known as much for classics such as The Sound of Silence, I Am A Rock and Bridge Over Troubled Water, as for the duo's endless dueling - Simon & Garfunkel have broken up and reunited several times - the band always causes a commotion among fans when it gets back together.
Fittingly, S&G, who met 50 years ago, began the evening with Old Friends. Harmonizing nearly as effortlessly as they did in the 1960s, the two struck a chord with Baby Boomers in the crowd with the lyric, "how terribly strange to be 70."
Now both 62, Paul Simon, dressed in a red T-shirt, and Art Garfunkel, clad in dark dress shirt with a snazzy purple tie, stood side by side as their band filled in behind them, diving into a rocking Hazy Shade Of Winter.
The harmonies were a bit more warbly on I Am Rock, but fans didn't seem to mind. Garfunkel's high tenor isn't as crystalline as it used to be, but then again, whose is? Watching him sing, hands in pockets in the classic Garfunkel stance, must have been a treat to longtime fans.
The concert offered another treat: The Everly Brothers. In an unbilled guest spot, the legendary Phil and Don Everly, major influences on the night's headliners, stepped onstage and performed a short set of rock 'n' roll classics including Wake Up Little Susie and All I Have To Do Is Dream. Next they performed Bye, Bye Love with Simon & Garfunkel
After the Everlys were received a standing ovation, S&G performed a beautiful, stirring rendition of Scarborough Fair with guitarist Mark Stewart playing cello. Has the spare, elegant song ever sounded so voluptuous?
Many of the duo's tunes have themes of aging - Leaves That Are Green, Old Friends, Hazy Shade of Winter and Slip Slidin' Away (from Simon's solo career, which the two performed). The lyrics, written when Simon was in his 20s, resonate with new twists and turns now that he - and his fans - have lived out many of his prophecies and fears.
Not that the night was all about saying hello to darkness, our old friend. S&G provided a peppy Cecilia, inspiring the audience to sing along. Mrs. Robinson, too, seem to make many in the crowd - not surprisingly, mostly men - feel young enough to shake their hips.
ORLANDO SENTINEL
December 20, 2003
Too much water under bridge?
By Jim Abbott
If Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel started their famous partnership in 2003 instead of four decades ago, there would be a bidding war for rights to the reality show.
Timeless songs, beautiful harmonies -- and a dysfunctional, Behind the Music-worthy friendship that's off more than it's on. Gossip out of the duo's reunion tour, which includes a stop Sunday in Tampa, is that they're still contentious after all these years.
On stage, Simon has been described as sourly stoic these days, while his partner showers him with compliments and sings with demonstrative flair.
As much as the songs, it's the duo's back story that makes this reunion compelling. The trail of hurtful quotes stretches over decades.
"I did a lot of deferring to Paul in those years, and I'm so happy not to be doing that now," Garfunkel told the Times of London in 1998. "I feel righteously selfish. Happily solo."
Simon, in accepting his solo induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, offered a withered olive branch.
"I regret the ending of our friendship, and I hope that one day before I die we will make peace with each other," he said, adding as applause subsided: "No rush."
Simon & Garfunkel's feud is perhaps the longest running, but it's not the only troubled waters experienced by going one-on-one in the music business: Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Richards, Phil and Don Everly (a supporting act on Simon & Garfunkel's current tour), Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis.
"Performing is stressful," says Boston psychologist and author Pamela Brill. "That kind of intensity tends to exacerbate or highlight our differences as human beings."
Musical compatibility doesn't mean that differences don't exist when the songs stop, says Rick Amos, half of longtime Orlando duo 2EZ, with partner Edwin White.
"If music hadn't been in our lives, we may not even have met," Amos says. "We're really two different guys, who probably didn't have much else in common."
Amos, 50, is so soft-spoken that it's occasionally hard to hear him across a quiet room. White, 53, is more gregarious, prone to storytelling and long, thoughtful monologues about the nature of music.
The diminutive Amos cuts his thinning hair short; the taller White wears a pony tail. Like Simon, Amos weighs his words carefully. White has a dream of roller-skating to Wisconsin, which is similar to Garfunkel's extended "walk across America."
Brill, the psychologist, says that for creative partners to survive, it's important to develop strategies to cope with stress. She offers ideas in The Winner's Way, a self-help book scheduled for spring publication by McGraw-Hill.
"The important thing for a duo like Simon & Garfunkel is to revisit what our shared purpose is and what are our roles. Let's accept them, be clear about them and understand that without each other we can't go as far."
Brill spends most of her time working on interpersonal relationships that affect businesses and college sports teams. She says the challenge is tougher when it's one-on-one.
