A canticle (from the Latin canticulum, a diminutive of canticum, song) is a hymn, psalm or other song of praise.

Roman Catholic Church[link]

From the Old Testament, the Roman Breviary takes seven canticles for use at Lauds, as follows:

• On Sundays and Festivals, the "Canticle of the Three Children" (Daniel 3:57).
• On Mondays, the "Canticle of Isaias the Prophet" (Isaiah 12).
• On Tuesdays, the "Canticle of Ezechias" (Isaiah 38:10-20).
• On Wednesdays, the "Canticle of Anna" (1 Samuel 2:1-10).
• On Thursdays, the "Canticle of Moses" (Exodus 15:1-19).
• on Fridays the "Canticle of Habacuc" (Hab., iii 2-19).
• On Saturdays, the "Canticle of Moses" (Deuteronomy 32:1-43).

These canticles take the place of a fourth psalm at Lauds. From the New Testament the Breviary takes the following:

• At Lauds, the "Canticle of Zachary" (Luke 1:68-79), commonly referred to as the "Benedictus" (from its first word);
• At Vespers, the "Canticle of the Bl. Mary Virgin" (Luke 1:46-55), commonly known as the "Magnificat" (from its first word).
• At Compline, the "Canticle of Simeon" (Luke 2:29-32), commonly referred to as the "Nunc dimittis" (from the opening words).

These three canticles are sometimes referred to as the "evangelical canticles", as they are taken from the Gospel of St Luke. They are sung every day (unlike those from the Old Testament which, as is, shown above, are only of weekly occurrence). They are placed not amongst the psalms (as are the seven from the Old Testament), but separated from them by the Chapter, the Hymn, the Versicle and Response, and thus come immediately before the Prayer (or before the preces, if these are to be said). They are thus given an importance and distinction elevating them into great prominence, which is further heightened by the rubric which requires the singers and congregations to stand while they are being sung (in honour of the mystery of the Incarnation, to which they refer). Further, while the "Magnificat" is being sung at Solemn Vespers, the altar is incensed as at Solemn Mass. All three canticles are in use in the Greek and Anglican churches. In the Breviary the above-named ten canticles are provided with antiphons and are sung in the same eight psalm-tones and in the same alternating manner as the psalms. To make the seven taken from the Old Testament suitable for this manner of singing, nos. 2-7 sometimes divide a verse of the Bible into two verses, thus increasing the number of Breviary verses. No. 1, however, goes much farther than this. It uses only a portion of the long canticle in Daniel, and condenses, expands, omits, and interverts verses and portions of verses. In the Breviary the canticle begins with verse 57, and ends with verse 56 (Dan., iii); and the penultimate verse is clearly an interpolation, "Benedicamus Patrem, et Filium . . .". In addition to their Breviary use some of the canticles are used in other connections in the liturgy; e.g. the "Nunc dimittis" as a tract at the Mass of the Feast of the Purification (when 2 February comes after Septuagesima); the "Benedictus" in the burial of the dead and in various processions. The use of the "Benedictus" and the "Benedicite" at the old Gallican Mass is interestingly described by Duchene (Christian Worship: Its Origin and Evolution, London, 1903, 191-196). In the Office of the Greek Church the canticles numbered 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 are used at Lauds, but are not assigned to the same days as in the Roman Breviary. Two others (Isaiah 26:9-20, and Jonah 2:2-9) are added for Friday and Saturday respectively.

The ten canticles so far mentioned do not exhaust the portions of Sacred Scripture which are styled "canticles". There are, so example, those of Deborah and Barac, Judith, the "canticle of Canticles"; and many psalms (e.g. xvii, 1, "this canticle"; xxxviii,1, "canticle of David"; xliv,1, "canticle for the beloved"; and the first verse of Pss. 1xiv, 1xv, 1xvi, 1xvii, etc.). In the first verse of some psalms the phrase psalmus cantici (the psalm of a canticle) is found, and in others the phrase canticum psalmi (a canticle of a psalm). Cardinal Bona thinks that psalmus cantici indicated that the voice was to precede the instrumental accompaniment, while canticum psalmi indicated an instrumental prelude to the voice. This distinction follows from his view of a canticle as an unaccompanied vocal song, and of a psalm as an accompanied vocal song. It is not easy to distinguish satisfactorily the meanings of psalm, hymn, canticle, as referred to by St. Paul in two places. Canticum appears to be generic - a song, whether sacred or secular; and there is reason to think that his admonition did not contemplate religious assemblies of the Christians, but their social gatherings. In these the Christians were to sing "spiritual songs", and not the profane or lascivious songs common amongst the pagans. These spiritual songs were not exactly psalms or hymns. The hymn may then be defined as a metrical or rhythmical praise of God; and the psalm, accompanied sacred song or canticle, either taken from the Psalms or from some less authoritative source (St. Augustine declaring that a canticle may be without a psalm but not a psalm without a canticle).

In addition to the ten canticles enumerated above the Roman Breviary places in its index, under the heading "Cantica", the "Te Deum" (at the end of Matins for Sundays and Festivals, but there styled "Hymnus SS. Ambrosii et Augustini") and the: "Quicumque vult salvus esse" (Sundays at Prime, but there styled "Symbolum S. Athanasii", the "Creed of St. Athanasius"). To these are sometimes added by writers the "Gloria in excelsis", the "Trisagion", and the "Gloria Patri" (the Lesser Doxology). In the "Psalter and Canticles Pointed for chanting" (Philadelphia, 1901), for the use of the Evangelical Lutheran Congregations, occurs a "Table of canticles" embracing Nos. 1, 3, 8, 9, 10, besides certain psalms, and the "Te Deum" and "Venite" (Ps. xicv, used at the beginning of Matins in the Roman Breviary). The word Canticles is thus seen to be somewhat elastic in its comprehension. On the one hand, while it is used in the common parlance in the Church of England to cover several of the enumerated canticles, the Prayer Book applies it only to the "Benedicite", while in its Calendar the word Canticles is applied to what is commonly known as the "Song of Solomon" (the Catholic "Canticle of Canticles", Vulgate, "Canticum canticorum").^[1]

Anglican[link]

In the Church of England, Morning and Evening Prayer according to the Book of Common Prayer makes extensive use of canticles.

• At Morning Prayer:
  • Venite (Psalm 95)
  • Te Deum (not biblical) or Benedicite (Daniel 3:57–88 in the Apocrypha)
  • Benedictus (Luke 1:68–79) or Jubilate Deo (Psalm 100)
• At Evening Prayer:
  • Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55) or Cantate Domino (Psalm 98)
  • Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:29–32) or Deus misereatur (Psalm 67)

Eastern Christian[link]

In the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches there are nine Biblical Canticles (or Odes) that are chanted at Matins. These form the basis of the Canon, a major component of Matins.

