It’s been nearly a decade and a half since Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel performed the Mike Nichols tribute at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The intervening period was marked by Art Garfunkel’s four-year struggle to regain his voice after being diagnosed with partial vocal cord paralysis, followed by Simon & Garfunkel’s belated North American tour that never materialized, and Garfunkel’s public condemnation of his former bandmate.
However, their long-running feud seems to have reached a healing point. Talking with The SunGarfunkel shared that he recently met Simon for the first time in years. While he didn’t specify what brought them together, his description of their reunion was positive. He told the outlet: “It was very warm and wonderful,” he told the outlet. “There were tears. I was crying at one point because I felt like I had hurt him.”
He added that “there was a hug” and that he “cherishes this two-week memory of having lunch” with Simon.
When asked if the duo had discussed their period of phenomenal success in the 1960s – during which they released the phenomenal “The Sound of Silence” and the Grammy-winning “Mrs. Robinson” and “Bridge to Troubled Water” (technically, 1970). Robinson” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (technically, 1970) – Garfunkel replied: “No, we didn’t. That speaks for itself.”
“I like to think I’m a man with a lot of love,” he continued, before adding, “I love everyone.”
Simon & Garfunkel’s last album, the best-selling Bridge Over Troubled Waterwas released in 1970, the year they disbanded. A brief reunion followed in 1993, and in 2003 they reunited again for the highly profitable Old Friends Tour. After taking the stage at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in 2009, they revealed a 2010 North American tour that was set to begin at the Jazz Fest in New Orleans.
Then, in January of that year, Garfunkel began experiencing significant vocal issues, resulting in the tour being canceled indefinitely. While performing “Mrs. Robinson” at the Nichols Tribute a few months later, the ambitious tour was postponed. After Garfunkel eventually regained his voice, Simon was apparently no longer on board for the tour, leading Garfunkel to vent. The Telegraph in 2015.
“How can you get away from this lucky spot on top of the world, Paul?” He said at the time. “What’s going on with you, asshole? How can you walk away from this, asshole?”
Since then, Simon announced his retirement from touring in 2018 after confirming his hearing loss in May 2023, and a month later, he sold a “significant share” of Simon & Garfunkel’s royalties to BMG in a deal that reportedly closed in the eight figures. In March 2024, the hit song was released In Turbulent Dreams: Music by Paul Simona documentary that reflects on his career that has spanned nearly seven decades. The 82-year-old musician says in the movie: “People would say, ‘Oh, you’ve got your finger on the pulse. “No, I don’t have my finger on the pulse. I just put my finger there … and the pulse goes underneath it.
As for Garfunkel, the singer and his son Art Garfunkel Jr. are set to release their first album together. Father and son on November 8. The LP will feature covers of The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” The Everly Brothers’ “Let It Be Me,” and more.
When discussing Simon and Garfunkel’s potential reunion onstage, the younger Garfunkel said Rolling Stone in January that he “wouldn’t count it.”
“I think it’s possible. Art Garfunkel Jr. said: “This is what I give a little glimpse of something I know more about than almost anyone else.” “I think my dad and Paul will always be best friends. There’s so much love. They’re in touch. Things are going in a good direction, and I think the potential is there.”