Born:
Born on June 25, 1945, Carly was the youngest child of a musically-inclined family. Carly's father, Richard Simon, co-founded Simon & Schuster publishers and played the piano. Carly has two sisters namely Lucy (singer/composer) and Joey (or Joanna, opera singer).
Birthplace:
New York City
Early Years:
Carly and her sisters loved to sing when they were young. Carly and Lucy taught themselves how to play the
guitar and before long the two formed the
Simon Sisters. They performed at New York clubs and later signed a recording deal with Kapp Records. They had one minor hit with the song "Winken, Blinken and Nod" but the duo separated when Lucy got married. Carly went solo and was involved in several projects that were sadly shelved. Carly then worked in a production company but continued to write songs and attended Julliard for a term in order to learn notation.
Becoming Famous:
In 1966 she met and became friends with Jacob Brackman who later introduced her to Jerry Brandt. Brandt offered to become her manager and in 1970 Carly signed a contract with Elektra. Her self-titled album was released in February 1971 with the song "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" climbing at #10. This was followed by a second album,
Anticipation, released in November 1971 which earned her a Grammy for Best New Artist. Her third album,
No Secrets was an even bigger hit with the song "You're So Vain" becoming a chart-topper.
Other Albums:
Hotcakes (1974, contains the song "Mockingbird" peaking at #5)Playing Possum (1975, contains the song "Attitude Dancing")Another Passenger (1976)Boys in the Trees (1978, contains the song "You Belong to Me" and the duet "Devoted to You")Spy (1979, contains the song "We're So Close")Come Upstairs (1980, contains the song "Jesse")Torch (1981)Hello Big Man (1983)Spoiled Girl (1985)My Romance (1990)Have You Seen Me Lately? (1990)Letters Never Sent (1994)Clouds in My Coffee (1995)Film Noir (1997)The Bedroom Tapes (2000)Christmas Is Almost Here (2002)Moonlight Serenade (2005)Into White (2007)Other Achievements/Awards:
In 1977, Carly sang "Nobody Does It Better" (#2) for the James Bond movie "The Spy Who Loved Me".She wrote the song "Coming Around Again" for the movie "Heartburn".She wrote the song "Let the River Run" for the movie "Working Girls", earning her a Grammy, a Golden Globe and an Oscar.She wrote songs for the movie "Postcards From the Edge" and "This is My Life".Romulus Hunt, an opera for children, opened at the Metropolitan Opera and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1993. She is also the author of 5 children's books.Personal Struggles:
Carly was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. After her treatments, she worked on her album The Bedroom Tapes featuring the song "Scar". In her own words "When you are challenged with a serious disease, you have to struggle to get to the surface. If you let go, you can drift. I had to latch on to something in myself that was strong. It would be my music." - Carly SimonSongwriting:
Carly Simon is often described as an introspective songwriter because many of her songs have a very personal and deep meaning to it. Most of her songs were inpired by her experiences and the people in her life. For example the song "Like A River" was written for her mother, "Julie Through The Glass" was written for her niece (Lucy's daughter) and "Touched By The Sun" was written for her friend and mentor Jackie Onassis.Love Life:
Carly Simon and James Taylor met on April 6, 1971 while she was opening for Cat Stevens at the Troubadour. They were married on November 3, 1972 and have two kids: Sally and Ben. Carly and James were divorced in 1983. In 1987, Carly married Jim Hart but they divorced in 2007.Interesting Fact:
To this day many still wonder who the subject of the song "You're So Vain" is (others speculate it could be Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, Cat Stevens or Kris Kristofferson) but Carly refuses to divulge this information. For more on Carly Simon, visit her official website.