The nine Canticles are as follows:

• Canticle One — The (First) Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1-19)
• Canticle Two — The (Second) Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1-43)^[2]
• Canticle Three — The Prayer of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10)
• Canticle Four — The Prayer of Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3:1-19)
• Canticle Five — The Prayer of Isaiah (Isaiah 26:9-20)
• Canticle Six — The Prayer of Jonah (Jonah 2:2-9)
• Canticle Seven — The Prayer of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:26-56)^[3]
• Canticle Eight — The Song of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:57-88)^[3]
• Canticle Nine — The Song of the Theotokos (the Magnificat: Luke 1:46-55); the Song of Zacharias (the Benedictus Luke 1:68-79)

Originally, these Canticles were chanted in their entirety every day, with a short refrain inserted between each verse. Eventually, short verses (troparia) were composed to replace these refrains, a process traditionally inaugurated by Saint Andrew of Crete.^[4] Gradually over the centuries, the verses of the Biblical Canticles were omitted (except for the Magnificat) and only the composed troparia were read, linked to the original canticles by an Irmos. During Great Lent however, the original Biblical Canticles are still read.

Another Biblical Canticle, the Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32), is either read or sung at Vespers.

See also[link]

• Hymns to Mary

Notes[link]

External links[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 

Andy Williams
Andy Williams performing at the Moon River Theater in Branson, MO late 2006
Background information
Birth name	Howard Andrew Williams
Also known as	A Voice of National Treasure The King of Hearts The Golden Voice The Emperor of Easy The Emperor of Class The Crooning King The King of Easy Listening Mr. Moon River The American Idol Mr. Christmas[citation needed]
Born	(1927-12-03) December 3, 1927 (age 84)
Origin	Wall Lake, Iowa, United States
Genres	Traditional pop Jazz Country Pop Easy Listening
Occupations	Singer Songwriter Actor Record producer
Years active	1938–present
Labels	Sony BMG/Columbia/Cadence
Website	AndyWilliams.com

Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams (born December 3, 1927) is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold-^[1] and three Platinum-certified^[2] albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns the Moon River Theatre^[3] in Branson, Missouri named after the song "Moon River", with which he is closely identified.

Early life and career[link]

Williams was born in Wall Lake, Iowa,^[4] the son of Jay Emerson and Florence (née Finley) Williams. He first performed in a children's choir at the local Presbyterian church.^[4] Williams and his three older brothers Bob, Don, and Dick formed the Williams Brothers quartet^[4] in late 1938, and they performed on radio in the Midwest, first at WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, and later at WLS in Chicago and WLW in Cincinnati. Williams graduated from Western Hills High School in Cincinnati and his brother was engaged to Gene Ingram's car-pool partner, Peggy. The Williams Brothers appeared with Bing Crosby on the hit record "Swinging on a Star" (1944). They appeared in 4 musical films: Janie (1944), Kansas City Kitty (1944), Something in the Wind (1947) and Ladies' Man (1947). This led to a nightclub act with entertainer Kay Thompson from 1947 to 1951.^[4]

Solo career[link]

Williams' solo career began in 1953.^[4] He recorded six sides (individual songs) for RCA Victor's label "X", but none of them were popular hits.^[5]

After finally landing a spot as a regular on Steve Allen's Tonight Show in 1954,^[6] he was signed to a recording contract with Cadence Records, a small label in New York run by conductor Archie Bleyer. His third single, "Canadian Sunset" reached #7 in the Top Ten in August 1956, and was soon followed by his only Billboard #1 hit, "Butterfly" (a cover of a Charlie Gracie record on which Williams imitated Elvis Presley) in February 1957. More hits followed, including "The Hawaiian Wedding Song" (U.S. #11), "Are You Sincere" (U.S. #3 in February 1958), "The Village of St. Bernadette" (U.S. #7 in December 1959), "Lonely Street" (U.S. #5 in September 1959), and "I Like Your Kind Of Love" with Peggy Powers (U.S. #8 in May 1957) before Williams moved to Columbia Records in 1961, having moved from New York to Los Angeles and gaining another hit with "Can't Get Used to Losing You" (U.S. #2). In terms of chart popularity, the Cadence era was Williams' peak although songs he introduced on Columbia became much bigger standards. Two top ten hits from the Cadence era, "Butterfly" and "I Like Your Kind of Love" were apparently believed to not suit Williams' later style; they were not included on a Columbia reissue of his Cadence greatest hits of/from the 1960s.

In 1964, Williams ultimately became the owner of the Cadence master tapes, which he occasionally licensed to Columbia, including not only his own recordings, but those of his fellow Cadence-era labelmates, The Everly Brothers, Lenny Welch, The Chordettes, and Johnny Tillotson. In 1968, although he was still under contract with Columbia for his own recordings, Williams formed a separate company called Barnaby Records not only to handle reissuing of the Cadence material, especially that of The Everly Brothers (one of the first Barnaby LPs was a double LP set of the brothers long out of print Cadence hits) but new artists as well. Barnaby also had several Top 40 hits in the 70s with novelty artist Ray Stevens (who had done a summer replacement show for Williams in 1970), including Top 10s such as "Everything Is Beautiful" in 1970, and "The Streak" in 1974.

Also in 1970, Barnaby signed and released the first album by an unknown singer-songwriter named Jimmy Buffett ("Jimmy Buffett Down to Earth") produced by Travis Turk. Columbia was initially the distributor for Barnaby, but later distribution was handled first by MGM Records and then GRT. Once Barnaby ceased operating as a working record company at the end of the 1970s, Williams licensed the old Cadence material to various other labels (such as Varese & Rhino in the U.S.) after 1980.

During the 1960s, Williams became one of the most popular vocalists in the country and was signed to what was at that time the biggest recording contract in history. He was primarily an album artist, and at one time he had earned more gold albums than any solo performer except Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Elvis Presley. By 1973 he had earned as many as 18 gold album awards. Among his hit albums from this period were Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses (number one for 16 weeks in mid-1963), The Andy Williams Christmas Album, Dear Heart, The Shadow of Your Smile, Love, Andy, Get Together with Andy Williams, and Love Story. These recordings, along with his natural affinity for the music of the 1960s and early 1970s, combined to make him one of the premier easy listening singers of that era. In the UK, Williams continued to reach high chart status until 1978. The albums Can't Help Falling In Love (1970), Andy Williams Show (1970) Home Lovin Man ( #1 1971), Solitaire (1973), The Way We Were (1974) and Reflections (1978) all reached the Top 10.

Williams forged an indirect collaborative relationship with Henry Mancini, although they never recorded together. Williams was asked to sing Mancini and Johnny Mercer's song "Moon River" at the 1962 Oscar Awards (where it won), and it quickly became Williams' theme song; however, because it was never released as a single, "Moon River" was never actually a chart hit for Williams.^[7] The next year Williams sang "Days of Wine and Roses" which was written by Mancini and Mercer (this song also won). Two years later, he sang Mancini's "Dear Heart" at the 1965 awards and "The Sweetheart Tree" (also written with Mercer) at the 1966 awards.

