Art Garfunkel Discusses Songwriting Woes

When you think of Art Garfunkel, the word “songwriter” is not the first word that come to mind. The 67-year-old New York native is more famous for his angelic voice, bushy red hair, and partnership with Paul Simon. But deep within Garfunkel’s heart was a songwriter waiting to get out.

“In all honesty, Paul Simon was in the way for a large part of my life,” Garfunkel reflected recently in an interview with New Jersey’s Courier Post, adding that he did not mean to sound negative in saying so. “If I had tried to put a song of mine in the Simon and Garfunkel years, I don’t believe it would compete with how marvelous Paul was as a writer. …I could hear (the critics) all too loudly saying, ‘Oh, you mean he’s a songwriter, too?’”

Garfunkel launched a successful solo run after Simon and Garfunkel split in 1970, but largely avoided writing his own lyrics until 2002’s Everything Waits to Be Noticed.

“When I started my solo career, there were so many tunes by others that I wanted to do,” says Garfunkel. “There were so many things that I was dying to get to that I just didn’t feel the need to (write). I know it was the age of the singer-songwriter, but I just felt very much like a singer.”

Simon and Garfunkel will tour Australia, New Zealand, and Japan this summer. Garfunkel recently appeared in the March 1st episode of Flight of the Conchords.