At 83, Art Garfunkel has found a musical project that's perhaps even more exciting than a potential Simon & Garfunkel reunion: an album with his son.
The folk-rock icon and his 33-year-old singer/songwriter son, Art Garfunkel Jr., recorded a delicately layered album of their favorite standards from the past century. Titled Father and Son — fittingly, but also after the Cat Stevens anthem that is included in the collection — the album was produced by Art Jr. and opens with a striking, lush rendition of "Blue Moon." Among the other highlights are sensitive readings of the Beatles' "Blackbird," Cyndi Lauper's honey-dripping '80s ballad "Time After Time," and Eurythmics' majestic "Here Comes The Rain Again."
While the 12-song album is the duo's first full project together, it's not their first collaboration. A burgeoning star in Germany, Art Jr. has long taken after his father's legacy — even paying homage to Simon & Garfunkel's catalog with two full German projects — and the pair have recorded one-off duets and toured Germany together.
As a result, Art Sr. and Art Jr. (who cleverly refer to themselves as Garfunkel & Garfunkel) harmonize effortlessly on Father and Son. Their sympathetic combination of voices are reminiscent of the late '60s, when Garfunkel Sr. and his first musical partner, Paul Simon, became international superstars with their combination of folk roots and a vulnerable, poetic sheen.
Simon & Garfunkel still remains the pinnacle of Art Sr.'s musical output, but he's remained plenty busy since the beloved duo split in 1970. As a solo artist, Garfunkel was particularly prolific during the '70s, and has since released a total of 10 studio albums. Father and Son marks his first new album since 2007's Some Enchanted Evening (a dedication to the Great American Songbook), making the release all the more special for him and fans alike.
In celebration of his latest venture, Garfunkel Sr. spoke with GRAMMY.com about his musical chemistry with Art Jr., his emotional recent reunion with Paul Simon, and the place of transcendence that music occupies in his life.
My recurring thought as I listened to the new album was that you haven't lost the ability to be vulnerable through words and sound.
My wife says to me: you're in the youth of the eighties. You make being in that decade feel like another rebirth. I like that — the youth of the eighties.
Where are you right now?
I'm at the Hodges Bay Resort in Antigua. My wife brought me to the Caribbean with our son so that I could get stem cells. She's a big believer in them. I had my infusion yesterday, and now I'm kicking around, getting ready to fly home tomorrow.
How old were you when you realized that there was something magical about your voice?
I knew I had a voice when I was about 3 years old. It's my earliest memory. For me, singing is like breathing, something that comes naturally.
Did you know that you were breaking new ground when you recorded the first Simon & Garfunkel album in 1964?
You can't talk about this without thinking of Paul Simon, my partner. We came out of the folk period, as did Bob Dylan, and it evolved from folk into the pop world.
Was there a conscious attempt to be more intimate and poetic within the context of a pop album?
No, that was the nature of folk music — you put more teeth into what you were saying. The California hippies taught us to be more candid about our feelings, and we fell into that propensity.
You and Paul made five classic, unforgettable albums together. Am I being greedy if I wish that you had recorded a few more?
I met with Paul Simon three weeks ago in my New York studio. We hadn't seen each other in years — and suddenly, something about this meeting felt like a possibility. This has always been the case with Paul.
Paul's style was always, "let me show you what I've been working on lately." He would show me the new songs, and I'd go crazy over how good it was, because Paul Simon is a man of great talent. And my authentic response to his beautiful music made him very excited. That sincere appreciation led us to start working together. It's our style of being sociable.
This happened recently?
Three or four weeks ago. His ex-wife is moving into the place where I stay. I knew I was going to run into him sooner than later. We had dinner — there were hugs and tears. It's great when a man cries. But I felt that I really did hurt him in the past.
Your first reunion with Paul was incredibly moving — the Central Park concert in 1981, which spawned a double live LP and a video.
You're talking about the greatest thrill of my performing life. Nothing I've ever done quite matches the Central Park concert. I remember being on stage, turning to Paul and saying, "I knew we did something right in the '60s, but I didn't expect this." It was more than half a million people at the park, right near my home. When you watch the film, you can see we're both blissed out.
I feel history has been a bit unfair to the great solo albums that you made during the '70s.
In show business, you get a period of popularity, and it works like a wave. Often, it is a three-year run. You have your period of grace, and then the audience looks for something else. Even though the quality of what you're doing may be great, in the game of popularity you have your time — and then you don't.
Were you able to think about it at that time as philosophically as you do now?
You try not to think too much of commerce when you work. I sing because I've got to sing. I make albums simply because that's what I do. You try and divorce yourself from the popularity of what you're doing. If it's not going to catch on, it's not my fault. I still have my muse. I'm still going to sing and make new records.
I love your version of the classic Antonio Carlos Jobim bossa nova "Waters of March." That's a very tough song to get right, and you did.
[Sings] "A stick, a stone/It's the end of the road." Very different for me to do that. What album is it on? I don't want to put you on the spot...
It's on 1975's Breakaway. And what a great record that one is.
I always followed my muse. In all my solo albums, I went back and forth between producing them myself and then bringing an outside producer. Breakaway was a Richard Perry production, and I just followed his lead.
You injected the same sense of vulnerability that defines your music into the role of Sandy in the 1971 film Carnal Knowledge.
I had a whole acting career back then. [Director] Mike Nichols must have taken a shine to me when he asked Paul Simon to write a couple of songs for The Graduate. I have a wonderful memory of going to Hollywood. Mike arrived in his Bentley, picked us up at the Wilshire Hotel and brought us down to this giant soundstage where we matched our vocal of "Mrs. Robinson" to the screen. Later, he came by my house and handed me a script. We did Catch-22 together, and then Carnal Knowledge. He believed in me as an actor.
What was the best part of recording an album with your son?
I'm extremely proud of this record. We did "Let It Be Me" – it's an Everly Brothers song.
I love that you picked "Here Comes The Rain Again" by Eurythmics — the violins in the intro sound great.
I don't know what to say about it. It was Junior's choice — he wanted me to do it, and I did. He was the producer.
Was there a specific song that you insisted on performing together?
"Nature Boy." I'm crazy about "Nature Boy." And "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. That's the first single on the album. I'm also doing a bunch of shows, by the way. I'm still singing at this advanced age, working the Carlyle Hotel in New York. Still carrying on.
Which Simon & Garfunkel album would you take to the proverbial desert island?
There's two that vie for first place. Bookends [from 1968] because the tracks flow together from song to song. "Overs" is the cynicism of middle age, followed by "Voices of Old People," and finally "Old Friends." The flow from birth to maturity and old age is a very interesting sequence for an album.
[1970's] Bridge Over Troubled Water, on the other hand, is just what I want — a bunch of tunes that are all lovely. I'm very proud of those songs.
And what would be the highlight of your solo career?
It's always good to say what flies into your mind before you think; your immediate gut reaction is usually the truth. And so I think of Breakaway, which has a very strategic use of echo. It's creamy. The notes are held for a long time. I like that.
Your life has included its inevitable share of sad moments. Has music helped you to keep things positive?
Music is a world unto itself. It stands apart from the rest of life and has an enormous power. I'm just pleased that it comes naturally to me, and that it is such a big part of my existence.