Dave's Song of the Day
I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) – Art Garfunkel
Monday song of the day: Today’s song is a cover of a Stevie Wonder album cut.
Art Garfunkel will forever be linked with Paul Simon. As a duo, they had some of the most well-known songs of the 1960s. While Garfunkel was a very good singer, as the songwriter Paul Simon was the driving force behind Simon and Garfunkel. Their solo work also shows this disparity. Simon has created numerous important solo recordings, and while Garfunkel has had a decent solo career with a few top 40 hits, his body of work pales in comparison.
This is evident on Garfunkel’s 1975 album
Breakaway. The first two singles,
Break Away and
I Only Have Eyes for You, charted at #39 and #18 respectively. The big hit on the album was
My Little Town, which was actually a reunion of Simon and Garfunkel. The song was included on both
Breakaway and Simon’s 1975 solo album
Still Crazy After All These Years.
My Little Town reached #9 on the
Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The last single from Breakaway was a cover of Stevie Wonder’s
I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever). This single failed to chart at all.
The song was written by Stevie Wonder and Yvonne Wright for his 1972 album
Talking Book. It was a straightforward soul love song, and while it has since become popular,
I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) was not released as a single at the time. The Art Garfunkel cover version is a bit dreamier sounding than the Stevie Wonder original, with a string arrangement and processed vocals. To me at least, the Stevie Wonder version is superior.
Art Garfunkel 1975
Stevie Wonder, 1972
Tomorrow: I can’t wait forever