Why did Art Garfunkel call Paul Simon an “idiot” and a “jerk”?
Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon conjured up magic together as Simon and Garfunkel; however, despite the abundance of chemistry between them on-stage, their off-stage relationship was a drastically different story. Over the years their once fruitful relationship had turned from sweet to sour, and now what was previously a welcomed dose of folk-driven heaven was beginning to feel a lot like hell.
Tensions often reached boiling point and subsequently spilt over, and Garfunkel once lashed out at his former bandmate, calling him an “idiot” and a “jerk.” It would act as the final nail in the coffin of one of the biggest folk acts of all time.
While both musicians were still in their teens, the two met and began performing together in 1956 across New York City, playing under the particularly uninspired name of Tom and Jerry. The scene was seemingly set for the duo to take off, as the city’s smoky coffeehouses provided an ample platform for the launch. However, after a few releases, they split before reuniting several years later once the folk boom picked up, and the duo decided to cash in on the craze under their new guise.
In 1963, the duo became regulars of the bustling Greenwich Village music scene, and their performances ultimately caught the attention of Columbia Records representative Tom Wilson, who also worked closely with Bob Dylan.
With momentum growing, Simon and Garfunkel’s debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M arrived the following year, but success remained out of reach, and they again went their separate ways with Simon fleeing to England. It was a pattern of behaviour that suggested the two men were always likely to find each other at arm’s length. But, as often happens, amid the discontentment, success was found.
Astonishingly, a new version of their track, ‘The Sound of Silence’, became a hit that persuaded the duo to give it one more shot. Over the next four years, they became one of the most in-demand acts on the planet, and their final album, 1970’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, confirmed their seat at the top of the musical table. It’s a record that is still cited today as one of the ultimate LPs of the decade, managing to delicately balance rich lyrical themes with ethereal sonic construction.
Sadly, while the duo were now peaking as a group, they could not reconcile this fame and adoration with their personal issues. Breathtakingly, despite the mounting success, they called it a day at the peak of their powers. For this reason, Garfunkel has constantly found it difficult to resist pondering what could have been. While they’ve taken part in various lucrative reunions over the years, the pair never decided to return to the studio.
Simon made the decision for the duo to split in 1970 and later admitted: “At that point, I just wanted out”.
Anything was possible for the pair, and it’s a decision that Garfunkel labelled as “very strange” when speaking to the Telegraph in 2015. He said: “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. Crazy. What I would have done is take a rest from Paul, because he was getting on my nerves. The jokes had run dry”.
Having shared a creative space since their teenage years, it is not surprising that the duo needed some time apart. However, for the vocalist to not enjoy their time at the top and deliver at least a few more albums was missing a massive opportunity. Garfunkel scathingly continued: “How can you walk away from this lucky place on top of the world, Paul? What’s going on with you, you idiot? How could you let that go, jerk?”.
These comments made their way back to Simon years later, who ruled out the possibility of ever reuniting with Garfunkel again. He admitted: “Quite honestly, we don’t get along. So it’s not like it’s fun. If it was fun, I’d say, OK, sometimes we’ll go out and sing old songs in harmony”.
He added: “That’s cool. But when it’s not fun, you know, and you’re going to be in a tense situation, well, then I have a lot of musical areas that I like to play in. So that’ll never happen again. That’s that”.
Seemingly, when they are put together in a creative cauldron, the relationship of Simon and Garfunkel instantly obliterates. Admirably, Simon physically can no longer put himself through that torture and needs to put his sanity first, which doesn’t feel like a move an “idiot” or “jerk” would make.
