Paul Simon Turns 85 – Personal Encounters and Musical Connections
Paul Simon has known Art Garfunkel Jr. personally since his childhood. Due to the longstanding friendship between Paul Simon and his father Art Garfunkel, there were frequent personal and private meetings over the years. Art Garfunkel Jr. also attended numerous concerts by the two musicians, experiencing the special musical connection between his father and Paul Simon not only on stage, but also behind the scenes.
On October 13, 2026, Paul Simon celebrates his 85th birthday. For Art Garfunkel Jr., this occasion is connected with personal memories of a musician whose songs hold a firm place in his family's history. The music of Simon & Garfunkel accompanied him from an early age and later became part of his own artistic work.
On his debut album Wie du, which Art Garfunkel Jr. released in 2021 as a musical gift for his father's 80th birthday, the repertoire of Simon & Garfunkel holds a special place. Art Garfunkel Jr. interpreted selected songs in German-English hybrid versions and was accompanied on several tracks by his father as a duet partner. These include “Raum des Schweigens” (“The Sound of Silence”), “Der Condor zieht” (“El Condor Pasa”), and “Geh mit mir durch den Regenbogen” (“Bridge Over Troubled Water”).
With these recordings, Art Garfunkel Jr. gave the well-known songs a new linguistic form. At the same time, a musical dialogue between father and son emerged, connecting the repertoire of Simon & Garfunkel with Art Garfunkel Jr.'s own artistic work. The songs, which have been famous worldwide for decades, thus received another form of interpretation.
Also on the 2024 album Father and Son, “Old Friends” is a track that recalls the long musical history of Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon. Art Garfunkel Jr. sings the song together with his father. The recording bridges two generations while picking up a theme that takes on special significance in light of the decades-long friendship between Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel first met as schoolchildren in New York. Their early musical enthusiasm developed into an extraordinary partnership that wrote music history with songs such as “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “The Boxer,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” For Art Garfunkel Jr., this repertoire is part of his personal history and at the same time a musical foundation with which he engages in his own way.
Paul Simon's 85th birthday provides an occasion to honor his many years of artistic creation. For Art Garfunkel Jr., this day is additionally connected with memories of personal encounters, the music of his childhood, and collaboration with his father. With his own interpretations, he helps ensure that selected songs from the history of Simon & Garfunkel reach today's listeners and coming generations as well.
Art Garfunkel Jr. warmly congratulates Paul Simon on his 85th birthday, while also honoring a musician whose songs and artistic creation have written music history.
