Art Garfunkel has claimed his long and often turbulent relationship with Paul Simon has reached a place of reconciliation.
The 84-year-old singer reflected on the enduring bond with his Simon and Garfunkel partner – also 84 – in an interview with People.
Garfunkel explained the pair met for dinner last year after years of well-publicised tensions. His comments come as he continues his What a Wonderful World tour, and follows renewed interest in Simon and Garfunkel’s legacy after the release of the 2024 documentary In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.
“We had a dinner last year. It was very lovely. There were tears, there were hugs,” Garfunkel said.
He acknowledged his musical legacy will always remain linked with Simon’s, saying “I’m proud of it. I only feel great about it.”
Together, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon sold more than 100 million records worldwide and produced some of the most enduring songs of the 20th century, including The Sound of Silence, Mrs Robinson, The Boxer and Bridge Over Troubled Water.
The pair first met while attending school together in Queens, New York, where they bonded over a shared admiration for James Dean, Lenny Bruce and The Everly Brothers, whose close vocal harmonies inspired their own distinctive sound.
After recording under the name Tom and Jerry during their teenage years, the duo released their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM in 1964.
Although the record initially struggled commercially, its follow-up, Sounds of Silence, transformed Simon and Garfunkel into international stars.
Despite their success, Garfunkel admitted he often felt at a disadvantage because Simon wrote the songs while he concentrated on performing them.
He explained accepting a role in the director Mike Nichols’ 1970 film Catch-22 unintentionally altered the balance within the partnership.
“Mike Nichols had originally offered a role for Paul in that movie, then Paul’s part was dropped. There were too many characters, he thinned it out. And it was just bad luck. So Paul was left with that uncomfortable feeling.”
Simon later reflected on the same period in In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, saying the extended filming schedule and the resulting “uneven balance of power” became “a recipe for the breakup” of the duo.
Although Simon and Garfunkel officially split in 1970, they reunited for the landmark 1981 Concert in Central Park, performing before more than half a million people.
The pair reunited for further tours over the following decades before a scheduled 2010 run was cancelled because of problems with Garfunkel’s vocal cords.
Reflecting on their friendship today, Garfunkel said: “It goes in and out. It’s got a summer and a winter.”
