On September 19, 1981, Simon & Garfunkel reunited for a free benefit concert on the Great Lawn in New York City’s Central Park. The performance drew an estimated 500,000 people—though contemporary police estimates placed the crowd nearer 400,000—and remains one of the largest audiences ever assembled for a single concert in the United States.
The event came at a moment when Central Park had suffered from years of limited municipal funding and visible deterioration. Organized to raise awareness and generate support for the park’s redevelopment and maintenance, the concert used proceeds from related merchandise and later broadcast, album, and video releases to aid restoration efforts.
Eleven years after their breakup, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel returned to the stage for a set that paired their signature harmonies with an expanded 11-piece band. Songs including “The Sound of Silence,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Mrs. Robinson,” and “Homeward Bound” turned the reunion into both a major popular-music event and a highly visible statement of support for Central Park.
More than a nostalgic reunion, the concert helped focus public attention on the condition of one of New York’s defining public spaces. Its enormous audience, subsequent television special, and live album secured its place as a defining document of Simon & Garfunkel’s legacy and of New York City’s cultural history.
Image via Alamy.
