Art
For a long time, my career got in the way of my life. I was worrying about the next album, the next tour, my own selfish needs. All of a sudden, I was in my late forties and I had lost sight of what really mattered. I had always imagined myself as a father. I come from a very loving, close family and assumed I would get the chance to experience what it was like to bring new life into this world. To think about someone other than me.
Junior arrived when I was 49 years old. He’s 33 now and, I’ll be honest with you, my memory is getting a bit rusty. I just remember this overall feeling that my whole point of view was about to change. Your child has arrived and it’s your job — along with my wife, Kim — to take care of him. I had spent 49 years taking things from life. It was time to give something back.
For the first couple of years I moved away from music. I wanted to be there. I wanted to see who this little guy was. I’m not gonna lie to you, we did have help. We had nannies, which is not something that everyone can afford. I spent most of my time just looking at him; watching his face as he slept. Did I sing him to sleep? Yeah, I’m pretty sure I gave him a few renditions of Scarborough Fair. I guess I wanted to show him how the voice can bring a sense of peace.
I wasn’t a strict father. Even if he did something I didn’t approve of, I would never scold him or try to show that Daddy knew best. My job was to love him, to reward good behaviour and give him a hug. Obviously, I kept him out of danger. Everything else, I just let it be.
That was how I remember my childhood. I was an intense kid. I spent a lot of time thinking about the world. Asking all kinds of questions. I probably did things that my parents didn’t want me to do, but I was never criticised. They waited for the good stuff, they listened to me sing at the synagogue and they gave me love.
I was crazy about music. Early doo-wop; rock’n’roll heroes like Little Richard. As Junior got a little older, I started making him as series of cassette tapes, all my favourite songs, like the Turbans’ When You Dance. But don’t make the mistake of assuming I was trying to influence him. I don’t think that’s a parent’s job. You can’t press your own hopes against your child’s life. Of course, it’s wonderful that Junior has decided to pursue his music, but that had to be his own decision.
• Paul Simon: My Freudian trauma with Art Garfunkel
Kim and I did take Junior and his younger brother, Beau, on tour. And I wondered what they’d make of Dad’s job. I remember a show in Japan when Junior was about three years old. He was on stage as we were doing soundcheck. I handed him the microphone and told him it was a toy. You talk into this bit and, wow, listen how your voice rings through the theatre. It must have felt natural for him because he’s spent most of his life up there on the stage and he sings better than me!
He does occasionally ask about my career. He was there for some of those big Simon & Garfunkel reunion shows in 2003 and 2004, after we’d split in 1970, and he wanted to know how the two voices — Paul and mine — worked together. I actually had lunch with Paul a couple of weeks back. First time we’d been together in many years. I looked at Paul and said, “What happened? Why haven’t we seen each other?” Paul mentioned an old interview where I said some stuff. I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him. Looking back, I guess I wanted to shake up the nice guy image of Simon & Garfunkel. Y’know what? I was a fool!
We’ve made plans to meet again. Will Paul bring his guitar? Who knows. For me, it was about wanting to make amends before it’s too late. It felt like we were back in a wonderful place. As I think about it now, tears are rolling down my cheeks. I can still feel his hug.
Art Jr
One of my strongest memories is Dad and Paul Simon playing a reunion show in front of the Colosseum in Rome. It was 2004 and I must have been 13 or 14. I stood on the stage and looked out at this wave of humanity. More than 600,000 people dancing and singing along. I felt the vibrations through my feet and in my chest. I was taken aback by the power of this music.
Not long after that I said, “Dad, does everyone in the world know you?” He smiled and said, “No, of course not. Maybe half the world, but not the whole world.”
That was the point at which I started to get an idea of what Paul and Dad had achieved. I was surprised; my dad is a humble guy. He doesn’t sit around recounting rock’n’roll stories. He was always reluctant to talk about himself or the past. I had to tease things out of him.
One time he told me that Janis Joplin had thrown up on him at the Monterey Pop Festival. Just dropped it into the conversation like he was talking about the weather. I asked what happened. He simply said, “I had to change my pants before I went on stage.”
I suppose I did get to see some of the craziness of Dad’s life as I was growing up. I spent a lot of time with Jack Nicholson, David Crosby. Paul Simon, of course. And Paul McCartney. There was one party where he started playing Baby Face — the old standard — on the piano and I started singing along with him. Me and the guy from the Beatles!
People always want to know why the hell I decided to be a singer when my dad is Art Garfunkel. With all due respect, I say to them, “I don’t care what my dad does.” I’m incredibly proud of Dad and there is no way that I would try to be the “new” Art Garfunkel because there can never be another talent like him. Dad never pushed me towards music but he never steered me away either. All he ever said was, “Find what works for you.”
We’ve sung together many times, but this new album is the first time we’ve done a full-on collaboration. There were moments when we were together around one mike, a spark of electricity between father and son. Music means as much to him now as it did when he first recorded with Paul Simon back in the Fifties.
Did Dad mention that he had lunch with Paul? They’ve had their ups and downs over the years, but after the meeting, Dad was so happy. He called me and said, “Paul’s my brother; he’s family.” I do think there is a possibility of them getting together musically. I’m speaking hypothetically here, but maybe a big TV/charity event. And with a bit of encouragement from their peers in the music industry, that could lead to some new material. A new generation discovering the beautiful music they make together.
Father and Son, the new album by Garfunkel & Garfunkel, is out now on BMG
Strange habits
Art on Art Jr
He can sing higher than I ever could. He goes for a high G-sharp and it lasts for ever
Art Jr on Art
Every night at 6.30, he turns on the TV and watches the news. No matter what else is happening in his life, everything stops for the news