On September 19, 1981, a beloved ’60s folk-rock duo reunited for what would become a legendary concert 11 years after their bitter split. One-half of the pair hoped it would help take the focus off his “big flop.”
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel comprised one of the biggest folk-rock bands of the 1960s. According to Billboard, as singers and songwriters, they were at the top of their game with number ones such as “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Mrs. Robinson,” and “Sounds of Silence.”
After six years of writing and recording, Simon & Garfunkel parted ways both professionally and personally. They concluded their career with two hometown shows at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, New York, in 1970, according to Biography.
Therefore, it was with great fanfare that Simon & Garfunkel announced a reunion concert to be held in New York on Central Park’s Great Lawn in September 1981. The event was a benefit for the park’s conservatory, per PBS.
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PEOPLE Magazine shared Simon’s reflections on that titular music moment as first seen in the documentary In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon. He said, “Because [the album] One-Trick Pony was a flop, when they asked me to do a concert in Central Park, I thought, ‘Well, I just had this big flop, maybe I should ask Artie to come and sing some songs on this.’”
However, enough time had passed that Simon believed his “famously antagonistic” relationship with Garfunkel had taken a turn. According to The New York Times, Garfunkel claimed he and Simon appeared to have moved past whatever personal problems they had by the time of the 1981 concert.
“The wish to work together again evolved organically. It was the absence of stuff in the way — your ego, the need for space. I suppose we’d grown up. Paul said, ‘Let’s sing,’ and I said, ‘It’s a deal.’”
Simon & Garfunkel stood in front of a reported half a million attendees that iconic night. The free concert would go on to raise around $70,000, as reported by The New York Times.
Simon & Garfunkel: The Concert in Central Park was filmed for HBO. Per Billboard, their live The Concert in Central Park, debuted at No. 6 on The Billboard 200.
