The work that they did together was so monumental it almost feels selfish to want more out of the musical partnership of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel than they delivered. Still, fans longed to see them reunite and start making albums again, even though it never happened to that extent following their 1970 breakup.
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It very nearly did, however. In 1983, Paul Simon released a solo album that was initially intended to be a Simon & Garfunkel album. Alas, some of the old acrimony between the two raised its head, and their full-scale reunion never took place.
A Thawing in a Difficult Relationship
Simon & Garfunkel went out on top on their 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water. But the once-close friends had fallen out somewhat by that time. Garfunkel’s budding movie career aggravated Simon, who felt his old friend’s attentions were elsewhere. In addition, Simon felt he was quite capable on his own as a solo artist.
Following the breakup, there were a few occasions where the two worked together in the studio. Most notable among these: the 1975 Top-10 hit “My Little Town,” and a Top-20 1978 cover of Sam Cooke’s “(What a) Wonderful World,” when they were joined by James Taylor.
In 1981, a live Simon & Garfunkel reunion in New York’s Central Park went swimmingly, and the pair had a great time doing it. More concerts followed. Naturally, the next step was to plan a studio collaboration, with certain new songs even showing up during their concerts as a way of prepping them to be recorded.
A Short-Lived Détente
Unfortunately, when the sessions for the album originally intended to be titled Think Too Much began, it became clear not all was as rosy between the two men as the live shows seemed to suggest. Differences in opinion arose about everything from the material to how it should be recorded.
One problem was Simon was writing songs that related to his relationship at the time with actress Carrie Fisher, which resulted in a short-lived marriage between the two. Due to the personal nature of the lyrics, Simon struggled to find ways to incorporate Garfunkel into the mix.
Meanwhile, Garfunkel, who had built his own solo career after the breakup, blanched at being directed by Simon about the nature of his vocal parts. He wanted to take Simon’s recordings and come up with his own vocal arrangements to adorn them. Simon wasn’t prepared to allow that.
Breakup No. 2
Since they were his songs, Simon was essentially in charge of how the situation would play out. The press had already started reporting on a Simon & Garfunkel reunion album, which made it all the more shocking when Simon announced it wasn’t going to happen. He wiped all of Garfunkel’s contributions from the takes already complete.
The album was retitled Hearts and Bones after one of the tracks dealing with Simon and Fisher’s romance, and it became a solo Paul Simon album. It earned solid reviews. But it was way out of step with the MTV-dominated airwaves at the time, and it was the first Simon solo effort to fail to produce any hits.
The relationship between Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel has stayed volatile ever since. Although they’ve occasionally played live together, they never entertained the possibility of another album together (at least as far as we know). Hearts and Bones might have been the last chance for a return to those ‘60s glory days, but it turned out to be an opportunity lost.
Photo by Magnolia King/Fairfax Media via Getty Images
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