by VVN Music

It has been a rough year for Art Garfunkel. Much of his musical activity had to be curtailed, including a Simon & Garfunkel tour, due to vocal cord paresis. The problem, which is partial paralysis of one or both vocal cord folds, can take a long time to mend if it gets better at all, but Garfunkel feels that things are getting better.

In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone earlier this week, he said ""My voice is coming back slowly, too slowly. In my bones I feel healthy. I know it's coming back. I just have to be patient."

It appears that the current condition was caused by many years of smoking, which Art gave up 2-1/2 months ago. "Two weeks ago my doctor put a camera down my nose into my throat. He said 'I really like what I see. You're in good shape, basically. All the apparatus is right. You will definitely be a singer and just fine again. You just have to have patience. You just irritated it with the heat of smoking until two and a half months ago.'"

While there are no firm plans, Garfunkel said that he hopes to begin rehearsing his singing again in the Spring and is looking towards resuming the tour with Paul Simon next summer.