Art Garfunkel says he made amends with Paul Simon

Singer-songwriter Art Garfunkel recently reconciled with his erstwhile musical partner Paul Simon after more than half a century of rocky relations, he said in a British media interview published Sunday.

Speaking to The Times, Garfunkel said he and Simon made up over lunch. The two had split in 1970 amid artistic differences, after spending the previous decade as one of the most successful music acts in the world.

“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!” Garfunkel told The Times.

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“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 said.

Garfunkel is best known as one-half of the folk-rock duo Simon and Garfunkel. The two, both born to Jewish families in New York, met while they were still in elementary school and began singing together. During high school, they began recording their harmony-based songs, which were composed by Simon and sung by Garfunkel or as a duo.

In the mid-1960s they found success, starting with their song “The Sound of Silence,” and their albums “Sounds of Silence” and “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.”

Despite their rocky relationship, they have reunited over the ensuing decades for major concerts and performances.

Both have had solo careers, although Simon’s has been more successful, and the two were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards in 2003.

Garfunkel performed solo in Tel Aviv in 2015. PJC