Reunited Simon and Garfunkel Play on GMA

Sept. 15 -- The sound of silence is about to be broken.

Simon and Garfunkel held a press conference last week to sing a bit, and announce the surprising news that they are about to embark on their first tour in 20 years. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel's first morning show stop was Good Morning America.

The folk rock duo has sold more than 40 million albums in the United States, with hits like "The Sound of Silence," "Mrs. Robinson" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The tour, slated to begin Oct. 18 in Auburn Hills, Mich., is called "Old Friends."

The two men, who last recorded together in 1975, have had a testy relationship over the years, until the ice thawed earlier this year at the 45th Grammy awards, when they performed the "Sound of Silence" together and received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

"I never actually thought that we'd lost our ability to sing together and have a blend," Simon said at a press conference at the Bottom Line, a New York nightclub. "What we had was a friendship that was estranged, and the Grammys was an opportunity to put that behind us. That's exactly what we did."

Garfunkel said that it was a joy to sing again with Simon. They have known each other for 50 years, and they are like family, he said.

"There has been a deep, buried affection for the last decade or so, and it was the Grammys that forced it out of burial," Garfunkel said.

The tour will take Simon and Garfunkel through North America, to more than 30 cities.

They will stick almost exclusively to old Simon and Garfunkel tunes, though they may play some of their solo hits, like "Slip, Slidin' Away," which Simon says he has always considered a Simon and Garfunkel tune.

The duo's last tour was in 1982-1983. They held a much-heralded free concert in Central Park in 1981, and also performed 21 concerts in 1993 in New York City.