“Artie would be singing it, people would stomp and cheer, and I would think, ‘That’s my song, man. I wrote that’”: How Simon and Garfunkel created their transcendent masterpiece – with tension rising and emotions running high

Simon and Garfunkel.

It is widely regarded as one of the most uplifting and emotive songs ever written, a soaring, spiritual anthem of hope and comfort for the dispirited and disillusioned.

Released on 20 January 1970, Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel spent six consecutive weeks at No 1 in the Billboard Hot 100, topped the charts in the UK, Canada, France and New Zealand and went top five in eight other countries.