"When you have that urge to lash out and bite someone's head off and there's only one other person, that's who becomes the target. The differences that brought you together can become dividing as well."
What then?
"Take a break from each other. Try some deep breathing, walking, exercise, those types of things. Organizations take retreats."
SARASOTA HERALD TRIBUNE
December 19, 2003
BY STEVE HEISLER
TAMPA -- It's a tour that may have been set into motion with an acoustic take of "The Sound of Silence" last spring.
But when Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel recombine as perhaps the best-known duo in folk-rock history in St. Petersburg, it will be all about "Old Friends."
When Simon and Garfunkel traded licks and harmonized while rehearsing for the 2003 Grammy Awards in February, it opened the window on a live sound long lost, but not forgotten.
Their spellbinding performance for 100 million-plus TV viewers also let these old school friends from Queens, N.Y., realize that, five decades later, they still have something groovy.
The artists chose not to talk to the media during this tour, allowing their music to eloquently speak for itself. Their impact, however, cannot be denied as music-industry professionals and fans reflect on what was and what might have been.
Among them is William McKeen. McKeen, who now teaches a popular honors seminar on rock history at the University of Florida, remembers the first album he purchased: "Sounds of Silence." He also recalled a late '60s concert that epitomized the political and philosophical climate of those days.
"They're just so much a part of that era," he said of the duo, who have performed only sporadically in 20 years. "They came to Indiana University in the spring of 1968 and they were campaigning for (presidential candidate) Eugene McCarthy. They're tied into that moment in time, but they've grown beyond it. They've transcended the concept of being a nostalgia act."
That said, there's plenty to reminisce about and to look forward to. Both acoustically and with a full band, they will work their way through a songbook that includes "Mrs. Robinson," "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Homeward Bound," a tune McKeen calls "just about as lyrical a folk song as you can find, and timeless." And there's "Old Friends," offering a wistful portrait of days gone by, as the winter of life sets in.
In his classes, McKeen addresses the duo's folk-rock phenomenon as part of the reaction of American musicians to the British Invasion led by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
"We talk about the two-man assault, to take (the spotlight) back, were James Brown and Bob Dylan," said McKeen, a Dylan expert who has also written books on Thomas Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson. "When we talk about folk rock, that's when Simon and Garfunkel come in. They had a lot in common with Dylan, because they had the same producer in the early years."
That producer, Tom Wilson, added the electric track to the duo's folk recording of "Wednesday Morning 3 a.m." that helped push them into the musical forefront. Their sound grew with tunes like "Hazy Shade of Winter," "I Am a Rock" and "The Boxer."
Many of those songs, including the obscure-but-delightful "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" are found on "The Essential Simon and Garfunkel," a 33-hit, two-CD release this year that encompasses many of their early live recordings.
McKeen remains partial to other lesser-known gems such as "Silver Haired Daddy of Mine" and "Down In The Willow Garden." Those songs, recorded by Simon and Garfunkel, originally were cut by the Everly Brothers, who are appearing as special guests at the St. Pete Times Forum Sunday.
Phil and Don Everly were a strong early influence on the duo, with 1958's "Songs Our Daddy Taught Us."
"I think the greatest thing about the tour is Simon and Garfunkel paying homage to the Everly Brothers," McKeen said. "They are the greatest voices in rock 'n' roll. Here they are with the Everly Brothers who didn't speak to each other for 10 years. The Everly Brothers showed you could have a class reunion, so to speak."
The breakup of Simon and Garfunkel in the early '70s stemmed from personal differences as well as each artist choosing to follow his own path.
Simon developed a successful solo career, delving into world music with the success of "Graceland." Garfunkel showed some promise via tunes like "My Little Town." He also worked as an actor, most notably with Jack Nicholson in "Carnal Knowledge" and later in "Catch 22."
McKeen spoke of their timelessness by pointing out that the duo, who began as a doo-wop group, are a staple on adult-contemporary radio.
It's a viewpoint shared by Ron White, the program director of WSRZ-FM (Oldies 108), in Sarasota.
"I can tell you they're still very popular with the oldies audience, with our audience in particular," White said. "Two of their biggest hits we play quite regularly are 'The Sound of Silence' and 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.' Those stand the test of time."
White pointed to other hits by the duo that have been recorded by other artists. Among them are the Harper Bizarre version of "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" and "Red Rubber Ball," recorded by The Cyrkle, but written by Simon.
He said whenever the duo's popularity is gauged, it doesn't wane.
"They're requested, and in the research we do with the audience on songs, they still come up and test very well," White said. "They're a mainstay of our format and our radio station today after 40 years."