On August 5, 1966, the 14-story, 700-room Caesars Palace casino and nightclub opened in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the stage production of "Rome Swings", in which Williams starred. He performed live to a sold out crowd in the Circus Maximus showroom. He headlined for Caesars for the next twenty years.

In 1968, Columbia released a 45-rpm record of two songs Williams sang at the funeral of Robert F. Kennedy, a close friend: "Ave Maria" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". These were never released on a long-playing record.

Williams also competed in the teenage-oriented singles market as well and had several charting hits including "Can't Get Used to Losing You", "Happy Heart", and "Where Do I Begin", the theme song from the 1970 blockbuster film, Love Story. In addition Williams hit the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart with "Almost There" (1965), "Can't Help Falling In Love" (1970), "Home Lovin' Man" (1970) and "Solitaire" (1973).

Both Williams and Petula Clark recorded "Happy Heart" at the same time, just prior to his guest appearance on her second NBC-TV special. Unaware that she, too, was releasing the song as a single, he asked to perform it on the show. The exposure ultimately led to his having the bigger hit with the tune. The song "Happy Heart" is played during the final scene, and throughout the end credits, of the Danny Boyle film Shallow Grave.

Building on his experience with Allen and some short-term variety shows in the 1950s, he became the star of his own weekly television variety show in 1962. This series, The Andy Williams Show, won three Emmy Awards for outstanding variety program. Among his series regulars were the Osmond Brothers. He gave up the variety show in 1971 while it was still popular and retrenched to three specials per year. His Christmas specials, which appeared regularly until 1974 and intermittently from 1982 into the 1990s, were among the most popular of the genre. Williams has recorded eight Christmas albums over the years and has been penned as Mr. Christmas.

Williams hosted the most Grammy telecasts, from the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1971 through the 19th Annual Grammy Awards in 1977, totaling seven consecutive shows. He returned to television to do a syndicated half-hour series in 1976–77.

In the early 1970s, when the Nixon Administration attempted to deport John Lennon, Andy Williams was an outspoken defender of the former Beatle's right to stay in the United States.

A caricature of Andy Williams is included in the montage of caricatures displayed on the cover of Ringo Starr's 1973 album, "Ringo".

Williams also sang the national anthem at Super Bowl VII in 1973 with Little Angels of Holy Angels Church in Chicago, Illinois.

National tour success[link]

His 1967 recording of "Music to Watch Girls By" became a huge surprise UK hit to a new young TV audience in 1999, when it reached #9 after being featured in new TV ads for the Fiat Punto--and later for Diet Pepsi--beating the original peak of #33 in 1967. A new generation was reminded of Williams' recordings and a sell-out UK tour followed the success of the single, and he was given the nickname "The Emperor of Easy" in the UK.

In 2002, he re-recorded "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" as a duet with British actress and singer Denise van Outen which reached number 23 in the UK singles charts.

He completed a sold-out tour of the United Kingdom and Asia in the winter and summer of 2007, in which he performed at several major concert halls including the Royal Albert Hall, singing among other classics, Van Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately".

Williams returned to the UK singles charts with his 1963 recording of "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" in December 2007 thanks to an advert for Marks And Spencer, reaching number 21 in its first appearance in the British charts, also reaching #108 on the EU Top 200. In 2008 he lip-synched the 45-year-old recording to welcome Santa at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

On October 3, 2009, Williams appeared live on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing^[8] in London, singing Moon River to promote the UK edition of The Very Best of Andy Williams, which peaked at number 10 in the main pop chart.

Moon River Theatre[link]

In June 1991, Williams' brother Don invited him to the small Ozarks town of Branson, Missouri. Don Williams at the time was the manager for entertainer Ray Stevens, who had just opened a theatre in Branson. While attending Stevens' show, Williams was encouraged by numerous Branson guests to open a venue in the town.^[3] This led Williams to build his own theater in Branson in time for the 1992 season,^[9] eventually opening on May 1, 1992 as the Moon River Theatre.^[10] The name came from a song he made famous from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. It went on to become the first theater ever to be featured in Architectural Digest, and also won the 1992 Conservation Award from the State of Missouri.^[11]

The theater was designed to blend into the rough terrain of the Ozark Mountains. Reportedly when Williams was on his way to Big Cedar Lodge one day, he had noticed some rough rock outcroppings and said, "What about these? This could be the entrance." He had originally planned a marble style theater reminiscence of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, but soon had a change of mind. The Larson Company of Tucson, Arizona fabricated a section of rock on Missouri's Highway 76 and the theater was soon engulfed with waterfalls, koi filled ponds, ferns and trees native to the Ozarks. The inside of the theater incorporates the outside. Trees and plants are seen throughout the theater's three lobbies. Oak floors are accompanied by African ribbon striped mahogany walls that are filled with pictures of the Andy Williams Television Show. Williams' passion for art can be seen throughout as well. From the start of his career Williams had accumulated several paintings and sculptures and decided to fill his theater with his collection. Frankenthaler, Diebenkorn, Oldenburg, Pollock, Klee and Moore are a small list of artists the Moon River Theatre represents.^[12]

The theater's auditorium can accommodate 2,054 people. The seating is stadium style seating for the best view. The seats and carpets match Williams' Navajo rug collection and are forest green, magenta, gold and blue. On display inside the auditorium are nineteen Japanese Kimonos. The stage has accommodated numerous shows and guest celebrities. On stage Williams has been joined by Glen Campbell, Ann-Margret, Petula Clark and Charo. The theater has also played host to Phyllis Diller, Pat Boone, The Osmond Family, Robert Goulet, Rich Little, Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop, David Copperfield, Pat Benatar and Broadway on Ice starring Nancy Kerrigan, Tara Lipinski and Rudy Galindo. In November and December of each year he presents his annual Andy Williams Christmas Show at the theater.

When it first opened, Williams' act was unique because it was the first non-country act to open in the then-mostly-country music town. It was said he was discouraged by many back home in California from making such a bold move, but that was what he wanted. Other non-country entertainers like Bobby Vinton, Tony Orlando, Wayne Newton and the Osmond Brothers soon followed.^[13]

Williams and his theater were featured on three episodes of the soap opera As the World Turns in July 2007. Several of the cast (Gwen, Will, Cleo, Jade, Luke, Maddie and Noah) went to Branson for a concert of Gwen Munson held in the Moon River Theatre. The Simpsons featured Williams at his Moon River Theatre in an episode titled "Bart on the Road". Nelson Muntz is an Andy Williams fan, and in the episode he forces the gang to make a detour to Branson so he could see his idol. The bully is reduced to tears as Williams performs "Moon River" during the second encore.

In the spring of 2007 Williams opened the Moon River Grill adjacent to his theater in Branson. The restaurant is decorated in photos from the Andy Williams Television Show with stars including Diana Ross, Elton John and Sammy Davis Jr. Art is center stage in the restaurant, with works by several artists including Andy Warhol and Robert Indiana.^[14]

Personal life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Williams met French-born Claudine Longet when he pulled over to aid her on a Las Vegas road. She was a dancer at the time at the Folies Bergère. They married on December 15, 1961. The union produced three children: Noelle, Christian, and Robert within the next eight years.

