Art Garfunkel

Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer and actor who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainted with Simon through an elementary school play of Alice in Wonderland and sought a partnership. Their combined presence in music began in the 1950s, and throughout the 1960s, the duo of Simon & Garfunkel achieved great chart success with tracks such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson" (written for the 1967 film The Graduate), "Scarborough Fair", "The Boxer" and "Bridge over Troubled Water", whose title also served as the name of Simon & Garfunkel's final album in 1970. Simon & Garfunkel split for personal reasons, but the pair have occasionally reunited in the years since. Both men experienced success in solo careers in the years following the duo's breakup. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top 10 hit, three top 20 hits, six top 40 hits, 14 Adult Contemporary top 30 singles, five Adult Contemporary number ones, two UK number ones and a People's Choice Award. Through his solo and collaborative work, Garfunkel has earned eight Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1990, he and Simon were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2008, Garfunkel was ranked 86th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Early life Garfunkel was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, to Rose (born Pearlman) and Jacob "Jack" Garfunkel, a traveling salesman. Art was a middle child with two brothers, the older Jules and the younger Jerome. Jacob's parents had immigrated to the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century and settled in Manhattan. Before his career in sales, Jacob worked as an actor in Dayton, Ohio. Garfunkel is of Romanian-Jewish descent, his paternal grandparents having emigrated from the city of Iași. When he was young, he often sang in synagogue. His maternal cousin was Lou Pearlman, founder of the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. According to the Across America DVD, Garfunkel's love of singing originated in the first grade.