She’s recorded 22 concept albums, composed four film scores, written children’s books and won a Grammy, Golden Globe and an Oscar (to name a few of her accomplishments!) – and on June 25th, boho queen Carly Simon turns 67. We’re tipping our hat to Carly’s rich career with her top 10 hits.
10. Coming Around Again – peaked at # 18 in 1987, her biggest hit in more than six years.
9. The Right Thing to Do – peaked at # 17 in 1973 and reached #4 on the Adult Contemporary charts.
8. Haven’t Got Time for the Pain – peaked at # 14 in 1973
7. Anticipation – Written while she was waiting for Cat Stevens to pick her up for a date) – peaked at # 13 in 1972
6. Jesse – peaked at # 11 in 1980
5. That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard it Should Be - peaked at # 10 in 1971 – “When I first wrote it I thought it was an unusual thing for people to break up, and now all my friends are divorced.”
4. You Belong To Me – peaked at # 6 in 1978
3. Mockingbird – peaked at # 5 1974 (a duet with James Taylor, while awaiting the birth of their daughter Sally).
2. Nobody Does It Better – peaked at # 2 1977 (used as the theme song for the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me).
1. You’re So Vain – peaked at # 1 for 3 weeks 1973 – So…who is the subject of Carly’s signature song? Well, Carly’s never publicly revealed the identity – but there’s quite a bit of speculation out there. It’s definitely not about James. Not about Mick Jagger, who contributed uncredited vocals to the song. Warren Beaty himself stated, “Let’s be honest. That song was about me.”
In 2003, Dick Ebersol, president of NBC Sports and a friend of Simon, was the highest bidder for a charity auction in which the prize was the identity of the song’s subject. Ebersol hasn’t revealed the name, but offered up one clue: the letter ‘e’ is in the man’s name. Hmm…
Originally posted June 24, 2011