After a lengthy separation, Williams and Longet divorced in 1975. In March 1976, however, when Longet was charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, alpine ski racer Spider Sabich in Aspen, Williams played a public role in the subsequent events, escorting her to and from the courtroom, testifying to her character at the trial, and providing legal assistance. Longet claimed the shooting was accidental, and eventually received 30 days in jail, which was served at her convenience. Shortly thereafter, Longet vacationed in Mexico with her defense attorney Ron Austin, whom she married in June 1985. They continue to reside in the Aspen area.

Andy Williams married a second time (May 3, 1991), to the former Debbie Meyer, whom he met through a mutual friend. They make their homes at Branson, Missouri, and La Quinta, California. Williams' homes have been featured in Architectural Digest, and he is a noted collector of modern art.

Williams is an avid golfer, and hosted the PGA Tour golf tournament in San Diego from 1968-88 at Torrey Pines. Then known as the "Andy Williams San Diego Open", the tournament continues as the Farmers Insurance Open, usually played in February.

Williams' birthplace in Iowa is a tourist attraction, and is open most of the year.

On Friday, November 4, 2011, it was reported in the press that Williams has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. The singer confirmed the condition in a surprise appearance that weekend at his theater in Branson, as reported by the Branson Tri-Lakes News.^[15] He is undergoing chemotherapy treatments in Houston and will then move with his wife to a rented home in Malibu, California to be closer to cancer specialists in the Los Angeles area.^[16]

Politics[link]

Williams was close friends with Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, campaigning for Kennedy '68 for President. Williams was among the celebrities who were present at the Ambassador Hotel on the night Sirhan Sirhan killed RFK in June 1968. Williams solemnly sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic" at RFK's funeral, by request of widow Ethel. By August 1969, over a year after Bobby Kennedy's death, Andy and Claudine named their newborn son 'Bobby' Williams. The Williams' friendship with Ethel Kennedy has endured, with Williams even serving as escort to Ethel, during events in the 1970s. He also raised funds for George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, performing at benefit concerts.^[17]

While close friends with the Democratic Kennedys, Williams is a lifelong Republican.^[18] On September 29, 2009, Williams was quoted by the Daily Telegraph as accusing President Barack Obama of "following Marxist theory" and "wanting the country to fail".^[19][20] He gave Rush Limbaugh permission to use his recording of the song "Born Free" for the theme to the "Animal Rights Update" on his Limbaugh's radio show – in which a portion of the song is then followed by gunfire – saying "Hey, it's fine with me. I love what you're doing with it." The record company later blocked Limbaugh's use of the recording.^[21]

Discography[link]

Hit singles[link]

Albums[link]

Cadence Records[link]

Columbia Records[link]

Other labels[link]

Compilations[link]

• (see Cadence Records list above for 3 previous compilations)
• 16 Most Requested Songs (1990), Columbia/Legacy
• 16 Most Requested Songs: Encore! (1995), Columbia/Legacy
• I Like Your Kind Of Love, The Best of the Cadence Years (1997), Varese Sarabande
• Hits From Cadence (1999), Victor – (Japan only)^{[citation needed]}
• In The Lounge With... Andy Williams (1999), Columbia Records/Sony Music UK
• Christmas Album (1999), Columbia Records/Sony Music UK
• The Very Best Of Andy Williams (2000), Columbia Records/Sony Music UK
• Complete Columbia Chart Singles Collection (2002), Taragon
• 25 All-Time Greatest Hits 1956–1961: The Cadence Years (2002), Varese Sarabande
• Best Of The 70s (2003), Columbia
• B Sides and Rarities (2003), Collectables
• The Essential Andy Williams (June, 2002), Columbia Records/Sony Music UK
• Moon River: The Very Best Of Andy Williams (2009), Columbia Records

Filmography[link]

• Janie (1944)
• Kansas City Kitty (1944)
• Ladies' Man (1947)
• Something in the Wind (1947)
• The Man in the Moon (1960)
• I'd Rather Be Rich (1964)
• Dorival Caymmi (1999) – documentary
• Sebring (2009) – documentary

References[link]

Notes

Sources

• BBC Radio Nottingham Interview

External links[link]

• Official website
• Andy Williams at the Internet Movie Database

Sir John Tavener in 2005

Sir John Kenneth Tavener (born 28 January 1944) is a British composer, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos". He began as a prodigy;^[1] in 1968, at the age of 24, he was described by the Guardian as "the musical discovery of the year", while The Times said he was "among the very best creative talents of his generation." During his career he has become one of the best known and regarded composers of his generation. Tavener was knighted in 2000 for his services to music and has won an Ivor Novello Award.^[2]

Biography[link]

John Kenneth Tavener was born on 28 January 1944 in Wembley, London, England, and claims to be a direct descendant of the 16th-century composer John Taverner.^[3] He was educated at Highgate School (where a fellow pupil was John Rutter) and at the Royal Academy of Music, where his tutors included Sir Lennox Berkeley. He first came to prominence in 1968 with his dramatic cantata The Whale, based on the Old Testament story of Jonah. It was premièred at the London Sinfonietta's début concert and later recorded by Apple Records. The following year he began teaching at Trinity College of Music, London. Other works released by Apple included his Celtic Requiem. In 1977, he joined the Russian Orthodox Church. Orthodox theology and Orthodox liturgical traditions became a major influence on his work. He was particularly drawn to its mysticism, studying and setting to music the writings of Church Fathers and competing a setting of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, the principal eucharistic liturgy of the Orthodox Church.

One of Tavener's most popular and frequently performed works is his short unaccompanied four-part choral setting of William Blake's The Lamb, written for his nephew Simon on his third birthday one afternoon in 1982. This simple, homophonic piece is usually performed as a Christmas carol. More important, however, were his explorations of Russian and Greek culture, as shown in "Akhmatova Requiem" and "Sixteen Haiku of Seferis". Later prominent works include The Akathist of Thanksgiving (1987, written in celebration of the millennium of the Russian Orthodox Church); The Protecting Veil (first performed by cellist Steven Isserlis and the London Symphony Orchestra at the 1989 Proms); and Song for Athene (1993, performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997). Following Diana's death he also composed and dedicated to her memory the piece Eternity's Sunrise, based on poetry by William Blake.

It has been reported, particularly in the British press, that Tavener left Orthodox Christianity to explore a number of other different religious traditions, including Hinduism and Islam, and became a follower of the mystic philosopher Frithjof Schuon.^[4][5] While he has in recent years incorporated elements of non-Western music into his compositions, Tavener remains an Orthodox Christian.

In 2003 he composed the exceptionally large work The Veil of the Temple (which was premièred at the Temple Church, Fleet Street, London), based on texts from a number of religions. It is set for four choirs, several orchestras and soloists and lasts at least seven hours. The 2004 première of his piece Prayer of the Heart written for and performed by Björk, was featured on CD and incorporated as the soundtrack to Jake Lever's installation Centre + Circumference (2008, Wallspace, All Hallows on the Wall, City of London).

