‘Why not try to be the best in the world, just for the fun of it?’ Art Garfunkel on a rich, restless life – and reconciling with Paul Simon
Art Garfunkel, one half of the legendary duo Simon and Garfunkel, has returned to touring at the age of 83-84 after a period of barely singing at all, with a UK leg beginning in October. The renewed run follows a moment of reflection in which he realised singing was one of the things that made him happiest, prompting a return to performing that has reignited a career built on some of pop's best-selling records and most recognisable songs.
Garfunkel describes coming back gradually, starting with small storytelling-and-singing shows for an art gallery audience of 60 before deciding to properly resume touring, and says he is now singing more than he has in two decades. He also released the album Father and Son with his son Art Jr and features on Authorship, an AI-assisted track built around a reading from his memoir, though he admits limited involvement with the technology, noting he still has no computer or internet. The interview traces his history with Paul Simon, from childhood friendship and early recordings in Queens through their 1957 breakthrough as Tom & Jerry, en route to becoming Simon and Garfunkel, the biggest-selling duo in pop history.
- Art Garfunkel resumes touring at 83-84, UK dates from October
- Cites wife Kathryn and singing as his greatest joys
- Recalls childhood friendship with Paul Simon and early duo days
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Art Garfunkel found fame as one half of Simon and Garfunkel, the duo he formed as a boy in Queens, New York, with his childhood friend Paul Simon. The pair first had a hit together in 1957 under the name Tom & Jerry before reinventing themselves in the 1960s as Simon and Garfunkel, going on to become the best-selling duo in pop history with songs known across generations.
Their partnership was also marked by periods of tension and separation over the decades, making any warmth between the two notable to longtime fans. Garfunkel has continued to make music on his own, including in recent family and technology-related projects, while Simon has pursued his own solo career.
Garfunkel is now in his eighties and had largely stepped back from singing before deciding to return to performing, a choice he has framed as being about personal happiness rather than career pressure. That context matters for understanding why a renewed tour and reflections on his life and long friendship with Simon are being reported now.
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