The Concert in Central Park concert in Central Park had been proposed by Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis and promoter Ron Delsener. Television channel HBO agreed to carry the concert, and worked with Delsener to decide on Simon and Garfunkel as the appropriate act for this event. Besides hit songs from their years as a duo, their set-list included material from their solo careers, and covers. The show consisted of 21 songs, though two were not used in the live album. Among the songs performed were the classics "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", and "The Boxer"; the event concluded with a reprise of Simon's song,
The Concert in Central Park with room for each to showcase some solo material. Simon, who had resumed songwriting after a long hiatus, interrupted a series of studio recording sessions for the concert preparations. He used the live show as an opportunity to test one of his new songs in front of an audience. Garfunkel also planned to present a new song, "A Heart in New York", from his soon-to-be released album "Scissors Cut". The two differed on the presentation of the concert. Garfunkel wanted to recreate the duo's mid-1960s live performances, using only their voices backed by Simon's acoustic guitar. Simon felt that this