Posted on 05/25/2015 3:35:19 PM PDT by rickmichaels
Art Garfunkel has stunned fans by revealing he only became friends with longtime partner Paul Simon, because he felt sorry for him.
In one of his most candid interviews, the Bright Eyes singer tells Britain's Sunday Telegraph he initially quit Simon & Garfunkel and turned his back on showbusiness to become a teacher because he could no longer work with his sidekick Simon.
He says, "I don't want to say any anti Paul Simon things, but it seems very perverse to not enjoy the glory and walk away from it instead. Crazy... (But) he was getting on my nerves. The jokes had run dry.
"A rest of a year was all I needed. I said, 'I'm not married yet. I want to jump on a BMW motorbike and tour round Europe chasing ladies'."
But it's his candid remarks about the start of his friendship with Simon, which led the duo to a recording deal as teenage act Tom & Jerry, that will surprise fans the most.
He admits he felt sorry for the singer/songwriter because he was so short, and adds, "That compensation gesture has created a monster.
"George (Harrison) 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. I think George felt suppressed by Paul (McCartney) 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."
During his interview with the Telegraph, Garfunkel also calls Simon a "jerk" and agrees with the interviewer that the You Can Call Me Al singer has a Napoleon complex, linked to short people hooked on power.
Despite his comments, Garfunkel, who last toured with Simon in 2010, is open to another Simon & Garfunkel tour: "Will I do another tour with Paul? Well, that's quite do-able. As far as this half is concerned, why not?"
Perhaps it has that effect...but my sense of smell is still quite acute.
Which can be a problem in the sub tropical climate where i live! LOL!
I got real lazy..and had a child.
Little time and less space convinced me to shoot only slides and then only rarely.
When dad passed away, I went up to Boston to his house to help my Mom clean out the basement. There was a boxed-in area in the corner. I decided to explore it and went through three light baffles (like a maze) and ended up in a little darkroom with everything laid out...My old Vivitar Enlarger, three trays, and the dryer.
Boxes of paper, developing canisters, and ,oh yes, big brown bottles of 50 year old chemicals, all covered with cobwebs like in an old horror movie.
And...the smell was there too.
I just stood there and wept.
My brother inherited a large box of my dads cameras. The box was a bit over three foot square and there were all manner of cameras stored in there..from slrs... small rangefinders...to the big box view cameras and twin lens reflexes.
I took one slr.to USE,, but I don’t think my brother did anything with the rest of them.
My $450 camera is now worth spit. Ha!!!
My Brother got the Speed graphic, my cousin in Oklahoma the Yashica mat Twin lens reflex, and I got all the memories.
I honestly don’t know what happened to all the SLRs.
I feel your pain!
Art could have had such a fabulous career without Paul Simon. NOT!
I remember the first time I looked at the ground glass on my Yashica when i was a kid. I was quite enthralled. That was ALMOST 60 years ago.
I almost chose nikon as my first “real” digitlal camera..a dslr.due to that Paul SImon song by the way. I thought it might be inspiring.
Garfunkel recently performed in our local theatre, and my son was in the audio crew.
My son called him a number of names, most of which were related to body parts and none of which indicated any fondness of any sort for the man. While on stage, he gave a very humble self deprecating show.... especially while explaining the loss of his voice. Much of the show was speaking.... telling stories of his life.
Off stage he was incredibly difficult to work with..... one of the worst he has encountered.
...
I remember an article from a few years ago, maybe it was here on FR, and it was filled with anecdotes about what a jerk Art Garfunkel is. That’s why I clicked on this thread.
I did a little darkroom stuff and kind of miss the chemicals as well.
While Digital and Photoshop give us tremendous creative capability, and amazing opportunities for creating exciting images (especially the ones you post here on FR! :-) ), there is something tactile and elemental that has been lost.
It’s like Bible software, which I LOVE, and use everyday to post the Prayer Threads on FR. It’s amazing how easy and accessible it is!
However, there is something special about a big floppy, leather-bound Bible, The smell of the leather, the rustle of the pages, the soft touch of the gold-edged paper, the weight of the Book in my hands, the smooth ribbon to mark my space, and even the spacing of the fonts on the page.
Also, words can be edited and deleted online, and without “hard copy” the Powers that Be might just get away with it.
They may have taken my Kodachrome away, but I have a few things they will have to pry out of my cold, dead, hands.
Ah...a kindred spirit! :-)
That is why Photography is both a Craft AND an Art! :-)
Sound of Silence (1964)
Indeed I really cant imagine why people even ask...did you PROCESS that in...PHOTOSHOP.
well Id write my own software to process ,y photographs had I that sort of skill set and several years to figure out how to make an application that can do what photoshop does...
Even the best tools can be used wisely or not...I suppose.
Im blessed being able to use the arts and crafts skills in a couple of different areas
Lol. Garfunkle would have been unemployed without Paul Simon. Simon could have picked anybody for a partner and still achieved the same success. Garfunkle should be grateful that Simon dragged him to success for all those years.
What an ingrate.
That’s a sweet and eloquent post.
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