Carly Simon
(b. 1943)
Carly Simon emerged in the early 1970’s as a consistent hit maker and one of the most popular of the confessional Singer-Songwriters who helped define the laid-back sound of that era.
Raised in New York City (where her father Richard was co-founder of the publishing giant Simon & Schuster), Simon began her professional career as part of a Folk duo, playing nightclubs in the city’s Greenwich Village neighborhood with her sister Lucy. Billed as the Simon Sisters, they made three albums together before Lucy quit to start a family.
As a solo artist, Simon had several false starts – unreleased recordings, a partnership with Richie Havens, a stint at Julliard School of Music – before Elektra Records founder Jac Holtzman heard a tape of her songs and signed her to the label in 1970. Released the next year, Simon’s self-titled debut album yielded the top-ten single “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” and won a Grammy for Best New Artist. Her second album, “Anticipation,” reached No. 13. Her 1972 release “No Secrets” spent five weeks at No. 1; the single “You’re So Vain” became a smash hit. (That broadside aimed at a self-obsessed former boyfriend launched a wave of speculation about Simon’s target: Warren Beatty, Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Cat Stevens were all prime suspects, but Simon remained mum.) Also in 1972, Simon married singer James Taylor, who she’d met backstage after he had come to one of her shows.
Throughout her 20-plus-album career, Simon has developed a reputation as a writer of emotionally complex songs. But her creative output has not been limited to the Singer-Songwriter genre — she has also found success recording Jazz standards, writing a contemporary opera, writing song for films, scoring films and authoring a number of children’s books.
