It’s not everyday that a major music icon asks you for advice. However, that did happen to Art Garfunkel when John Lennon asked him for advice on a pretty serious matter. As the story goes, the fate of one of music’s most beloved partnerships–Lennon and Paul McCartney–was left up to the advice of Garfunkel. He humbly accepted the challenge. Learn more about Garfunkel and Lennon’s conversation, below.
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The Artist John Lennon Consulted About Writing With Paul McCartney Again
According to Garfunkel, Lennon pulled him aside amidst a get together with the former Beatle, Yoko Ono, and David Bowie. Despite having his partner and a longtime friend there, Lennon opted to ask Garfunkel–whom he had only met that day–for advice.
“I have my great memory of John Lennon when I met him that one night with Yoko Ono and David Bowie,” Garfunkel once explained. “It was the mid-70s, and we were coming back from some show we mutually did. So, we go back to the Dakota [John’s apartment], Bowie was with us. And John pulls me to the bedroom.”
Apparently, Lennon was in talks with McCartney about getting back together. According to Garfunkel, Lennon seemed very serious about the proposition. Before he jumped back into things again, he wanted to get the perspective of someone who had reunited with their own Paul–Simon that is.
“Arty you worked with your Paul [Simon] recently, I’m getting calls from New Orleans that my Paul [McCartney] wants to work with me,” Lennon reportedly told Garfunkel. “I’m thinking about it and I don’t know. How did it go when you worked with Paul [Simon]?”
Though the question held a lot of weight, Garfunkel opted to answer on behalf of Beatles fans everywhere: “Do it.”
“Remember that there was a music blend that was a great kick,” Garfunkel issued as advice. “If you can, return to the fun of that sound and the musical happenings with your old buddy and ignore the strands of the complications and history.”
History reminds us that reunion never happened formally. Nevertheless, we thank Garfunkel for trying to get the ball rolling. Revisit Simon and Garfunkel’s reunion concert in Central Park, below.
(Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
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