Bridge over Troubled Water

This article is about the album. For other uses, see Bridge over Troubled Water (disambiguation).

Bridge over Troubled Water
Studio album by
Simon & Garfunkel
ReleasedJanuary 26, 1970 (1970-01-26)
RecordedNovember 1968 – November 1969
Studio
GenreFolk rock
Length36:29
LabelColumbia
Producer
Simon & Garfunkel chronology
Bookends
(1968) 		Bridge over Troubled Water
(1970) 		Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
(1972)
Singles from Bridge over Troubled Water
  1. "The Boxer"
    Released: March 21, 1969
  2. "Bridge over Troubled Water"
    Released: January 20, 1970
  3. "Cecilia"
    Released: April 20, 1970
  4. "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)"
    Released: September 1970

Bridge over Troubled Water is the fifth and final studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 26, 1970, by Columbia Records. Following the duo's soundtrack for The Graduate, Art Garfunkel took an acting role in the film Catch-22, while Paul Simon worked on the songs, writing all tracks except Felice and Boudleaux Bryant's "Bye Bye Love" (previously a hit for the Everly Brothers).

With the help of producer Roy Halee, the album followed a similar musical pattern as their previous album Bookends (1968), partly abandoning their traditional style to incorporate elements of rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, world music, pop and other genres. It was described as their "most effortless record and their most ambitious".[4] After Bridge Over Troubled Water was released, several re-releases followed. The album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. Columbia Records released a 40th Anniversary Edition on March 8, 2011, which includes two DVDs, including the politically themed TV special Songs of America (1969), the documentary The Harmony Game, additional liner notes and a booklet. Other reissues contain bonus tracks, such as the 2001 version, which covers the demo tapes of "Feuilles-O" and "Bridge over Troubled Water". Contemporary critical reception to Bridge was initially mixed, but retrospective reviews of the album have been laudatory, and it is considered by many to be the duo's best album.[5]

Bridge Over Troubled Water topped the charts in over ten countries and received six Grammy Awards at the 1971 Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year. The album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time and at the time of its release, the best-selling album ever. It has been ranked on several "greatest" lists, including number 172 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2020.[6] Despite the accolades, the duo decided to split up, and parted company later in 1970; Garfunkel continued his film career, while Simon worked intensely with music. Both artists released solo albums in the following years. Bridge includes two of the duo's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful songs, "Bridge over Troubled Water" and "The Boxer", which were listed on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.

  1. ^ Browne 2012, p. 27.
  2. ^ Ebel 2004, pp. 30.
  3. ^ "Simon and Garfunkel / Tom and Jerry". June 10, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pitchfork was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Deusner, Stephen (March 18, 2011). "Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  6. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.