Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel of the acclaimed and beloved Simon & Garfunkel have had a contentious relationship for a very long time.
In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Art Garfunkel opened up about his relationship with Paul Simon, particularly about the time after Simon quit the duo, and didn’t hold back in expressing his frustration with his former partner.
In the interview, Garfunkel also said his friendship with Paul Simon at a young age “created a monster.”
Paul Simon decided to quit the duo at the height of their fame, which still confounds Art Garfunkel.
“It was very strange. Nothing I would have done,” Garfunkel said in the interview. “I want to open up about this. I don’t want to say any anti-Paul Simon things, but it seems very perverse to not enjoy the glory and walk away from it instead. Crazy. What I would have done is take a rest from Paul, because he was getting on my nerves. The jokes had run dry.”
Art Garfunkel 'created a monster' in Paul Simon, singer tells The Telegraph http://t.co/hjlkHN8aQB pic.twitter.com/qLH6PbSp3U
— CBC News (@CBCNews) May 25, 2015
Despite their difficulties, Garfunkel said he would be up for another reunion tour. The last time the singers performed together was in 2010.
“Will I do another tour with Paul? Well, that’s quite do-able. When we get together, with his guitar, it’s a delight to both of our ears,” he said. “A little bubble comes over us and it seems effortless. We blend. So, as far as this half is concerned, I would say, ‘Why not, while we’re still alive?’”
The two have expressed their feelings on numerous occasions.
Art Garfunkel says he "created a monster" with Paul Simon http://t.co/euGPAoYlbD pic.twitter.com/MIw8jUOs9t
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) May 24, 2015
In 2001, at Paul Simon’s induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, the singer thanked Garfunkel and expressed regret that their friendship had ended.
“I hope that some day before we die we will make peace with each other,” he said, before joking, “No rush.”
According to Garfunkel, the singers’ friendship soured after Paul Simon was cut from the Mike Nichols’ 1970 film Catch-22., while Garfunkel remained as part of the cast.
Art Garfunkel speaks bluntly about Paul Simon, calling him a monster with a Napoleon complex http://t.co/ujjxKuJ2X6 pic.twitter.com/rHkv3xMGSN
— National Post (@nationalpost) May 24, 2015
Garfunkel said the incident led Paul Simon to write The Only Living Boy in New York.
“That, of course, is an irritant of the first order,” said Garfunkel at the time. “So I had Paul sort of waiting: ‘All right, I can take this for three months. I’ll write the songs, but what’s the fourth month? And why is Artie in Rome a fifth month? What’s Mike doing to Simon & Garfunkel?’ And so there’s Paul in the third month, still with a lot of heart, writing about, ‘I’m the only living boy in [New York]. You used to be the other one.’”