The Concert in Central Park The Concert in Central Park The Concert in Central Park, released in February 1982 on Warner Bros. Records, is the first live album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. It was recorded in September 1981 at a free benefit concert in Central Park, New York City, where the pair performed in front of more than 500,000 people. Proceeds went toward the redevelopment and maintenance of the park, which had deteriorated due to lack of municipal funding. The concert and album marked the start of a short-lived reunion for Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. The concept of a benefit
The Concert in Central Park the concert, they also had roots in the city both had grown up and gone to school in Forest Hills, Queens. Music critic Stephen Holden pointed out that, unlike artists who had left in pursuit of lifestyles offered by other locales, the two had always been a part of New York City. Both gained inspiration from the cityscape and the cultural variety of New York, and spoke of these influences in their songs. Planning and rehearsals for the concert took about three weeks in a Manhattan theater. The rehearsals were characterized by past tensions that resurfaced between the performers under