Most of the musicians who made their mark in the history of rock and roll first appeared on the music scene in the 1970s. Carly Simon, writer of the classic hit You’re So Vain, was one of them.
On June 25, 1945, Simon was born in New York, the third child of Richard Simon, who co-founded the Simon & Schuster publishing company. When Simon was born, “they just added a y to the word, like an accusatory chromosome: Carly,” the famous artist reportedly recalled. Her parents hoped for a son, whom they named Carl.
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While she and her family lived in Greenwich Village, New York, young Simon loved to spend most of her time at the Stamford, Connecticut mansion. She met Jackie Robinson, a baseball player who was a personal family friend at the time. Jackie took her to his games and the audience even considered her the team’s mascot.
In his 2015 novel Boys in the Trees, Simon writes, “Jackie even taught me to bat left-handed, though it never took off”. “He always had the cutest look around his mouth, like he was thinking about what he was going to say before he said it.
Simon showed an interest in music, and after learning to play the guitar, she and her sister Lucy soon began performing together in Greenwich Village. The Simon Sisters were a duo that released three albums.
After her solo debut, Carly’s songs topped the charts.
Her 1971 debut album Carly Simon included That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be, which peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Anticipation, Havet Got Time for the Pain, You Belong to Me, Coming Around Again, Mockingbird, Nobody Does It Better – from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me – and Jesse are among her best-known songs.
She claims that she wrote the popular song Anticipation in just fifteen minutes while waiting for Cat Stevens at her house.
Young Simon won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist of the Year and was nominated for “Best Female Pop Vocalist” after breaking through with two highly successful albums in a short time when he was still a relatively unknown figure in the music industry.
But the one that made history was the third on her third album. You Are So Vain was chosen by the RIAA as the 216th song of the century and is now number 92 on Billboard’s Greatest Songs of All Time chart. The UK’s Official Charts Company named it the best song of the 1970s in August 2014.
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However, the identity of the subject of that famous song is still a mystery. Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger were present when Simon recorded at Trident Studios in London, England. Mick Jagger sang the chorus but was not credited. But contrary to popular belief, the Rolling Stones frontman himself, not Warren Bitty, was among the individuals for whom the song was composed.
Simon said in his story that as soon as Jagger found out he was there, he went to the studio.
It was just after midnight. Mick and I had similar features, including the same lips, height, and complexion. I felt like I was trying to keep up with the pink gravity that started to hold me smoothly. The closeness pleased me as I remembered the several occasions when I had imitated him in front of the mirror in the closet.”
Simon added that her song was about two other people, but she didn’t mention them or their names because they knew that was enough. Most likely if I remarked, “Remember how I went to a party and… I’m not sure I’m going to do it,” while we were having dinner together. I never thought I’d know there were several others involved.”
Simon had two marriages. In her memoir, she spoke of her meeting in 1971 with James Taylor, her first husband. “Holding a self-regulating cigarette in his right hand, he wore loose, baggy, dark red corduroys and a long-sleeved Henley with one button undone. His hair fell evenly on either side of his head and he had a scruffy, fine moustache, similar to the 1970s, his hair shiny and unkempt Everything about him suggested that even though he was lying on the ground, he was the center of something—the core of the apple, the center of the message.
After 11 years of marriage, they separated in 1983, leaving two children together. Simon married writer James Hart in 1987; they broke up in 2007.
Although her son has not yet read her memoir, she claims her daughter has. The Songwriters Hall of Fame honored and celebrated Simon’s work in 1994. She is the first singer to ever win three major awards for a single song—an Oscar, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe—for the song Let The River Run, written for the 1988 film Working Girl. and still writes music today.
At 80 years old, Carly Simon is a music icon who has greatly influenced the industry and still has a lot to offer her followers.
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Carly Simon was born on June 25, 1945, in New York and became a major figure in the rock and roll history of the 70s. Starting a career playing alongside her sister in the Simon Sisters, she soon established herself as a solo artist with chart-topping hits like “Anticipation” and “You’re So Vain”. The title track of her third album, “You’re So Vain”, remains a cultural touchstone and ranks among the greatest songs of all time, despite continued speculation about its inspiration.
Simone’s personal life, including marriages to James Taylor and James Hart, and her notable achievements, such as an Oscar, Grammy,, and Golden Globe win for “Let the River Run,” underscore her lasting influence on the music industry. Now aged 80, Simon continues to inspire and influence with his legacy firmly entrenched in the annals of music history.Â
Her story reflects a life rich in musical innovation and personal triumph, and she continues to captivate audiences with her artistry and experience.