In the second television series of Sacred Music, broadcast in the UK on BBC Four on Friday 2 April 2010, Tavener described himself as "essentially Orthodox".

While Tavener's earlier music was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and, to a lesser extent, Olivier Messiaen, often invoking the sound world of Stravinsky's Requiem Canticles and A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer and the ecstatic quality found in various works by Messiaen, his later music became more sparse, using wide registral space and was usually diatonically tonal. Some commentators see a similarity with the works of Arvo Pärt, from their common religious tradition to the technical details of phrase lengths, diatonicism and colouristic percussion effects, though the similarities between their outputs are quite superficial.

Tavener's more recent music has moved away from the transparent simplicity of the 1980s towards a much more harmonically saturated style, in parallel with his pan-religious interests. Such works as Atma Mass (2003) and Requiem (2008) show this particularly well.

Tavener has suffered from considerable problems with his health. He had a stroke in his thirties, heart surgery and a tumour removed in his forties,^[6] and suffered two successive heart attacks which have left him very frail.^[7] He has Marfan syndrome.^[8][9] His wife, Maryanna, broadcast a charity appeal on BBC Radio 4 in October 2008 on behalf of the Marfan Trust.^[10]

Career highlights[link]

• 1969 - The Whale premièred by the London Sinfonietta and subsequently recorded on The Beatles' Apple label.
• 1971 - Celtic Requiem recorded by Apple.
• 1973 - Thérèse, the story of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, commissioned by the Royal Opera, London.
• 1989 - première of The Protecting Veil at the Proms in London.
• 2000 - première of Fall and Resurrection in St Paul's Cathedral, London (4 January 2000).
• 2000 - received a knighthood in Millennium Honours List.
• 2001 - composed the soundtrack of Werner Herzog's short documentary Pilgrimage.
• 2003 - première of the all-night vigil The Veil of the Temple by the Holst Singers and the Choir of the Temple Church at the Temple Church, London.
• 2005 - première of Laila (Amu), Tavener’s first dance collaboration, with Random Dance company and Wayne McGregor's choreography.^[11]
• 2006 - contributed Fragments of a Prayer to the Alfonso Cuarón film Children of Men.
• 2007 - première of The Beautiful Names by the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra at Westminster Cathedral. The work, sung in Arabic, is a setting of the 99 names of Allah found in the Qur'an. Awarded honorary degree by the University of Winchester.
• 2008 - World premier of "the anthem" sung in St Paul's Cathedral in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
• March 2009 - The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia presents the world première of Tu ne sais pas, a work for mezzo-soprano, timpani, and strings. Katherine Pracht will sing the texts, which are drawn from poems by French poet Jean Biès, (one of the work's dedicatees), and from Islamic and Hindu sources.

Key works[link]

• The Whale (1966; soloists, speaker, SATB choir, children's choir, orchestra)
• Celtic Requiem (1969; soloists, SATB choir, children's choir, ensemble)
• Thérèse, opera, 1973
• The Protecting Veil (1988; cello, strings)
• Mary of Egypt, opera, 1991
• Ikon of the Nativity (1991; SATB choir, a cappella)
• Song for Athene (1993; SATB choir)
• Fall and Resurrection (2000) (Dedicated to The Prince of Wales)
• Lamentations and Praises (2001; 12 male voices, string quartet, flute, bass trombone, percussion)
• The Veil of the Temple (2002; soprano, SATB choir, boys' choir, ensemble)
• Schuon Lieder (2003; soprano, ensemble)
• Laila (Amu) (2004; soprano, tenor, orchestra)
• Lament for Jerusalem (2006; soprano, countertenor, SATB choir, orchestra)

Sound files[link]

Year	Song title	Work	Instrumentation
1968:	"Section A"  Listen (help·info)	In Alium	Soprano, Strings, Tape
1985:	"The Lamb"  Listen (help·info)	The Lamb	Chorus
1993:	"Song for Athene"  Listen (help·info)	Song for Athene	Chorus
1996:	"Innocence"  Listen (help·info)	Innocence	Chorus, bell

Selected recordings[link]

• The Protecting Veil - Virgin 561849-2
• Schuon Lieder - Black Box BBM1101
• The Veil of the Temple - RCA 82876661542
• Songs of the Sky Signum Records SIGCD149

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Stewart, Michael (2000). "John Tavener Talks to Michael Stewart about the Recent Festival Ikons of Light". Image and Music. http://www.imageandmusic.com/musicjournalism/tavener/sir_john_tavener.html. Retrieved 2007-05-23. 
• Sheahen, Laura. "Sell Cleverness, Buy Wonder: The Music of Sir John Tavener: Composer Tavener, a Devout Orthodox Christian, Believes that Neither Music nor Religion can be Exclusive". Beliefnet. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/98/story_9888_1.html. Retrieved 2007-06-22. 

External links[link]

• John Tavener at ChesterNovello
• [1]
• All music published up to 2008

Simon & Garfunkel
Paul Simon (right) and Art Garfunkel performing live in Dublin.
Background information
Also known as	Tom and Jerry
Origin	Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
Genres	Folk rock, world music, soft rock, folk music
Years active	1957–1970, 1981–1983, 2003–2004, 2009
Labels	Columbia
Website	www.simonandgarfunkel.com
Past members
Paul Simon Art Garfunkel

Simon & Garfunkel were an American music duo consisting of singer-songwriters Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the hit single "The Sound of Silence". Their music was featured in the landmark film The Graduate (1967), propelling them further into the public consciousness.

They are well known for their vocal close harmonies and were among the most popular recording artists of the 1960s. Their biggest hits – including "The Sound of Silence" (1964), "I Am a Rock" (1965), "Homeward Bound" (1965), "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (1966), "A Hazy Shade of Winter" (1966), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1969), "The Boxer" (1969), and "Cecilia" (1969) – peaked at number one in several charts. They have received several Grammys and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.^[1]

Their sometimes rocky relationship led to their last album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, being delayed several times due to artistic disagreements and as a result the duo broke up in 1970. It was their most successful album worldwide to date, peaking at number one in several countries, including the United States, and receiving 8× Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, making it their highest-selling studio album in the U.S. and second-highest album overall. Simon & Garfunkel have, at times, reunited to perform and sometimes tour together. They have done so in every decade since the 1970 breakup, most famously for 1981's "The Concert in Central Park", which attracted more than 500,000 people, making it the 7th-most attended concert in the history of music. In 2004, they were ranked #40 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

History[link]

Early history[link]

Close friends through childhood, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel grew up in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York, just blocks away from each other. They met in elementary school in 1953, when they both appeared in the school play Alice in Wonderland (Simon as the White Rabbit, Garfunkel as the Cheshire Cat). They were classmates at Parsons Junior High School and Forest Hills High School, and began performing together in their junior year as Tom and Jerry, with Simon as Jerry Landis (whose last name he borrowed from a girl he had been dating) and Garfunkel as Tom Graph (so called because he was fond of tracking ("graphing") hits on the pop charts).^[2] They began writing their own songs in 1955, and made their first professional recording, "Hey, Schoolgirl", for Sid Prosen of Big Records in 1957. Released on 45 rpm and 78 rpm records, with the flip-side song "Dancin' Wild", the recording sold 100,000 copies,^[3] hitting #49 on the Billboard charts. Both Simon and Garfunkel have acknowledged the tremendous impact of the Everly Brothers on their style, and many of their early songs (including "Hey, Schoolgirl") bear the mark of this influence.

