In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Art Garfunkel revealed that he and Paul Simon recently had a lunch together, and that they openly discussed their past issues and the tension that had built up between them.
“I actually had lunch with Paul a couple of weeks back. First time we’d been together in many years,” Garfunkel revealed. “I looked at Paul and said, ‘What happened? Why haven’t we seen each other?’ Paul mentioned an old interview where I said some stuff. I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him. Looking back, I guess I wanted to shake up the nice guy image of Simon & Garfunkel. Y’know what? I was a fool!”
“We’ve made plans to meet again. Will Paul bring his guitar? Who knows. For me, it was about wanting to make amends before it’s too late. It felt like we were back in a wonderful place. As I think about it now, tears are rolling down my cheeks. I can still feel his hug,” he added.
Garfunkel’s son, Art Jr., shared with The Times his thoughts on the meeting between the two. “Dad was so happy. He called me and said, ‘Paul’s my brother; he’s family.’”
“I do think there is a possibility of them getting together musically. I’m speaking hypothetically here, but maybe a big TV/charity event. And with a bit of encouragement from their peers in the music industry, that could lead to some new material. A new generation discovering the beautiful music they make together,” he added.
The two grew up together in Queens, New York, and went on to release several best-selling albums, winning nine Grammy Awards over their career.
Tensions grew in the band when Simon released a solo song under a fake name, which Garfunkel later said ended their friendship. Simon also felt frustrated by Garfunkel’s acting career. Simon said that if Garfunkel had become a big movie star, he would have left the band.
After facing creative differences, they split in 1970 and have not made new music together since.
They reunited in 1981 for a concert but didn’t continue performing together after their world tour the following year. They had another reunion tour in 1993, but their relationship remained strained. In 2001, Simon shared his regret about their broken friendship and hoped they could make peace before they died.
The last time they performed live as a duo was in 2010, during a tribute to ‘The Graduate’ director Mike Nichols at an AFI event. Nichols helped make them famous by featuring their music in the 1967 film.