Simon and Garfunkel’s famously contentious relationship may have healed a bit, potentially opening the door to a reunion.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times, Art Garfunkel revealed that he and Paul Simon recently shared a lunch where they spoke honestly about their bad blood with each other.
“I actually had lunch with Paul a couple of weeks ago, the first time we were together in many years,” Garfunkel told the outlet.
“I looked at Paul and said, ‘What happened? Why haven’t we seen each other?’ Paul brought up an old interview where I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him.
He added, “Looking back, I think I wanted to change the good guy image of Simon and Garfunkel. You know what? I was a fool.”
The two had known each other for years before their breakout hit, “The Sound of Silence” in 1965.
However, their creative partnership was rocky.
“Our partnership was unequal because I was writing all the songs and basically running the sessions,” Simon said this year in his documentary “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.” “Artie would be in the control room…he’d say, ‘Yeah, it’s good,’ but it was an unequal balance of power.”
Simon and Garfunkel parted ways in 1970 after their acclaimed “Bridge Over Troubled Water” album. Ten years later, they reunited for a concert in Central Park and then tried to work together again, but the same issues that had plagued their first collaboration resurfaced. And they parted ways forever.
In 2014, Garfunkel told Rolling Stone that he was confident he and Simon would tour again, saying, “I know audiences around the world love Simon and Garfunkel. I’m with them. But I don’t. “Looks like Paul Simon is with them.”
A year later, he told The Telegraph, “How could you walk away from this lucky place on top of the world, Paul? What’s going on with you, idiot? How could you let this go, idiot?”
In 2016, Simon spoke to Rolling Stone, and when asked if there was any chance that they would reunite, he shrugged it off. “No, there’s no question about it,” said Simon. “We don’t even talk.”
Garfunkel now says that there is a possibility that they could at least continue their friendship, if not pursue a professional career together.
“We have planned to meet again. Will Paul bring his guitar? Who knows,” the 83-year-old said.
“For me, it was about wanting to improve before it was too late. It felt like we were back in a wonderful place. As soon as I think about it now, tears start rolling down my cheeks. I can still feel his embrace.
Representatives for Simon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Garfunkel’s son, Art Jr., is working on a new album with his father and told The Sunday Times, “They’ve had their ups and downs over the years, but after the meeting, Dad was very happy. He called me and said, ‘Paul is my brother; That’s family.”
He further added, “I think there is a possibility of them coming together musically. I’m speaking hypothetically here, but probably a big TV/charity event. And with a little encouragement from their peers in the music industry, this could lead to some new material, allowing a new generation to discover the beautiful music they create together.
The younger Garfunkel followed in his father’s footsteps and often went on tour with his parents and younger brother.
“One of my strongest memories is of Dad and Paul Simon playing a reunion show in front of the Colosseum in Rome. It was 2004, and I might have been 13 or 14 years old. I was standing on the stage and watching this wave of humanity. As over 600,000 people were dancing and singing, I felt vibrations in my legs and chest. I was stunned by the power of this music,” he recalled.
“Soon after that I said, ‘Dad, does everyone in the world know you?’ He smiled and said, ‘No, not at all. Maybe half the world, but not the whole world.’
He added, “That was the point when I started to get an idea of what Paul and Dad had achieved. I was surprised; My father is a humble person. He doesn’t sit around telling rock ‘n’ roll stories. He always hesitated to talk about himself or his past. I wanted to start a conversation with him.
