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Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel decided to reunite for a 2003 tour, and fans could thank, to some extent, George Harrison and Paul McCartney. Simon and Garfunkel had a fraught relationship but decided to mend things. Harrison and McCartney also repaired their relationship. Simon recalled speaking to Harrison about this and decided it wasn’t good to hold a grudge for the rest of his life.

A black and white picture of Paul McCartney and George Harrison sitting next to each other on a bus.
Paul McCartney and George Harrison | Express Newspapers/Getty Images

George Harrison and Paul McCartney clashed in The Beatles

As The Beatles grew more successful, Harrison began writing more songs. McCartney and Lennon often brushed his contributions aside, however. Harrison said that they were too focused on each other.

“[John] didn’t realize how I was, and this was one of the main faults with John and Paul,” Harrison said, per the book George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door by Graeme Thomson. “They were so busy being John and Paul they failed to realize who else was around at the time.”

Harrison said that after The Beatles broke up, he wouldn’t want to be in a band with McCartney again.

“I don’t know about being in a band with him, how that would work out,” he told Rolling Stone in 1979. “It’s like, we all have our own tunes to do. And my problem was that it would always be very difficult to get in on the act, because Paul was very pushy in that respect. When he succumbed to playing on one of your tunes, he’d always do good. But you’d have to do fifty-nine of Paul’s songs before he’d even listen to one of yours. So, in that respect, it would be very difficult to ever play with him.”

George Harrison and Paul McCartney were inspirational for Paul Simon

Harrison was angry with McCartney for a time, but they were able to repair their friendship. They had met as children and were able to maintain a friendly relationship outside of the recording studio. Harrison spoke to Simon about this when he visited Friar Park. Harrison’s attitude helped Simon realize that he wanted to reconnect with Garfunkel. 

Per the book Paul Simon: The Life by Robert Hilburn, Harrison discussed how he “had gone through lots of tension with Paul McCartney but eventually put it aside to reconnect with his old friend.” This helped Simon put aside any negative feelings and seek out a reunion with Garfunkel after years of tension.

“The way I looked at it was, how long are we going to live? Am I going to die without making up with this guy who I’ve known since I was eleven?” Simon said. “I finally called Artie and said, ‘Let’s fix it.'”

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited several times over the years

Simon & Garfunkel broke up after recording Bridge over Troubled Water and rarely spoke after this. Still, they reunited several times over the years. They joined forces to campaign for presidential candidate George McGovern, an SNL performance, and a recording session with John Lennon.

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In 1981, they played a massive, free concert in Central Park, which prompted them to tour together again. They played a number of concerts together over the years leading up to their 2003 reunion tour. Despite the various reunions, their friendship never quite got back on track.

“You know, the music essentially stopped in 1970,” Simon told NPR in 2016. “And, you know, I mean, quite honestly, we don’t get along. So it’s not like it’s fun. If it was fun, I’d say, OK, sometimes we’ll go out and sing old songs in harmony. That’s cool. But when it’s not fun, you know, and you’re going to be in a tense situation, well, then I have a lot of musical areas that I like to play in. So that’ll never happen again. That’s that.”

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