That enduring sound is one reason Joe Levy, music editor of Rolling Stone, has been drawn to their careers. Levy saw them at the 2003 Grammys and sensed the magic in the air -- although it took some time to develop.
"They did put their differences aside for that, which felt, at the time, like a very important event for New York City," Levy said. "There was a lot of talk following that performance that there would be a reunion tour. Nothing materialized, and it took a while to put it together, but there it is, doing great and happening now."
The 30-city tour that ends in mid-December is, to Levy, like other "classic rock" spectacles by the likes of Elton John and The Eagles.
He said it is different, however, in one important way:
"The difference with Simon and Garfunkel is they went away. It makes it feel like a historic occasion. If you don't see it now, you may not get another chance."
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
December 22, 2003
By NICK MARINO
Simon & Garfunkel's songs have not lasted 39 years for nothing. The folk duo's catalog is built on a solid songwriting foundation, with memorably wintry acoustic melodies and lyrics more wise than clever. The songs are models of pop craftsmanship -- simple, handmade objects that withstand the test of time.
What they don't withstand so well is the test of flexibility. There's only so much you can do with a Simon & Garfunkel song. Each fiber of the lyrics, melodies and harmonies is in its place for a reason, making improvisation almost unthinkable.
This reality had a complicated effect on the listener Saturday night at Philips Arena, where the beloved folk duo performed as part of their long-awaited reunion tour. One marveled at the duo's mastery of the form, yet wondered whether it was a good thing to have so many songs that only sound right when played one specific way, virtually eliminating the possibility of surprise.
The audience seemed to think it was a very fine thing indeed. The 62-year-old songwriters drew several standing ovations and were called back for three encores, closing the show with a reprise of "Mrs. Robinson," which they'd performed about an hour earlier. This was a telling gesture: after playing the songs they'd planned on playing, they decided -- rather than perform something novel to end the concert with a twist -- to simply repeat themselves.
This is not to say that the show was dull, or that the duo's talents have diminished. Both Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel delivered classy performances, their stage presence only mildly awkward (after all these combative years, mild awkwardness is an achievement) and their famous harmonies on glorious display.
Everybody in the audience surely had a favorite tune going into the show, and with a setlist including "The Boxer," "The Sound of Silence," "Cecilia," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "The Only Living Boy In New York," "Homeward Bound," "I Am A Rock" and that double-shot of "Mrs. Robinson," it's hard to imagine many people going home with their request unfulfilled. Every song sounded good, one tried and true hit after another faithful to its original recording. Just seeing the duo on stage together, singing those old songs, made the evening memorable.
Maybe that was the point. (Actually, there's no maybe about it -- that was the point.) But with an innovator like Simon finally reunited with a game harmonizer like Garfunkel, a certain feeling of missed opportunity sank in at the show's end, despite their easy mastery of the old material.
That feeling was mitigated, however, during a mid-set mini-performance by Simon & Garfunkel's heros, the Everly Brothers.
When the Everlys sank into their wistful love song "(All I Have To Do Is) Dream," a white-haired couple in the audience rose to dance tenderly in the aisle, gently raising a point: perhaps these particular artists need not innovate. Perhaps better for them provide the music just the way everyone remembers it, encouraging the listener to soak into an old memory, or even to rise, dance, and try to make a new one.
ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
December 14, 2003
By Nick Marino
IN CONCERT Simon & Garfunkel
8 p.m. Saturday at Philips Arena. With the Everly Brothers. Sold out.
Ringing cellphones, whooping sirens, chatting co-workers, droning televisions, screaming babies --- it's all a bit much for the human ear to handle.
Sweet, well-crafted harmonies carry us away from the buzz. They're like life rafts on a churning sea of noise. And Simon & Garfunkel, who perform at Philips Arena next weekend, have crafted some of the most buoyant harmonies in pop history.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel announced their arrival on the popular music scene rather quietly 39 years ago with the album "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM." Though not a hit, the debut record provided a starting place for the young New York folk duo by crystallizing the soon-to-be-famous S&G sound: acoustic guitar, heavy atmosphere and close harmony.
Through the years, as the hits piled up and the group became more famous, its soft, organic harmonies became its hallmark.
Perhaps nowhere were those harmonies more memorable than on the spare version of "The Sound of Silence" that appeared on "Wednesday Morning" without the drums and electric guitar added later, on the rendition that became a classic.
"Silence," especially in its uncluttered early state, was something of a harmony showcase, providing an opportunity to hear the earthy, natural qualities of Simon's voice playing against the purity and clarity of Garfunkel's.
The duo's harmonies did not sound terribly sophisticated. They did, however, possess a mysterious intangible quality that has remained so potent that Simon & Garfunkel have sold out their Saturday performance in Atlanta despite not having released a new studio album together since 1970.
