Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Simon & Garfunkel
Released	June 14, 1972 (1972-06-14)
Recorded	March 1964 – November 1969
Genre	Folk rock
Length	43:25
Label	Columbia
Producer	Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee
Simon & Garfunkel chronology
Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970) Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits (1972) Collected Works (1981)

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits is the first compilation album from Simon & Garfunkel, released on June 14, 1972 two years after the duo disbanded.

Overview

The album was a mix of original studio recordings and four previously unreleased live recordings. The album's minimalist packaging does not specifically date the latter, however, the live versions of "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" and "Kathy's Song" included on Greatest Hits were also included on the 2008 album Live 1969.

The liner notes to Live 1969 state that these two songs were both recorded at a November 1969 concert in St. Louis, Missouri. In a 1975 BBC Radio 1 interview, Roy Halee identified this version of "The 59th Street Bridge Song" as being from Simon & Garfunkel's 1970 performance at Carnegie Hall, "the last concert they did together" (prior to their disbanding later in 1970). The version of "Kathy's Song" was taken from a 1968 concert in Vermont, according to the liner notes from Collected Works. A live version of "Homeward Bound" was also included on the album.

The remaining ten studio songs comprise nine singles released between 1965 and 1972, "America" being issued as a single several years after its appearance as a track on the Bookends album, and one album track, "Bookends" (without its parent song "Old Friends").

All but "America" and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" made the Top Ten, with the latter peaking at #11, and "Mrs. Robinson" topped the chart aided by its appearance in Mike Nichols' hit movie The Graduate. "The Sound of Silence" and "Bridge over Troubled Water" both peaked at #1 as singles in their studio versions, and "The Boxer" peaked as a single at #7.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone	(favorable)

Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits peaked on the U.S. albums chart at #5. On the UK Album Chart, it was a #2 hit. Regardless of initial placements, the album has proven a long and durable seller, currently being certified for 14 million units sold in the U.S. alone. As such it is easily their best-selling album ever in the U.S., and indeed holds the record in the U.S. for the best-selling album ever by a duo.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 293 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track listing

All songs by Paul Simon unless otherwise noted.

Side one

1. "Mrs. Robinson" – 3:51
2. "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" (live) – 2:25
3. "The Boxer" – 5:08
4. "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" (live) – 1:50
5. "The Sound of Silence" – 3:07
6. "I Am a Rock" – 2:52
7. "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel) – 3:09

Side two

1. "Homeward Bound" (live) – 2:42
2. "Bridge over Troubled Water" – 4:51
3. "America" – 3:33
4. "Kathy's Song" (live) – 3:22
5. "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" (Paul Simon, Jorge Milchberg, Daniel A. Robles) – 3:07
6. "Bookends" – 1:19
7. "Cecilia" – 2:53

Chart positions

Charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Australian Album Charts	21
Belgian (Flanders) Album Charts	84
Dutch Album Charts	1
German Album Charts	6
Irish Album Charts	51
New Zealand Album Charts	22
Norwegian Album Charts	7
Swedish Album Charts	31
UK Album Charts	2
US Album Charts	5

Personnel

For newly released tracks only:

• Paul Simon – acoustic guitar, vocals
• Art Garfunkel – vocals

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States