Art Garfunkel, What Is It All But Luminous (Notes From An Underground Man)

From the golden-haired, curly-headed half of Simon & Garfunkel–a memoir (of sorts): artful, moving, lyrical; the making of a musician; the evolution of a man, a portrait of a life-long friendship and collaboration that became one of the most successful singing duos of their time.

Art Garfunkel writes about his life before, during, and after Simon & Garfunkel . . . about their folk-rock music in the roiling age that embraced and was defined by their pathbreaking sound. He writes about growing up in the 1940s and ’50s (son of a traveling salesman), a middle class Jewish boy, living in a red brick semi-attached house in Kew Gardens, Queens, a kid who was different–from the age of five feeling his vocal cords “vibrating with the love of sound” . . . meeting Paul Simon in school, the funny guy who made Art laugh; their going on to junior high school together, of being twelve at the birth of rock’n’roll, both of them “captured” by it; going to a recording studio in Manhattan to make a demo of their song, “Hey Schoolgirl” (for $7!) and the actual record (with Paul’s father on bass) going to #40 on the national charts, selling 150,000 copies . . .

He writes about their becoming Simon & Garfunkel, taking the world by storm, ruling the pop charts from the time he was sixteen, about not being a natural performer, but more a thinker . . . touring; sex-for-thrills on the road, reading or walking to calm down (walking across two continents–the USA and Europe). He writes of being an actor working with directors Nicolas Roeg (Bad Timing) and Mike Nichols (“the greatest of them all”) . . . getting his masters in mathematics at Columbia; choosing music over a PhD; his slow unfolding split with Paul and its aftermath; learning to perform on his own, giving a thousand concerts worldwide, his voice going south (a stiffening of one vocal cord) and working to get it back . . . about being a husband, a father and much more.

Art Garfunkel will be in conversation with Shelton G. Berg, Dean, Patricia L. Frost Professor, Frost School of Music, University of Miami.

About the Author: ART GARFUNKEL attended Columbia University, where he earned a master’s degree in mathematics. He performed with Paul Simon as Simon & Garfunkel from 1963 to 1970. Garfunkel, with Paul Simon, has been the recipient of six Grammys, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1990 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Garfunkel lives in New York with his wife and two children. He continues to travel around the world giving concert performances, and since 1973 has produced twelve solo albums.

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Voucher purchase required for admission:

You will receive a voucher for your purchase of Art Garfunkel’s new book What Is It All But Luminous: Notes from an Underground Man (Knopf, $27.95) from Books & Books. This voucher serves as your entry for (2) two people to Art Garfunkel’s talk at the Chapman Conference Center at Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus on Sunday, October 15, 4pm.

You must show your voucher and attached receipt to claim entrance to the event, so please remember to bring it with you that day. Books & Books is NOT responsible for lost or stolen vouchers.