They later performed their hit on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, right after Jerry Lee Lewis performed "Great Balls of Fire".

Subsequent efforts in 1958 did not reach near their initial success, and after high school the duo went to separate colleges, with Simon enrolling at Queens College and Garfunkel at Columbia University. While enrolled in college, they both joined their campus chapters of the Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi.

In 1963, they found prominence as part of the Greenwich Village folk music scene. Simon, who had finished college but dropped out of Brooklyn Law School, had – like Garfunkel – developed an interest in the folk scene. Simon showed Garfunkel a few songs that he had written in the folk style: "Sparrow", "Bleecker Street", and "He Was My Brother", which was later dedicated to Andrew Goodman, a friend of both Simon and Garfunkel and a classmate of Simon's at Queens College, who was one of three civil rights workers murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi, on June 21, 1964.

These three efforts were among five original songs by Simon included on their first album for Columbia Records, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which initially flopped upon its release on October 19, 1964.

First breakup[link]

Shortly after finishing recording, the duo split and Simon moved to the United Kingdom, where he performed at Les Cousins and the Troubadour in London and toured provincial folk clubs. While in England, he recorded his solo The Paul Simon Songbook in 1965. Recorded on three different dates in June and July at Levy's Studio, London, the album was released as an LP. By agreement, the album was supposed to go out of print after ten years. However, Billboard reported in early 1978 that Simon filed legal papers to get CBS to delete the album, noting that they were violating their agreement by keeping it in print and stating that it was "not representative of the performer's style."^[4] Many years later in March 2004, Simon responded to fan requests by re-releasing the album on CD with bonus tracks.^[5] During this period in London he also collaborated on a number of songs with Bruce Woodley of the Seekers, including "I Wish You Could Be Here", "Cloudy", and "Red Rubber Ball", which would be a U.S. #1 hit for the Cyrkle in 1966.

While Simon was in England that summer of 1965, radio stations around Cocoa Beach and Gainesville, Florida, began to receive requests for a song from the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. called "The Sound of Silence". The song also began to receive radio airplay in Boston. Seizing the chance, the duo's U.S. producer, Tom Wilson, inspired by the Byrds' hugely popular electric versions of Bob Dylan songs, used Dylan's studio band (who had collaborated with him on his landmark hit "Like a Rolling Stone" that year) to dub electric guitars, bass and drums onto the original "Sound of Silence" track, and released it as a single, backed with "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'".^[6] The dubbing turned folk into folk rock, the debut of a new genre for the Top 40, much to Simon's surprise. A few months earlier Simon and Garfunkel had briefly reunited and experimented with a more contemporary sound and recorded a couple of songs including "Groovy Thing".

In September 1965, Simon first learned that it had entered the pop charts while he was about to go on stage in a Danish folk club. The song hit #1 on the pop charts by New Year's Day, 1966.

Reformation and success[link]

A red vinyl promotional copy of Simon & Garfunkel's single "I Am a Rock", from 1966.

Simon immediately returned to the United States and the duo re-formed to record more tracks in a similar style, though neither approved of what Wilson had done with "The Sound of Silence".^{[citation needed]} The result was a sequence of folk rock records which have endured as well as any in the genre. On January 17, 1966, the duo released the album Sounds of Silence, which – helped by the title track's success – hit #21, while Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was re-released and reached #30. Among the tracks on The Paul Simon Songbook that were rerecorded (some with electric backing) for Sound of Silence were "I Am a Rock" (which as a single reached U.S. #3 in the summer of 1966), "Leaves That Are Green", "April Come She Will", "A Most Peculiar Man", and "Kathy's Song".

Further hit singles came, including "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", based on a traditional English ballad with an arrangement by Martin Carthy, and "Homeward Bound" (later U.S. #5), about life on the road while Simon was touring in England in 1965. Paul Simon was inspired to write "Homeward Bound" while waiting at Ditton railway station on the outskirts of Widnes in North West England. A plaque commemorating this claim to fame was displayed at Ditton railway station until it was closed in 1994 when the plaque was moved to the ticket office on the Liverpool bound platform of the nearby Widnes railway station. Simon is quoted as saying "if you'd ever seen Widnes, then you'd know why I was keen to get back to London as quickly as possible."

More tracks from The Paul Simon Songbook were included along with recent compositions on their October 10, 1966, album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, which refined the folk rock sound hastily released on Sound of Silence. "Cloudy", co-written earlier with Bruce Woodley, was included on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. However, a Woodley credit was incorrectly omitted. The following year, Woodley's band The Seekers recorded it for their studio album Seen in Green, on which Simon received a credit.

In early 1967, Pickwick Records, which had a reputation as a low-quality label, decided that it would capitalize on the duo's newfound fame by releasing an album titled The Hit Sounds of Simon and Garfunkel. This album consisted of ten tracks recorded from the late 1950s and early 1960s while the duo still called themselves Tom & Jerry, including their hit "Hey, Schoolgirl", and its B-side, "Dancin' Wild". Simon and Garfunkel then sued Pickwick because the company was presenting the music as recently recorded material, not as songs written and released over five years earlier. Soon afterwards, Pickwick withdrew The Hit Sounds of Simon and Garfunkel from the market.

On June 16, 1967, the duo performed at the Monterey Pop Festival. That same year, Simon and Garfunkel contributed heavily to the soundtrack to Mike Nichols' film The Graduate, which was released on January 21, 1968, and instantly rose to #1 as an album. According to a Variety article by Peter Bart in the May 15, 2005, issue, Nichols had become obsessed with Simon and Garfunkel's music while shooting the film. Larry Turman, his producer, made a deal for Simon to write three new songs for the film. By the time they were nearly finished editing the film, Simon had written only one new song. Nichols begged him for more but Simon, who was touring constantly, told him he didn't have the time. He did play him a few notes of a new song he had been working on; "It's not for the movie... it's a song about times past—about Mrs. Roosevelt and Joe DiMaggio and stuff." Nichols advised Simon, "It's now about Mrs. Robinson, not Mrs. Roosevelt."^[7]

As their albums became progressively more adventurous, The Graduate soundtrack album was immediately followed in March 1968 at the top of the charts by Bookends, which dealt with increasingly complex themes of old age and loss. It features the top 25 hit singles "A Hazy Shade of Winter", "Fakin' It", "At the Zoo", "America" and a full version of "Mrs. Robinson" – the classic #1 single from The Graduate soundtrack. Simon and Garfunkel returned to England in the fall of 1968 and did a concert appearance at Kraft Hall which was broadcast on the BBC, and also featured Paul's brother Ed sitting in on a performance of the instrumental "Anji".^[8]

At the March 1969 Grammy Awards, "Mrs. Robinson" was named Record of the Year, while Simon was also honored with the Grammy for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.^[9]

Second breakup[link]

By 1969, the duo's success began to take its toll. Garfunkel had begun to pursue a career in acting and was featured in the role of Nately in Nichols's film adaptation of the novel Catch-22. Garfunkel's filming leave conflicted with and subsequently delayed the recording of the duo's next album. The part in the film which had initially been promised to Simon was completely cut from the script.

