He met his future singing partner, Paul Simon, in the sixth grade. Between 1956 and 1962, the two had performed together as Tom & Jerry. Garfunkel ("Tom Graph") chose his nickname because he liked to track, or "graph" hits, on the pop charts. Garfunkel attended Columbia University in the early sixties, where he sang with the Kingsmen, an all-male a cappella group. While at Columbia, he was also a Brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity. In 1962 Garfunkel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in art history, followed eventually by a Master's degree in mathematics.
In 1963 he and Simon reformed the duo under their own names as Simon and Garfunkel and released their first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. on Columbia Records in October 1964. It was not a critical success, and the duo effectively split again after recording. The next year their producer Tom Wilson lifted the song "The Sound of Silence" from the record, redubbed an electric backing onto it, and released it as a single, which eventually went to #1 on the Billboard pop charts. They reunited and went on to become two of the most popular artists of the 1960s, releasing a total of five studio albums. However, citing personal differences and divergence in career interests, they split following the release of their most critically acclaimed album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, in 1970.
Solo career
In the 1970s, Garfunkel released a few solo albums, and although he did not reach the heights that Simon and Garfunkel had reached, he still scored hits with "I Only Have Eyes For You" (a 1934 song originally written by Harry Warren [1]) and "Bright Eyes" (both British #1 hit singles), and "All I Know" (#9 in the United States). A version of "Bright Eyes" also appeared in the movie Watership Down. He briefly reunited with Paul Simon in the 1975 hit "My Little Town".
Art Garfunkel (centre) with his band after the show at Liseberg fairground on June 4 1998
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Art Garfunkel (centre) with his band after the show at Liseberg fairground on June 4 1998
In between, he also acted in a few movies, including Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge (1971) with Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen, and Ann-Margret.
Following disappointing sales of his 1981 album Scissors Cut, Garfunkel reunited with Paul Simon for the famous concert in Central Park. The subsequent world tour went well musically, but they had disagreements during the tour, with the disappointment for Art Garfunkel that Paul Simon excluded Art's voice from the new album that was announced as a S&G album and came out as a new Paul Simon solo album Hearts and Bones. The reason for that was that Paul Simon's songs were very personal. After this, Garfunkel left the music scene for several years, but returned in 1988 with the album Lefty. None of these projects garnered much critical success, and Garfunkel did not release another album until 1993's Up 'til Now. Perhaps his most noteworthy recent release is his live 1996 concert Across America, recorded live at the registry hall on Ellis Island. The concert features several musical guests, including James Taylor, Garfunkel's wife, Kim, and his son James Arthur.
Garfunkel also performed the theme song for the 1991 television series, "Brooklyn Bridge", and in 1998 Garfunkel sang "The Ballad of Buster Baxter" for an episode of the PBS Kids cartoon Arthur.
Recent events
In 2003, Garfunkel made his debut as a songwriter on his well-received Everything Waits to Be Noticed album. Teaming up with singer-songwriters Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock, the album represented some of Garfunkel's strongest solo performances to date, and contained several songs whose origins were poems penned by Garfunkel. Everything Waits to Be Noticed is recognized as his first true effort at songwriting, save his teenage years with Paul Simon in Tom and Jerry.
In 2003, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon reunited one more time and buried their disagreements once and for all. The world tour in 2003 and 2004 that followed was this time very joyful and was a big success. After the tour, they went their own ways.
Garfunkel made news in early 2004 when he was arrested for possession of cannabis.
The only new recording on the collection The Art Garfunkel Album (1984), the song "Sometimes When I'm Dreaming" (written by Mike Batt), was re-recorded in 2005 by ex ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog on her comeback album My Colouring Book.
In August 2005, Garfunkel received his second cannabis possession charge after a state police trooper found a joint in the ashtray of his car while in New York State. [2]
In 2006, Garfunkel signed with Rhino Records (revived Atco Records,) and his first Rhino/Atco album Some Enchanted Evening was released in America on January 30, 2007. [3] In late February 2007 during a German television interview to promote his new album Some Enchanted Evening, Garfunkel expressed interest in reuniting with Paul Simon on a new album.
I Only Have Eyes For You
Art Garfunkel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't see anyone but you
Are the stars out tonight
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright
I only have eyes for you, dear
The moon may be high
'Cause I only have eyes for you
I don't know if we're in a garden
Or on a crowded avenue
You are here, so am I
Maybe millions of people go by
But they all disappear from view
And I only have eyes for you
Art Garfunkel's "I Only Have Eyes For You" is a beautiful love song that describes a type of love that is all-consuming, rendering everything else in the world irrelevant. The singer sings about their deep and overwhelming love for someone, explaining that they are completely blinded by love and can only see that person. The lyrics suggest that the singer is lost in love, unable to focus on anything else but the object of their affection. They describe how they cannot even see the moon or the stars because their attention is so focused on the one they love.
Despite the fact that the singer is so single-minded in their love, they acknowledge that the world around them still exists. They wonder whether there are stars out that night or whether it is cloudy, but they do not really care. They are so entranced by the person they love that nothing else matters. They also admit that they do not know their surroundings, whether they are in a garden or on a crowded avenue. For all they know, millions of people could pass by, but they would not notice. The only thing that matters to them is the person they love.
"I Only Have Eyes For You" is a touching and romantic song that captures the intensity of love. It reminds us of how it feels to be so in love that everything else pales in comparison. The lyrics are simple but effective, and the melody is gentle and soothing, contributing to the overall feeling of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
My love must be a kind of blind love
My affection for you is so strong that it blinds me from noticing others
I can't see anyone but you
My gaze is fixed only upon you
Are the stars out tonight
I wonder if the stars are visible tonight
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright
I'm unaware if it's cloudy or clear outside
I only have eyes for you, dear
You're the only one I'm focused on, my beloved
The moon may be high
The moon might be in the sky
But I can't see a thing in the sky
I'm oblivious to everything except you
'Cause I only have eyes for you
Because my attention and affection are solely directed towards you
I don't know if we're in a garden
I'm not sure if we are surrounded by nature
Or on a crowded avenue
Or if we are amidst the hustle and bustle of a city street
You are here, so am I
You're present and so am I
Maybe millions of people go by
Perhaps there are countless others who pass us by
But they all disappear from view
But they all become invisible and fade into the background compared to you
And I only have eyes for you
I'm so enamoured with you that everyone else pales in comparison
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Al Dubin, Harry Warren
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Geoffrey Jonathan Wilson
Who else loves Art's voice?
I think it was a beautiful voice he had.This song is a real masterpiece in my opinion.
Harry S. Anchan
Listen to "Bridge Over Troubled Water" or "Scarborough Fair", or.... Enough said!
Tommy
His voice is a tenor. My music teacher told me most males are either baritones or bass, my music teacher was pleasantly surprised when I sang my first song in class that’s when I learned I was a tenor. She told me in front of the class many music directors hunt for male tenors for their music groups when seem to be a rarity.
Scott Burton
Art has an angelic voice!
ms7168
I can listen to Art Garfunkel sing all night!
Millie Cusick
I love this song it takes me back to my teens lovely song
Caroline Leighton
I sang this to my husband at our wedding in 2016. No-one knew I was going to do it, and everyone was in tears. I was so nervous, but it was the most beautiful thing singing this to the love of my life surrounded by my family and friends.
Robert Mason
Beautiful song
cerveza
👍👏👏Caroline. I hope you're happy and loved. This song reminds me of the one that got away. Oh well.
silkdestroyer
Sounds like a very lucky man!