In a recent interview, Art Garfunkel accused his former Simon & Garfunkel partner, Paul Simon, of quelling the former's creativity and suffering a Napoleon complex. Garfunkel told The Telegraph that Simon was to blame for the lack of reunion tour and even took a small jab at The Beatles' Paul McCartney.
"Will I do another tour with Paul? Well, that's quite doable. As far as this half is concerned, why not? But I've been in that same place for decades. This is where I was in 1971," Garfunkel said (from Rolling Stone). "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?"
Garfunkel further explained the start of his friendship with Simon as school boys—Garfunkel felt sorry for Simon because of his short height. "And that compensation gesture has created a monster," Garfunkel said. When asked if Simon has a Napoleonic complex, he responded, "I think you're on to something. I would say so, yes."
Concerning their post-Bridge Over Troubled Water breakup, Garfunkel noted, "It was very strange. Not my choice. Nothing I would have done. I want to open up about this. I don't want to say any anti-Paul Simon things, and I love that the world still loves Simon & Garfunkel, but it seems very perverse to not enjoy the glory and walk away from it instead. Crazy. What I would have done is take a rest from Paul, because he was getting on my nerves. A rest was very much called for. The jokes had run dry. But a rest of a year was all I needed."
The interview also detailed the time he met George Harrison, as the singer continued to compare Paul McCartney to Paul Simon. "George came up to me at a party once and said 'my Paul is to me what your Paul is to you.' He meant that psychologically they had the same effect on us. The Pauls sidelined us," Garfunkel said. "I think George felt suppressed by Paul and I think that's what he saw with me and my Paul. Here's the truth: McCartney was a helluva music man who gave the band its energy, but he also ran away with a lot of the glory."
The last performance by the American folk rock duo was on July 2010. More recently, Garfunkel has endured vocal issues but told Rolling Stone in 2014 that his voice regained 96 percent strength.
"It takes two to tango. I don't want to be the blushing bride waiting for Paul Simon to walk down the aisle," Garfunkel said. "If he's too busy to work with me I guess the real answer to your question is, 'I'm too busy to work with him.' I think that's the only answer I can give you for pride's sake."
Rather than a reunion tour, Simon has embarked on a tour with The Police's Sting, where the two performed their own rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
