1999
Having begun his Walk across Europe in 1998 (in Ireland), Art continued in March of 1999 walking half-way across Wales.
"Art Garfunkel has made a surprise international comeback," so says BILLBOARD magazine. ACROSS AMERICA has reached "Gold" status in the U.K., and Germany and has charted in The Netherlands, France, Spain, Denmark, and others. "My central creative activity these days is live concerts," Garfunkel told BILLBOARD. "I love refining my show, getting the band to groove as much as possible. So being the leader of a band doing shows all around Europe is a dream." As for Garfunkel's expectations, he says, "I've been around long enough to know that success is very arbitrary: It just happens to land on you or not. The fame thing taps you on the shoulder only when you least expect it, so I never think about that. What's important for me now is delivering the best live show that I can and continuing to build my audience."
On May 1st, Art Garfunkel sung "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at the bar mitzvah of Leon Hess's grandson. Mr. Hess was the owner of Hess Oil Corporation and The New York Jets. The event took place at Rockefeller Center's Rainbow Room in New York City. Sadly, Mr. Hess died six days later.
On May 3rd, Art Garfunkel attended the Film Society of Lincoln Center's tribute for Mike Nichols. Mr. Nichols directed Art in Carnal Knowledge and Catch-22. Attendees included; Harrison Ford, Candice Bergen, Steve Martin, Meryl Streep, Carly Simon, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Harvey Weinstein, Paul Simon, Carry Fisher, Henry Kissenger, Diane Sawyer (Mike's wife), and Elaine May. A photo of Art Garfunkel with Mike Nichols and others appeared in the May 5th edition of The New York Daily News.
65,000 fans showed up for Art Garfunkel's Visby, Sweden performance on July 10th! "We seem to have filled the place."
On September 4th, Art Garfunkel attended a party given by producer Marty Richards in Southampton (on Long Island). Michael Bolton, Barry Diller, Ahmet Ertegun, Seymour Stein and Twisted Sister's Dee Snyder, and others also attended this end of the season Hamptons bash.
On October 1st, Art Garfunkel performed with his band at a gala benefit show at his alma mater, Columbia University, in New York. The show was held to celebrate the opening of the Alfred Lerner Student Hall, a beautiful new brick, limestone and granite building with a six-story glass atrium. (Art not only received his Master's Degree in Mathematics from Columbia College, but also completed post-graduate studies as well).
The November 11th issue of ROLLING STONE magazine has a special feature entitled, "Fathers & Sons - Twenty-Four Stories Tracing the Bloodlines of Rock & Roll, Jazz and Reggae." Art, along with his son James were photographed by Kurt Markus and interviewed by Fred Schruers.
Art Garfunkel celebrated his birthday with family and friends at "Two Two Two," a restaurant on West 79th Street on Manhattan's upper West Side. (Source: New York Daily News)
On November 16th, Sony released a new CD entitled the Best of Simon & Garfunkel (replacing the original 1972 Greatest Hits album) with a new cover, liner notes by David Halberstam, new photos and a 20-track song list (the European release contains 2 CD's). All songs are reproduced from the original analog master tapes. Be sure to listen to Art Garfunkel's vocals on the live track of For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her.
On December 17th, Art Garfunkel appeared on l'ultimo valzer (The Last Waltz), a nationally televised live program on Italian "RAI DUE." Art sung "The Sound of Silence" with Claudio Baglioni (an Italian singer/songwriter). Baglioni sung the second verse in Italian. Art then performed "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Warren Bernhardt and Eric Weissberg accompanied on piano and guitar, respectively. Separately, Sting also performed.
On Christmas Eve, Art Garfunkel sung "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on "The American Red Cross Holiday Music Spectacular." While he performed, a large screen behind Art showed a very moving video of the Red Cross at work. The song perfectly captured the essence of what this wonderful organization does for Americans during times of crisis. The program was broadcast on the Fox Television Network and was seen by approximately 4.5 million viewers. Other performers included Patti LaBelle, 98 Degrees and 'N Sync, with hosts Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black.
On December 26th, Art Garfunkel, Warren Bernhardt, Eric Weissberg, Stuart Breed and their families flew to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America to board the Ocean Explorer I for a one week cruise to Antarctica. Sponsored by the Young Presidents' Organization, other notable guests included Robert Kennedy Jr., F.W. DeKlerk, Simon Winchester, Joseph Shackleton, Diane Krall, Dan Ackroyd and The Chieftains (who joined with Art on a special performance of "She Moved Through The Fair").
1999 Concert Tour Schedule
2000
TV Guide - Art Garfunkel was interviewed in the January 15-21 issue. The article, entitled, "It's Only Rock and Roll - But We Like It," includes comments by Art (who also voted) and other musicians about VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll. "Bridge Over Troubled" (ranked #30) was the only Simon and Garfunkel tune to make the list.
