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.
Someone Else
Art Garfunkel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've known it all the time
Known that you're not mine,
And will never be
It's Someone Else,
I saw you out last night
Holding him so tight,
And it's Someone Else.
No I really can't hate him,
For what's happening to me
Will happen to him -
That's a certainty.
And he'll learn
There's always someone else
Like I learned myself,
Always Someone Else
Always Someone Else
The lyrics to Art Garfunkel's song Someone Else are a poignant reflection on the reality of unrequited love. Throughout the song, the singer laments the fact that the person he loves is with someone else, and that he has known this all along. The opening lines, "It's someone else, I've known it all the time," set the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is resigned to the fact that he cannot have this person, and that they will never be his.
The chorus of the song, "No I really can't hate him, For what's happening to me, Will happen to him - That's a certainty," is particularly insightful. Here, the singer realizes that the person who is with the object of his affection is not to blame. He acknowledges that what is happening to him is a natural consequence of loving someone who does not love you back, and that the other person will eventually experience the same pain.
The final verse, "And he'll learn There's always someone else Like I learned myself, Always Someone Else Always Someone Else," drives home the message of the song. The singer has learned that there is always someone else out there, and that it is possible to move on and find happiness elsewhere. The song is a powerful exploration of the complex emotions involved in unrequited love, and it speaks to anyone who has ever loved someone who did not love them back.
Line by Line Meaning
It's someone else,
The person I long for belongs to another.
I've known it all the time,
I've always been aware of this unfortunate truth.
Known that you're not mine,
I am not the object of your affection.
And will never be,
There is no chance of us being together.
It's Someone Else,
You belong to another person.
I saw you out last night,
I witnessed you with your significant other recently.
Holding him so tight,
You expressed affection for him through physical touch.
And it's Someone Else.
You are devoted to somebody else.
No I really can't hate him,
I don't have the capacity to dislike him.
For what's happening to me
For the unfortunate situation I find myself in
Will happen to him -
He will inevitably face a similar heartache.
That's a certainty.
It's an inevitable reality.
And he'll learn
He'll come to understand
There's always someone else
That there is always someone else to replace us.
Like I learned myself,
Just like I have already gone through.
Always Someone Else
There is always another person to fill our place.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JIMMY WEBB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fuz Capp
I just read - this was Jimmy Webb's first ever song - he wrote it when he was about 14 at school (in 1958). It never saw the light of day until Art's Watermark album.
Carole Werda
This song is so heartbreaking and we've all been there. When Artie sings it you can feel the pain as though it just happened. He puts such feeling and soul into his music. True artist. True legend.
Mercè Junyent
Thanks!!! I love this song. It's one of the most favorites along the time. I've been listening for thirty years!
Fernando Ferreira Dos Santos
art garfunkel's recordings are impeccable, he is always in tune, the band is refined and the undisputed acoustic production, good taste prevails
yockney58 Yockney
This has become my song...the story of my life....
Carole Werda
kylecrazyford, I heard that Art co-wrote this song. Do you know if this is true? I know from time to time he dabbles in writing but never knew which songs he had a hand in. I so love this song. Thank you for all your posts. I listen every day. Magical, Memorable, Majestic! He touches your soul.
Catherine Roberts
No, he didn't co-write it. Jim Webb wrote it when he was only 12 years old.
Jon Hirshman
No Carole he didn't. It was the 1st song Jimmy Webb ever wrote in 1958 at 12 years old. Stephen Bishop mentions this fact as he's just covered it on his new album "We'll Talk About It Later In The Car".
Tunz909
Caught Jimmy ( Webb wrote this tune) and Glen Campbell at Feinsteins a few years back and only about 150-200 patrons in the restaurant, when Jimmy sat at the piano and played the first couple of bars, I was so excited I yelled out the title!! man, was I embarrassed!!LOL
UncleHarry
yea, Jimmy usually does meet and greet after his appearances, and he and Glen surely did at Feinstein's as well.....I'm tunz909 they won't let me use the handle again.....he toured with Michael around 2002 and he came out to Ohio where I live and the show was awesome as well.