''Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits'' is the first compilation album from Simon & Garfunkel, which was released on June 14, 1972, two years after Simon & Garfunkel had parted ways. The album is currently available on CD under Legacy's Playlist banner.

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 Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

to ''Live 1969'' state that these two songs were both recorded at a November 1969

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. According to the liner notes from '' Collected Works'', however, the version of "Kathy's Song" was taken from a 1968 concert in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. In a 1975

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

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). 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 the singles included, except "America," "

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," and " Scarborough Fair/Canticle" made the Top Ten, with the last peaking at No. 11. " Mrs. Robinson" topped the chart aided by its appearance in

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

' hit movie ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from W ...

''. " The Sound of Silence" and " Bridge over Troubled Water" also peaked at No. 1 as singles in their studio versions, and "The Boxer" peaked as a single at No. 7.

Reception

''Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits'' peaked on the U.S. albums chart at No. 5. On the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, it was a No. 2 hit. The album has proven a long and durable seller, currently being certified for 14 million units sold in the U.S. alone. It is easily their best-selling album in the U.S., and holds the record in the U.S. for the best-selling album by a duo. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 293 on ''

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'' magazine's list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

Track listing

All songs composed by Paul Simon unless otherwise noted.

Side one

# " Mrs. Robinson" (some pressings use the single mix with an early fade-out at 3:51; later pressings revert to the ''Bookends'' album version at 4:02) – 3:51 or 4:02 # " For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" (Live) – 2:25 # "

The Boxer "The Boxer" is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth studio album, '' Bridge over Troubled Water'' (1970). Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, it was released as a standalone si ...

" – 5:11 # "

The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" is a song by folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon and included on their 1966 album '' Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme''. Its name is based on the 59th Street Bridge (formally know ...

" (Live with applause cross-fade into the studio version of "The Sound of Silence") – 1:50 # " The Sound of Silence" (

Acoustic version Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adve ...

with electric

overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

) – 3:11 # "

I Am a Rock "I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon alone as the opening track on his album ''The Paul Simon Songbook'' which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom. Paul Simon and A ...

" – 2:53 # " Scarborough Fair/Canticle" ( Traditional; arranged by Simon,

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...

) – 3:09

Side two

" Homeward Bound" (Live with applause cross-fade into the studio version of "Bridge over Troubled Water") – 2:42 # " Bridge over Troubled Water" – 4:53 # " America" – 3:33 # " Kathy's Song" (Live) – 3:23 # "

" ( Daniel Alomía Robles; English lyrics by Simon, arranged by Jorge Milchberg) – 3:08 # " Bookends" (same track as "Bookends Theme" from the ''Bookends'' LP; although cross-faded from "Old Friends" on ''Bookends'', on this album it is a stand-alone track) – 1:21 # "

Cecilia Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born ...

" (some pressings use the single mix from 1970; reissues use a hybrid of the single and the album version from ''Bridge over Troubled Water'') – 2:53

Charts

Peak positions

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon And Garfunkel's Greatest Hits 1972 greatest hits albums Columbia Records compilation albums Simon & Garfunkel compilation albums Albums produced by Roy Halee Albums produced by Paul Simon Albums produced by Art Garfunkel Albums produced by Tom Wilson (record producer) Albums produced by Bob Johnston