On March 17th, Art Garfunkel was a special guest of The Chieftains at their annual St. Patrick's Day concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. Art walked onto the stage to thunderous applause and sang "She Moved Through The Fair." Art was then joined by his son James for a duet on "Morning Has Broken."
American Heritage Magazine - in the February/March issue Tom Jordan asked celebrities to name the historic figure about whom they wish they'd learned more about in school. Art Garfunkel's response: Woodrow Wilson.
Art Garfunkel was the subject of a 6-page article in the April 28th issue of OK! magazine (UK); includes an interview and 6 oversize color photos of Art, Kim and James at home.
Art Garfunkel appears on A&E's Biography of Candice Bergen on June 1st.
More than 100,000 were in attendance to see Art Garfunkel perform on June 24th at the Boise River Festival in Boise, Idaho. It was the largest show in the festival's history!
Art Garfunkel continued to record in the studio in between a full tour schedule. On June 27th he made an unannounced appearance at Eric Idle's concert at Carnegie Hall. Art sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from the movie soundtrack to As Good As It Gets. On June 28th, Art was one of 50 celebrity guests of Al Gore who were asked to help out with upcoming political events. Other show business personalities included, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sheryl Crow, Jon Bon Jovi, Russell Simmons, Harvey Weinstein, and others. The get together was held at the East Side apartment of Mr. Gore's daughter, Karenna Gore Schiff.
On July 2nd, Art Garfunkel sang "Bright Eyes" and "Kathy's Song" at Buckingham Palace at the request of the Royal Family. $6 million was raised for the benefit of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. A special tennis match at the event - which was broadcast live by BBC Grandstand - featured a rematch of Wimbledon foes Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe as well as matches including Anna Kournikova and Henri Leconte. His Royal Highness the Duke of York (Prince Andrew) hosted the event.
In August, Art Garfunkel was interviewed on VH1's "100 Greatest Moments in Rock 'n' Roll," about his reunion concert in Central Park with Paul Simon as well as Art's thoughts on several other moments in rock 'n' roll television history.
On October 11th, Art Garfunkel attended the 16th annual New York Rita Hayworth Gala. This benefit show, raising funds for the Alzheimer's Association, was held at the Waldorf-Astoria's Grand Ballroom. Art performed at the 1998 fundraiser.
On October 19th, Art Garfunkel was the headline performer for a variety of international acts to celebrate the beginning of the peace/reuniting process between North and South Korea. Art performed three songs and closed out the set and concert with "Bridge Over Troubled Water." "It's an honor to be a part of this event," Garfunkel said. "After the last 40 years of war and animosity between these two countries, it's great to be a part of their coming together." The concert took place at the Seoul Chamshil Olympic Stadium and was televised live on Korean TV. CNN and other networks had a direct feed for "news briefs."
Art Garfunkel remembers John Lennon in the November 9th issue of ROLLING STONE magazine.
On November 18th, Art Garfunkel attended Michael Douglas' and Catherine Zeta-Jones' wedding at New York's Plaza Hotel. Michael asked his friend Art to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" at the reception. Other performers included: Gladys Knight, Jimmy Buffet, Stephen Stills, Bonnie Taylor, and Simply Red lead singer Mick Hucknall. Jimmy Webb arranged the entire production. Notable celebrity guests included; Jack Nicholson, Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan, Oliver Stone, Danny DeVito, Anthony Hopkins, Karl Malden and Goldie Hawn.
Continuing his walk across Europe, Art Garfunkel treks across England, crosses the English Channel and continues across the Lower Normandy Region of France.
The " Across America " show was released on the DVD format. The disk features a bonus biography courtesy of the Art Garfunkel website.
Simon and Garfunkel's "Greatest Hits" album was certified Diamond (over 10,000,000 units sold), and became the best-selling album ever by a duo. The announcement came from the Recording Industry Association of America, which tallies US sales of musical recordings. "I'm happy to know the music we made is shared by so many people," says Art Garfunkel of the album, originally released in 1972.
John Bucchino, who wrote the beautiful ballad "Grateful," which Art recorded at the Ellis Island concert in 1996 and subsequently released on the "Across America" CD, releases an album entitled "Grateful - The Songs of John Bucchino." The album contains 16 songs performed by various artists, including Michael Feinstein, Patti LuPone, Liza Minnelli, Jimmy Webb, and Judy Collins. Art sings "If I Ever Say I'm Over You," accompanied by John Bucchino on piano.
"The Best of Simon & Garfunkel," a new greatest hits compilation is released by SONY. The CD contains 20 digitally remastered tracks (all hit singles) along with liner notes by Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Halberstam. The UK version entitled "The Very Best of Simon & Garfunkel - Tales From New York," contains 2 CD's with 40 tracks. Both sets include a magnificent recording of Art's live version of "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her."