The duo's deteriorating personal relationship continued into their late 1969 tour, which featured performances at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, on November 11 and Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, on November 8, recordings of which are supposedly widely bootlegged^{[citation needed]}. Video footage of the tour was shown on their controversial November 30 television special Songs of America, which TV sponsors refused to endorse because of its distinct anti-Vietnam War message.

The recording of what would be their final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, was not without tension. The LP was originally supposed to feature twelve tracks, but the duo could not agree on the twelfth track: Simon refused to record a Bach chorale track favored by Garfunkel, while Garfunkel refused to record a song Simon had written called "Cuba Si, Nixon No". No middle ground was reached, so the album was released with only eleven songs.

Bridge Over Troubled Water was at last released on January 26, 1970. Its title track, featuring Garfunkel's soaring vocals, was a massive hit and one of the best-selling records of the decade, staying #1 on the charts for six weeks and remaining on the charts for far longer. The album includes three other top-twenty hits: "El Cóndor Pasa" (US #18), "Cecilia" (US #4), and "The Boxer" – which, finished in 1968, hit #7 on the charts the following year –as well as a live recording of the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye, Love" from a 1969 tour concert in Ames, Iowa.

At the subsequent March 1971 Grammy Awards, the album and single were named Album of the Year and Record Of The Year, and also won the awards for Best Engineered Record, Best Contemporary Song, Song Of The Year, and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists. Their 1972 Greatest Hits album has sold over 14 million copies in the U.S. becoming the number-one selling album by a duo. The duo finally split in 1970 and both went their separate ways.

Simon continued writing and went on to a very successful solo music career, recording several classic albums, including There Goes Rhymin' Simon, Still Crazy After All These Years, and his most highly celebrated solo album, Graceland, collaborating with the Zulu choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo, among others.

Garfunkel split his time between acting and recording solo and collaboration albums, to mixed reviews. His most critically acclaimed album was the 1977 effort Watermark, almost all of the songs for which were penned by acclaimed songwriter Jimmy Webb.

Reunions[link]

Simon and Garfunkel together in 2009

Simon and Garfunkel's first reunion after their second breakup was at a June 1972 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden for presidential candidate George McGovern. On October 18, 1975, the duo made an appearance on the second episode of NBC's new show Saturday Night Live. They performed "The Boxer", "Scarborough Fair", and "My Little Town". The last song was the only new Simon and Garfunkel recording in five years, appearing on both men's solo albums released in 1975 (Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years and Garfunkel's Breakaway) and reaching #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Simon, along with James Taylor, provided harmony vocals on Garfunkel's cover of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World", on Garfunkel's 1977 album Watermark; the single release of that song reached #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and #17 on the Hot 100. Simon also contributed backing vocals to "In Cars", a song on Garfunkel's 1981 solo album Scissors Cut.

Simon and Garfunkel reunited again for a free concert in New York City's Central Park on September 19, 1981. The concert was attended by over 500,000 people, and a recording of it was subsequently released as a live album, with their cover of "Wake Up Little Susie" released as a single. A video recording was likewise televised by HBO and issued on home video. The success of the Central Park concert prompted the duo to go on a world tour in 1982–83, including a performance at Shea Stadium in August, 1983.

Simon and Garfunkel went on to complete the recording of their first new studio album in more than a decade, provisionally titled Think Too Much and featuring some songs previewed on their recent concert jaunt. However, creative differences, coupled with the record company's negative reaction to the decidedly un-Simon-and-Garfunkel-like album, led Simon to remove Garfunkel's vocal tracks and rework the songs himself. The 1983 Simon solo album Hearts and Bones was the result, and a long period of estrangement for the duo followed.

Their next joint public appearance was in 1990, when the two performed at a ceremony for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Simon and Garfunkel appeared together in 1993 for 21 sold out concerts in New York, with half of the show being Paul Simon solo with a band and the other half Simon and Garfunkel. Later the same year, they did some charity concerts, including the Bridge School Benefit concerts and a benefit for United Way Children's Charities at SkyDome in Toronto.

In July 2002, Columbia Legacy issued a previously unreleased live recording of a Simon and Garfunkel concert, Live from New York City, 1967. It features an almost-complete recording of a performance given by the duo at Philharmonic Hall, at Lincoln Center in New York City on January 22, 1967. The album includes a rendition of "A Church Is Burning", one of the songs that originally appeared on Paul Simon's 1965 solo album, The Paul Simon Songbook.

On February 23, 2003, Simon and Garfunkel reunited to perform in public for the first time in a decade, singing "The Sound of Silence" as the opening act of the Grammy Awards. Before the show, the duo was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring their musical contributions over the past four and a half decades. They were introduced by Dustin Hoffman, who made his debut in the film The Graduate, which extensively featured their music.

The good feelings generated by their appearance on the Grammys led to another thaw in their relationship. Soon, Simon and Garfunkel launched a two-month long reunion tour of the United States (and Toronto, Canada), which began October 16 and culminated in Tampa on December 21, 2003. Entitled Old Friends, their first tour in over twenty years included forty shows in twenty-eight cities and featured special guests the Everly Brothers. The tour featured in its opening video montage a short series of clips and photos taken during the day leading up to the concert around the venue. Simon and Garfunkel performed "Hey, Schoolgirl", which they said was the first song they had written and recorded together. At the tour concert at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, they performed "Leaves That Are Green" in place of "Song for the Asking", which had been on their set list for the other concerts on this tour, following an announcement that they had not played it in concert since 1967. They also played "Leaves That Are Green" at concerts in Cleveland and Boston after making a similar announcement.

The success of the first Old Friends tour led to an encore in June and July 2004 with over 25 shows, this time also in Europe. In July 2004, they completed the tour with a flourish, with a finale at the Colosseum in Rome before an audience which, according to the Mayor of Rome, exceeded 600,000 — even larger than the audience at the famous 1981 Central Park concert.^[10][11]

A live CD and DVD from their Old Friends tour was released in late 2004. It featured a "new" studio duo song, "Citizen of the Planet", one of the songs from the rejected 1983 reunion album that did not originally feature Garfunkel's vocal participation.

In 2007, PBS hosted the first Gershwin Awards, at which Paul Simon was honored. Simon introduced Garfunkel (for a cameo appearance) as "my partner in arguments" and the two sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water" together.

