Simon & Garfunkel held the number one position on the pop charts during this week in 1970 with "Bridge Over Troubled Water". This single would remain in this top spot for a total of six weeks and has become the duo's signature song. Written by Paul Simon, he was inspired by the line, "I'll be your bridge over deep water if you trust me" from the spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep" made famous by the Swan Silvertones with their 1958 recording. Simon had convinced Art Garfunkel to sing the song alone although his partner felt that Simon's vocal on the demo was far more effective.
The almost five-minute length of "Bridge" was considered problematic as most pop songs at the time were no longer than three minutes. But the duo's label, Columbia went ahead and released the complete version to radio and successfully broke that unwritten rule. "Bridge Over Trouble Water" became ranked as the number one song of 1970 by Billboard magazine and would win Simon & Garfunkel Grammy Awards for Record and Song of The Year.
This song is certainly one of Simon & Garfunkel's biggest hits and has been covered by many artists over the years. One of the most notable versions was by Aretha Franklin who completely reworked "Bridge" by delivering a full-on gospel rendition. Franklin's take also became very successful, reaching number one on the r&b chart, number six on the pop chart, selling over two million copies and won her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Performance.
Here is a live version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" from Simon & Garfunkel during their 1981 New York performance in Central Park:
And as a bonus, here is Aretha doing a stirring live version of "Bridge" in 1971 in Switzerland:
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