In the same month that their 1972 Greatest Hits collection was released, Simon & Garfunkel performed a reunion concert to benefit the presidential campaign of Sen. George McGovern. Rather than release a straightforward hits album to coincide with the concert, they instead opted to include live versions of some of their most personal songs. At that time, Simon & Garfunkel had not yet released a live album, and the inclusion of those few live tracks helped push the album to the Top 5 on the U.S. albums chart. Greatest Hits' success was all the more remarkable because Simon & Garfunkel's previous five studio albums were still selling at a strong pace, indicating how much they were missed since breaking up two years earlier.