Columbia/Legacy announced the September 18, 2007, release of Live 1969, which was said to feature recently discovered masters recorded on their 1969 tour. Most of the arrangements remain virtually unchanged.^{[citation needed]} That 1969 tour would be their last for over a decade, immediately preceding the release of the 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water. The tour was recorded preparing for a subsequent live album, but the release of the live album did not happen, until now, as reported in Billboard.^[12]

On February 13, 2009, Simon and his band re-opened New York's legendary Beacon Theatre, which had been closed for seven months for a renovation. As an encore, Simon brought out "[his] old friend" Art Garfunkel. They sang 3 songs: "Sound of Silence", "The Boxer", and "Old Friends".

On April 2, 2009, the duo announced a tour of Australia, New Zealand and Japan for June/July 2009.^[13] On October 29–30, they participated together in the 25th anniversary of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden. Other artists on the bill included Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; U2; Metallica; Aretha Franklin; Stevie Wonder and Crosby, Stills & Nash.^[14]

In March 2010, Simon & Garfunkel announced a 13-date spring tour, to perform in April at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Most performances were scheduled for Canada, with four shows in the upper Midwest of the U.S. According to a press release, the set list would focus on their classic catalog, as well as songs from each of their solo careers.^[15] On June 17, 2010, Simon & Garfunkel canceled the tour, earlier rescheduled for July 2010, now postponed indefinitely as Garfunkel continues to recover from a vocal cord paresis.^[16]

Legacy[link]

From the very beginning of their fame, through the present time years after their break-up, Simon and Garfunkel have had an impact on the popular culture as evidenced by the many references to them made in television, film, music and other aspects of pop culture.

Among the earliest pop culture references or homages came in the late 1960s, when the comedy television show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In had a running skit featuring members of the "Farkel" Family, including Fred & Fanny Farkel, "and the twins, Simon and Gar Farkel". In the early '70s sitcom The Partridge Family, the two youngest Partridge children name their pet goldfish "Simon and Garfunkel".

In an episode of '90s sitcom Friends, the character Ross Geller was convincing character Phoebe Buffay to tell him why she was mad at him by asking her a series of questions requiring a rapid response; to the question "Who would you rather be, Simon or Garfunkel?", Phoebe replies "Garfunkel". In the episode "Our Dear Leaders" of Scrubs, Lucy Bennett refers to herself as "Garfunkel" being the second-in-command of her study group and mistakenly asks Drew Suffin to be her Micky Dolenz. In an episode of Monk, the title character Adrian Monk is upstaged by his now-famous assistant Natalie. This leads to him being referred to as the Garfunkel of the pair, a pop culture reference the character doesn't understand.

The lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel songs continue to be referenced many times on television, long after their initial popularity. On an episode of How I Met Your Mother, Marshall commissions a Venn diagram in which one section represents the "people who are breaking his heart" while the other represents "people who are shaking his confidence daily". The section where the two overlap is labelled "Cecilia". The end of the "Lady Bouvier's Lover" episode of The Simpsons contains one of the series' many homages to The Graduate, and features a parody of "The Sound of Silence" over the closing credits. ("Hello grandpa my old friend/your busy day is at an end/your words are always sad and boring/they tell a tale that's worth ignoring".) In another episode, Mr. Burns spins around a lamp post singing, "Hello lamp post. What ya knowin'? I've come to watch your power flowin'", a reference to the lyrics of "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)".

The episode "Bendin' in the Wind" of Futurama, in a double send-up of Simon and Garfunkel and Battlestar Galactica, features the singing duo "Cylon and Garfunkel" performing a rendition of "Scarborough Fair" in which the robot Cylon's singing is entirely monotone, and Garfunkel – who explains during the performance that he is the descendant of Art – states that he will give Bender the check "over my dead career!".

In an episode of Saturday Night Live's "Celebrity Jeopardy" parody, there was a category entitled "Members of Simon and Garfunkel". The clue read, "Of Simon and Garfunkel, the one who is not Garfunkel." Once the Sean Connery character rang in, he asked for the question to be repeated and said in response, "I Garfunkeled your mother!" This was one of the running gags of the parody. In another SNL skit, Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis pose as Bon Jovi opposite band, Jon Bovi, but when accused of sounding exactly like Bon Jovi, they say, "Well, if you didn't like that, you're going to love our new opposite folk rock band, Gimon & Sarfunkel."

In an episode of Flight of the Conchords, the lead characters form a Simon and Garfunkel tribute band performing "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme". Garfunkel himself later appears in the episode. In the episode "Unnatural Love", the song "Carol Brown" is an homage to the Paul Simon song "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover".

The Nickelodeon sitcom How To Rock uses the artist's family names as those of the main characters.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles with Billboard Hot 100 positions[link]

• 1965: "The Sound of Silence" (#1) / "We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'"
• 1966: "Homeward Bound" (#5) / "Leaves That Are Green"
• 1966: "I Am a Rock" (#3)/ "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall"
• 1966: "The Dangling Conversation" (#25)/"The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine"
• 1966: "A Hazy Shade of Winter" (#13) / "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her"
• 1967: "At the Zoo" (#16) / "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)"
• 1967: "Fakin' It" (#23) / "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies"
• 1968: "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (#11) / "April Come She Will"
• 1968: "Mrs. Robinson" (#1) / "Old Friends/Bookends"
• 1969: "The Boxer" (#7) / "Baby Driver" (#101)
• 1970: "Bridge over Troubled Water" (#1) / "Keep the Customer Satisfied"
• 1970: "Cecilia" (#4) / "The Only Living Boy in New York"
• 1970: "El Cóndor Pasa" (#18) / "Why Don't You Write Me"
• 1972: "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" (live version) (#53) / "America" (#97)
• 1975: "My Little Town" (#9) / "Rag Doll" (Art Garfunkel) / "You're Kind" (Paul Simon)
• 1982: "Wake Up Little Susie" (#27) / "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"
• 1997: "Old Friends (1997 Simon and Garfunkel album)" / "Bookends"

Awards[link]

• Grammy Awards (1969) – Record of the Year, Best Contemporary Pop Performance – Vocal Duo or Group (for "Mrs. Robinson"); Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special (for The Graduate)
• Grammy Awards (1971) – Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Contemporary Song, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), Best Engineered Recording, Best Contemporary Vocal Group (for "Bridge over Troubled Water")
• BRIT Awards (1978) – Best International Album (of the past 25 years) (for Bridge Over Troubled Water")
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1990) – Inductee
• Grammy Awards (2003) – Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Charlesworth, Chris, The Complete Guide to the Music of Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel, Omnibus Press 1996.

External links[link]

	Book: Simon & Garfunkel
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Simon and Garfunkel

Official

• Official site
• Paul Simon's official site
• Art Garfunkel's official site

Biographical and discographical

• Simon and Garfunkel at Allmusic

Other

• Simon & Garfunkel interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969).
• Interview (2004) of both Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon