Fifty years ago this week, "Mrs. Robinson" by the folk-rock duo, Simon & Garfunkel was the number one song in America. It is closely associated with the hit 1967 romantic-comedy drama, "The Graduate" which it was included in the movie and soundtrack in a partial form. A full version of "Mrs. Robinson" was not recorded until after the film was released.
Theater turned movie director, Mike Nichols had been a fan of Simon and Garfunkel and decided he wanted to use their music for his upcoming second film, "The Graduate". Paul Simon had written a couple of original songs for the movie but Nichols wasn’t impressed with them and asked if he had anything else. He played a song that he had been working on but not yet completed called "Mrs Roosevelt". The director loved it and soon the song was changed to the name of the character in the film and "Mrs. Robinson" was born. Although it was heavily used to promote the movie, the single was not officially released until almost three months after the movie came out.
"Mrs. Robinson" was not eligible for an Academy Award nomination as it wasn't written expressly for the movie but it did go on to win two Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary-Pop Performance Vocal by a Duo or Group and Record of The Year. This is considered to be one of the first rock songs to win this prestigious prize.
This song and their popular 1968 album, "Bookends" made Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel one of the biggest acts of the day. But their relationship had always been contentious and complicated and the duo broke-up for the first time not long after the release of the biggest album in their career, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in 1971.
Simon and Garfunkel would reunite for recordings and tours off and on many times since then (including a free concert in Central Park in 1981 that was seen by over a half a million people) yet it would often end in an acrimonious manner. The last time they staged a major tour was in 2010 but Garfunkel was suffering from serious vocal issues and they had to cancel the remaining shows. Simon has recently stated that it's unlikely they will ever perform together again as he's retiring from live performing this year and for the basic fact that the duo just don't get along.
Let's listen to Simon and Garfunkel in less difficult times with their number one hit:
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