The late, great Carrie Fisher, the second of Paul Simon’s three wives, was only one inch shorter than her husband, who stood at five-foot-two. Never one to hold her tongue, Fisher had this to say about the issue: “I used to say to him, ‘Don’t stand next to me at the party, people will think we’re salt and pepper shakers.’”
It’s thought that Simon had a Napoleon complex, and when the musician turned 76, he shared his insecurities about his height compared to Garfunkel’s which was eight more inches. One photo session in particular was painfully memorable.
Friendship Turned to Business
The whole music-loving world knows that Simon was a great singer-songwriter, but not many know that he was bitter about the work he did with Garfunkel. As the split increased in length, both musicians spoke about it – remember, they were both still in their twenties when it happened.
Garfunkel said the biggest reason was that it put pressure on their friendship: “We were forced to travel together for business; it began to tell on our friendship.” Having to keep a friendship going even when you're at odds in writing, touring, and projects seem like a painful toll.
The Single Double Credit
With a duo like Simon & Garfunkel, you'd expect lots of songs to be a mixture of two types of genius, but you'd be wrong. In fact, only one song in their entire history was the product of both minds. And even stranger, it was their very first success, “Hey Schoolgirl.”
Past that point, Simon becomes annoyed if you insinuate any of the songs were a collaborative effort. Simon says of Garfunkel: “He didn't write any of the songs. I wrote all the Simon and Garfunkel songs.” It turns out Simon can be pretty touchy, and about more than just his songs.
Garfunkel's Words
Simon has shared the details of the difficult photo session. It's hard to tell which one, since pretty much any session fits the bill. At one time, Garfunkel was in a mood and told Simon outright: “No matter what happens, I'll always be taller than you.” This apparently hurt Simon enough for him to remember it decades later.
Sometimes people can say things without realizing how hurtful they can be, and Garfunkel seems like the kind of guy who talks without thinking about his friend. Especially if he knew how much Simon thought about his height compared to Garfunkel.
An Uneven Balance
While it seems impossible to separate the two when it comes to their music, in fact, their musical work was quite unbalanced. Simon wrote all the music, played guitar for almost all the songs, and sang backup, while Garfunkel just sang lead.
For the most part, this is because Garfunkel was the better singer, but he also did a lot of the work building the vocal arrangements and harmonies. However, it's true that a bulk of the work came from Simon, and it's easy to look back now that Paul Simon became a successful solo artist, and Garfunkel...didn't.