Simon & Garfunkel’s famously contentious relationship may have healed slightly, potentially opening the door for a reunion.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times, Art Garfunkel revealed he and Paul Simon recently shared a lunch where they spoke honestly with each other about their bad blood.
“I actually had lunch with Paul a couple of weeks back, first time we’d been together in many years,” Garfunkel told the outlet.
“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.”
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Art Garfunkel recently revealed he and one-time collaborator Paul Simon shared a reunion lunch where they spoke about their contentious relationship. (Al Pereira/Lynn Goldsmith)
He added, “Looking back, I guess I wanted to shake up the nice-guy image of Simon & Garfunkel. You know what? I was a fool.”
The duo had known each other for years before their breakout hit, “The Sound of Silence” in 1965.
However, their creative partnership was a rocky one.
“I looked at Paul and said, ‘What happened? Why haven’t we seen each other?’… I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him.”
“We had an uneven partnership because I was writing all of the songs and basically running the sessions,” Simon said in his “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” documentary this year. “Artie’d be in the control room … he’d say, ‘Yeah, that’s good,’ but it was an uneven balance of power.”
Simon & Garfunkel broke out with their hit song “The Sound of Silence” in 1965. (Columbia Records/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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Simon & Garfunkel parted ways after their acclaimed “Bridge Over Troubled Water” album in 1970. Ten years later, they reunited for a concert in Central Park and tried to work together again afterward, but the same issues that plagued their earlier collaborations arose again, and they split for good.
In 2014, Garfunkel told Rolling Stone that he believed he and Simon would tour again, saying, “I know that audiences all over the world like Simon and Garfunkel. I’m with them. But I don’t think Paul Simon’s with them.”
A year later, he told The Telegraph, “How can you walk away from this lucky place on top of the world, Paul? What’s going on with you, you idiot? How could you let that go, jerk?”
In 2016, Simon spoke with Rolling Stone, and when asked if there was a chance they’d reunite, he shut it down. “No, out of the question,” Simon said. “We don’t even talk.”
Despite a few attempts at reunions, as of 2016, Simon said he and Garfunkel were not speaking. (Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
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Garfunkel now says there’s a chance they could at least continue their friendship, if not their professional career together.
“We’ve made plans to meet again. Will Paul bring his guitar? Who knows,” the 83-year-old said.
“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.”
Representatives for Simon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Garfunkel told The Sunday Times he wanted to “make amends” with Simon. (Columbia Records/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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Garfunkel’s son, Art Jr., is working with his dad on a new album and told The Sunday Times, “They’ve had their ups and downs over the years, but after the meeting, Dad was so happy. He called me and said, ‘Paul’s my brother; he’s family.’”
He continued, “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.”
The younger Garfunkel followed in his father’s footsteps and often traveled with his parents and younger brother on tour.
“As I think about it now, tears are rolling down my cheeks. I can still feel his hug.”
“One of my strongest memories is Dad and Paul Simon playing a reunion show in front of the Colosseum in Rome. It was 2004, and I must have been 13 or 14. I stood on the stage and looked out at this wave of humanity. More than 600,000 people dancing and singing along, I felt the vibrations through my feet and in my chest. I was taken aback by the power of this music,” he recalled.
Art Garfunkel’s son, Art Garfunkel Jr., told The Sunday Times he hopes his dad and Simon can get “together musically.” (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
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“Not long after that I said, ‘Dad, does everyone in the world know you?’ He smiled and said, ‘No, of course not. Maybe half the world, but not the whole world.’”
He added, “That was the point at which I started to get an idea of what Paul and Dad had achieved. I was surprised; my dad is a humble guy. He doesn’t sit around recounting rock ’n’ roll stories. He was always reluctant to talk about himself or the past. I had to tease things out of him.”
