Art Garfunkel Shares Update on Paul Simon Relationship 56 Years After Band Breakup

Art Garfunkel just shared an update on his relationship with Paul Simon, 56 years after the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel.

During an exclusive interview with People published on June 25, Garfunkel, 84, opened up about where he stands with his former best friend and music partner. Thankfully, they seem to be in a much better place after years of contention.

“We had a dinner [last year]. It was very lovely. There were tears, there were hugs,” Garfunkel said of reuniting with Simon, also 84. “I don’t know if it’ll lead to anything. I don’t think so much about him as I think about what’s ahead of me. I’m feeling very positive now.”

The folk rock duo rose to fame in the ’60s with hits like “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and more. Things fell apart for Simon & Garfunkel when the latter embarked on an acting career — and they broke up in 1970.

In 1981, Simon & Garfunkel reunited for a concert in Central Park in front of more than half a million fans. They have toured together since, with their most recent joint performance in 2010. Unfortunately, they were forced to cancel the rest of that 2010 comeback tour due to Garfunkel’s vocal cord condition called vocal paresis. Simon declined to continue collaborating after Garfunkel recovered.

In the 2024 MGM+ documentary titled In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, Simon reflected on the duo’s 1970 breakup.

“We were really best friends up until Bridge over Troubled Water,” he explained in the doc. “[Afterwards], it didn’t have the harmony of the friendship… that was broken.”

He added, of Gafunkel leaving to film Catch-22, “Artie said, ‘Yeah, the way it’s going to be is that I will do movies for six months, then I’ll come back, you’ll have written the songs, and we will do the album,’ and I thought, ‘Yeah? Actually, no. That’s not gonna happen. I am not gonna do that.'”

Recently, Garfunkel kicked off his solo “What a Wonderful World — Celebration Concerts” series.

“In a way, you’re always back to square one. If you’re not alive and happening now, what are you?” he told People. “You can’t live on your past. You’ve got to keep going with a meaningful agenda.”