Historical Figure
Carly Simon
b. 1945
American musician (born 1943)
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Biography
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 top 40 U.S. hits include "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (No. 10), "Anticipation" (No. 13), "The Right Thing to Do" (No. 17), "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" (No. 14), "You Belong to Me" (No. 6), "Coming Around Again" (No. 18), and her four Gold-certified singles "You're So Vain" (No. 1), "Mockingbird", "Nobody Does It Better" (No. 2) from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, and "Jesse" (No. 11). She has authored two memoirs and five children's books.
In Their Own Words (5)
Fear came in so much in my life that it did everything but completely stop me. When I was a little girl, I so wanted to be sociable, but I was scared that I wasn't going to be able to speak a sentence because I had such a bad stammer...
On what Simon’s childhood in “Tales From the Trees: An Interview With Carly Simon” in PopMatters (2016 Nov 20) , 2016
The time I enjoy music most is when it’s not a performance. It’s just trading instrumentals and finding that part in the song that you feel best singing.
On how much she loves performing music with her family in “Carly Simon on Trolling Trump With ‘You’re So Vain,’ Lost Mick Jagger Duet” in Rolling Stone (29 Nov 2016) , 2016
You know, that's so much a part of life, being able to embrace the broken heart, not just cast it off as having no meaning or trying to get rid of it. I think in the book gives a very good journey through the way I handled things that were desperately frightening for me.
On her song “Coming Around Again” in “Carly Simon: 'I'm Constantly Reemerging In My Life'” in NPR (2015 Nov 21) , 2015
…I would say it's not not about Warren Beatty. But I can't understand why there's been such intense interest about this over the years and I don't really want to play into that. To me, it's not an issue. It's a kind of a fun riddle.
On her song “You’re So Vain” in “Carly Simon: 'I'm Constantly Reemerging In My Life'” in NPR (2015 Nov 21) , 2015
I think of that time a lot…It’s part of my blood, my bones, all the liquid in my body. I’ve just taken him in so he’s in my core.
Reflecting on the Martha’s Vineyard home that Simon once shared with James Taylor during the 1970s that she still owns in “A revealing interview with Carly Simon at her home in Martha’s Vineyard about her new book, ‘Boys in the Trees’” (2015 Nov 24) , 2015
Timeline
The story of Carly Simon, told in moments.
Released her self-titled debut album and won the Grammy for Best New Artist. Her single "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" reached the top ten.
"You're So Vain" hit No. 1. The subject of the song became pop music's longest-running mystery. Mick Jagger sang backup but denied being the target.
Married singer James Taylor. They recorded the duet "Mockingbird" together. The marriage lasted until 1983.
Revealed in her memoir Boys in the Trees that the second verse of "You're So Vain" was about Warren Beatty. She kept the identity behind the other verses secret.
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