A Girl Like Us

Carly Simon: (born June 25, 1945) is an American singer/songwriter and musician. She is also an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and two-time Grammy Award winner. Simon was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994. Carly Simon's distinctive vocals and intelligent, poignant lyrics have won her legions of fans since her career began in the 1970s. Having originally sung in 'The Simons Sisters', a two-piece with her sister Lucy, though Carly eventually emerged as a solo songwriter and performer to be reckoned with. Simon left Sarah Lawrence College to work as a folk duo with Lucy. They played New York clubs as the Simon Sisters, breaking up when Lucy got married. The Simon Sisters cut an LP for Kapp and had a minor hit in 1964 with "Winken, Blinken and Nod." Carly continued as a solo act and in 1966 began recording material for a solo debut album with sessionmen including Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel (of the Band), Al Kooper, and Mike Bloomfield. One of the tracks to be included was a version of Eric Von Schmidt's "Baby Let Me Follow You Down," with lyrics rewritten for Simon by Bob Dylan. After the project was abandoned, Simon kept a low profile for the rest of the decade. She reemerged in 1970 with a single from her debut LP, "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (#10, 1971), one of many songwriting collaborations with film critic Jacob Brackman. In late 1971 the title cut of her second LP, Anticipation (produced by ex-Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith), was a #13 hit, and the album was also a bestseller, helping her to win that year's Best New Artist Grammy. Her later hits included the mammoth smash "You're So Vain" (#1, 1972), allegedly inspired by and sung to either Warren Beatty or Mick Jagger (who appears on it as a backup vocalist). No Secrets (#1, 1972) went gold later that year; it is her most successful album to date. On November 3, 1972, she married James Taylor, who had been contacted by Bianca Jagger shortly before the wedding, to tell him she thought Mick and Carly were having an affair (which Carly denied). James believed Carly and defended her, when he was talking on the phone with Bianca. Though they would eventually split up (due to Taylor's alcoholism) James and Carly were one of the most celebrated couples of the decade. They had two kids together. James was attracted to Carly's bubbly and charismatic personality because he was so quiet and reserved. Carly was a free spirit full of life and style. I just read an amazing book by, Sheila Weller called Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation. It is a great book for music lovers, Girls Like Us is about three women whose courageous, defiant talent defined a generation. Whether you read it to rediscover that wonderfully stormy time -- the '60s and early feminist movement -- or to discover it for the first time, take it to heart. Sacrifice, hard work, and daring to dream still resonates with Girls Like Us today...