Something clicks in the listener's ear when Simon & Garfunkel sing. According to musician/writer Robert Jourdain, the same something has clicked in Western ears and brains since medieval times, when religious chants began including multiple, simultaneous melodic lines --- becoming, to use the technical term, polyphonic, and creating what we know as harmony.
Since then, harmonies have been candy for the ear. And yet, although everyone who's ever sung in a church choir or listened to a Beach Boys song can attest to harmony's delights, it's hard to explain how and why harmonies work.
"I think harmony is kind of a cosmic thing," says singer-songwriter Emily Saliers, whose harmonies with Amy Ray have made the Atlanta-based Indigo Girls one of the most prominent modern duos following in Simon & Garfunkel's footsteps. "I don't really know how to break it down verbally, but it's a really deep metaphor for togetherness."
Certain voices and certain notes simply work together in the same way that certain colors or fabrics or personalities work together. Experts and casual listeners alike can hear the magical moment when voices mesh.
"When you get it exactly right," says David Brensinger, artistic director of the a cappella group Atlanta Singers, "there's like this light that goes on, or this sparkle."
Harmony adds dimension to a piece of music by stacking notes on top of notes. The singers' voices sympathize and blend with one another, and they share a kind of physical intimacy even as they expand the song's sound.
"I think there's a difference between size and intimacy," says Brooklyn musician Joe Pernice, the leader of the pop band Pernice Brothers and a huge Simon & Garfunkel fan.
"I think that [Simon & Garfunkel's] harmonies are really intimate even when it's soaring, and I think some of their songs approach the colossal. They're huge-sounding."
Jourdain, author of "Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy," describes ear-pleasing harmonies as particular arrangements of musical tones that cut through the noisy discord of everyday life (and everyday music) to create a dazzling pattern. To him, hearing a beautiful harmony is like seeing a beautiful skyscraper --- it's an astonishing achievement of order in a world of chaos.
It's an achievement that pop acts seem increasingly less inclined to attain. Harmony-based groups are much rarer in today's pop culture than they were in the mid-'60s, when Simon & Garfunkel were building on the legacy of forebears (and current support act) the Everly Brothers.
"There's been a general trend in pop music to greater and greater levels of noise," Jourdain says, "and eventually you get to a point where it's almost industrial and it sounds like a train wreck --- and it's supposed to sound like a train wreck."
Simon & Garfunkel sound more like a simple chime. Their songs have a hymnlike quality to them and, although their albums stick mostly to conventional pop material, "Wednesday Morning" finds them singing a version of the traditional church song "Benedictus."
Spirituals have some of the richest and most distinctive harmonies in music, and such groups as Take 6 and the Blind Boys of Alabama continue sacred music's long tradition of harmony-based singing. Even mostly secular artists, such as Saliers and Roches singer Suzzy Roche, testify to the formative importance of singing religious music.
Roche recalls her older sister Maggie harmonizing with a song called "Sacred Heart of Jesus" in the backseat of the family car. As adults, Maggie, Suzzy and Terre Roche recorded a showstopping a cappella rendition of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus," along with several offbeat 1980s pop songs with striking harmonies.
The two older Roche sisters, Maggie and Terre, sang backup on Paul Simon's solo record "There Goes Rhymin' Simon," and they all paid close attention to the harmonies of Simon & Garfunkel.
"They move up and around each other," Suzzy Roche says. "They don't necessarily stay on their own track. They'll cross through each other harmony-wise, so that each harmony is like a melody of its own, really. You can really hear it in two parts, and then when you hear it in three parts, it's harder to hear that, 'cause you hear the chord . . . with the two parts, you're only making partial chords."
But even a partial chord can create a dramatic effect. Whether it's three sisters singing a Handel piece or Simon & Garfunkel performing "The Sound of Silence," a great harmony superstimulates the listener's brain.
"You feel like an Olympian god while it's going on, and then the music stops and you're just the dumb klutz you were before it started," Jourdain says. "But that, to me, is the point of art."
THE SUN SENTINEL
December 18, 2003
By Sean Piccoli
MIAMI · Watching the twin pillars of Bridge Over Troubled Water and a score of other classic American songs, it seemed at times on Wednesday night that maybe too much water has passed under the bridge and that maybe the bridge needs work.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, both 62, have not made new music together since 1975 and have toured sporadically since their recording heyday. All old friends like to say they can pick up the conversation again, no matter how long the lapse between exchanges. But Simon and Garfunkel, performing to 13,128 people at AmericanAirlines Arena, showed that chemistry and shared history