Simon and Garfunkel: Old Friends : A Dual Biography

by Joseph Morella, Patricia Barey

Traces the lives, friendship, and careers of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel from their beginnings as "Tom and Jerry" through their days as a successful duo, to their present solo careers

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

261 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1991

Reviews

[Linda Cardott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, interesting history of music, relationships and the human spirit.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this 30 year old book in a Little Free Library. Always been curious about Simon and Garfunkel, and this book takes you from the duo's glory years of the mid-1960's to their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Like the Beatles, S&G was disbanded way longer than they were together While there were many joint/guest appearances where they would appear together on stage and a brief reunion following their 1981 concert in Central Park, this is the story of a decades long struggle against and surrender to codependency. The book was well written but the decades-long story of two creative but self-indulgent artists does become tiresome.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book with information that I didn't know and glad I learned. While I wish that Art Garfunkel could have been portrayed as more of a doer rather than a taker of what Paul Simon had to offer, I implicitly believe that is true. I grew up with them and believe they had a tremendous influence in making popular music more literate and intelligent.

[Michael Valente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick read and very informative. You'll learn that the breakup of S & G was equally shared between the difficulty of working with the personality of Paul Simon as well as the feeling of being abandoned by AG by PS when AG pursued acting in Catch-22 while PS continued to write the music and lyrics for new songs to keep the duo competitive. There were a host of other issues, but this was new to me.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unauthorized biography which gives insight and background information on many of their songs. My daughter, a twenty-year old Simon and Garfunkel fan, bought this book to read before New Orleans Jazz Fest 2010 where we saw Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel perform! I started reading it on the way home from New Orleans.

[Kimb · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's true, there isn't a great Simon or Garfunkel Biography.

Honestly, reading about them makes it harder to like them, not easier.

Too much feels like opinion for a biography of living people.

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book - made me get out my Simon & Garfunkel and Paul Simon CDs to hear the lyrics again.

[MaryAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

kept my interest. Enjoyed reading about them being I have been listening to S & G for over 40 years. Interesting to read about their personal histories, as I had no idea about any of it.

[J Crossley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography deals with Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, and Simon and Garfunkel jointly.