Maps of Music

The Concert in Central Park (1982)

Where the lyrics of The Concert in Central Park take you, and where it was really made.

This live album was recorded at a free park concert that drew about 500,000 people and marked the start of a three-year reunion of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.

Key places

Recorded in Central Park (1981)

Recording site Central Park — The live recording was made at a free benefit concert in Central Park, New York City, on September 19, 1981. The album was recorded at the park. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Concert on the Great Lawn, 1981 (1981)

Live show Great Lawn, Central Park — The concert took place on the Great Lawn, the central open space of Central Park. The Parks Department had expected about 300,000 people, but an estimated 500,000 attended. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Concert in Central Park: first live album by Simon & Garfunkel
• Released February 16, 1982 by Warner Bros. Records
• Recorded September 19, 1981, at a free benefit concert on the Great Lawn in Central Park, New York City
• The pair performed in front of about 500,000 people
• HBO televised the film on February 21, 1982, and it was later released on video
• Proceeds went toward redevelopment and maintenance of the park
• The concert and album marked the start of a three-year reunion of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel

Background

• The park had deteriorated through lack of municipal funding
• An estimated $3 million was needed to restore or even maintain the park
• The nonprofit Central Park Conservancy was founded in 1980 to raise renovation funds
• Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis and promoter Ron Delsener proposed a free benefit concert
• Earlier park performances by Elton John and James Taylor suggested the idea could succeed
• The duo had broken up shortly after their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water
• Both men pursued solo careers for the following ten years
• Simon doubted the concert's financial success after the poor attendance of One-Trick Pony
• Garfunkel was vacationing in Switzerland and returned to the US immediately after being contacted

Recording

• Planning and rehearsals took about three weeks in a Manhattan theater
• Rehearsals were marked by old tensions between the two singers
• Simon and David Matthews wrote the musical arrangements
• Eleven musicians were assembled for the concert
• Garfunkel wanted a voice-and-acoustic-guitar presentation, but Simon felt that was impossible because of an injury
• The concert took place on a Saturday night; rain fell all day
• The album leaves out "The Late Great Johnny Ace" and the encore reprise of "Late in the Evening"

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in school in Queens, New York City, in 1953, where they learned to harmonize.
• As teenagers they performed as Tom & Jerry; their 1957 single "Hey, Schoolgirl" sold more than 100,000 copies.
• They regrouped in 1963 and signed to Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel.
• Their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (1964), sold poorly.

Members

• Paul Simon: singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• Art Garfunkel: singer, with occasional percussion.

Career

• "The Sound of Silence" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after a rock remix in 1965.
• The Graduate (1967) and Bookends (1968) made them the biggest rock duo in the world.
• Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), their final studio album, became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
• They split in 1970 and reunited several times, including the 1981 Central Park concert attended by more than 500,000 people.
• They won seven Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
• They have sold more than 100 million records.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone's October 1981 review called the concert one of the finest performances of 1981
• The review said the concert vividly recaptured an era when well-crafted, melodic pop carried meaning beyond music
• Stephen Holden praised the performance in The New York Times the day after the concert
• Holden later praised the live album in Rolling Stone
• Holden wrote that the backing band was one of the finest groups of musicians ever to play together at a New York rock concert
• A Billboard reviewer in March 1982 said the two-record set recaptured the duo's classics with sterling renditions
• Robert Christgau of The Village Voice dismissed the album as a corporate boondoggle
• Rolling Stone said the audio kept the roar and fuzziness of live rock music

Records

• Peaked at number six on the Billboard 200
• Certified double platinum by the RIAA, with sales of over 2 million copies in the US
• Sold more than 1,270,000 copies in France, where it was certified Diamond
• Successful in seven other countries, including New Zealand
• The single "Wake Up Little Susie" reached No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and is the duo's last Top 40 hit
• In Canada the single was No. 4 for 2 weeks on the AC charts
• The concert film sold more than 50,000 copies in the US and earned Gold certification for a music longform video

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Simon personally financed the US$750,000 cost of the staging and video recording.
• The Parks Department expected about 300,000 attendees, but an estimated 500,000 came, making it the seventh-largest concert attendance in US history.
• "The Late Great Johnny Ace" was interrupted when an audience member ran to the stage and shouted at Simon.
• Lennon's murder had taken place only nine months earlier, not far from the concert site.
• The concert film runs 87 minutes, 12 minutes longer than the album, and includes the two songs left off the album.
• The concert raised around $51,000 for Central Park.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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