# ‘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

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/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/
- Published: 2026-09-04T04:00:56+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-04T04:14:59+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/04/art-garfunkel-what-a-wonderful-world-tour-interview
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Europe, Geopolitics, Music, Politics, World

## Key points

- 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

## Summary

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.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.