On This Day, Sept. 19, 1981…
Former musical partners Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited for a concert on the Great Lawn of New York’s Central Park.
The concert took place more than 10 years after the release of the pair’s final studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water.
The duo performed many of their classics songs, including “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “The Boxer,” “Bride Over Troubled Water,” “Homeward Bound” and “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy),” as well as Simon solo tunes like “Late in the Evening,” “Slip Slidin’ Away,” and “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.”
More than 500,000 people attended the free concert, which benefited the redevelopment and maintenance of the park.
A live album documenting the concert was released in February of 1982; it peaked at #6 on the Billboard album chart. It was later certified double platinum by the RIAA.
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