Carly Simon

Carly Simon Bio

Carly Elisabeth Simon (born 25 June 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author whose career began in the 1960s and reached mainstream prominence in the 1970s. Across five decades she has recorded hit albums and singles in pop, folk, and standards, while also publishing memoirs and children’s books.

She recorded a string of hit singles and albums, most notably the No. 1 single “You’re So Vain” and the album No Secrets, and has won multiple awards including two Grammys. Her contralto voice and confessional songwriting have influenced many later artists.

Early Life and Background

Carly Elisabeth Simon was born on 25 June 1943 in New York City. Her father, Richard L. Simon, co-founded the publishing house Simon & Schuster and was a classical pianist who often played Chopin and Beethoven at home. Her mother, Andrea Heinemann Simon, was a civil rights activist and singer.

Simon was raised in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx alongside her sisters Joanna and Lucy and her younger brother Peter. She attended Riverdale Country School and later spent at least four semesters at Sarah Lawrence College. She also studied at the Juilliard School of Music.

When Simon was eight years old she began to stutter severely, and a psychiatrist tried unsuccessfully to treat the condition. She instead turned to singing and songwriting, later recalling that she could sing without stammering. She has also spoken about growing up with dyslexia and the way it shaped her approach to writing.

Path to Music

Carly Simon began her professional music career in 1963 performing with her sister Lucy Simon as the Simon Sisters. Signed to Kapp Records, the duo made their television debut on Hootenanny and released their first album, Meet the Simon Sisters, in 1964.

The Simon Sisters’ debut album featured “Winkin’, Blinkin’ and Nod”, a children’s poem by Eugene Field set to music by Lucy, which became a minor hit and reached No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. The pair recorded two further albums together before Carly moved on.

In the late 1960s Simon collaborated briefly with the New York rock band Elephant’s Memory before signing with Elektra Records in 1970. Her self-titled solo debut appeared in 1971 and launched her as a major solo artist.

Carly Simon Career

Early Career (1963-1971)

During the mid-1960s Simon built her early catalog as half of the Simon Sisters, releasing two Kapp Records albums and a third children’s album in 1969. After the duo dissolved, she spent time writing and collaborating in New York before going solo.

Her 1971 Elektra debut, Carly Simon, peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 and produced the breakthrough single “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be”, which reached No. 10 on the Hot 100. The album and single established her as a leading confessional singer-songwriter.

Breakthrough (1972-1978)

Simon’s third album, No Secrets (1972), topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks and was certified Platinum. It spawned the worldwide hit “You’re So Vain”, which sat at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and earned three Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

She followed that success with Hotcakes (1974), which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and produced the duet “Mockingbird” with James Taylor and the single “Haven’t Got Time for the Pain”. In 1977 she recorded “Nobody Does It Better” as the theme to the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, and the song became a worldwide hit and the No. 1 Adult Contemporary track of the year.

Her 1978 album Boys in the Trees reached the Top 10 and returned her to Platinum status, led by the singles “You Belong to Me” and “Devoted to You”. During this period she also won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and received multiple nominations for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Notable Works and Milestones

Simon’s signature recordings include “You’re So Vain”, “Nobody Does It Better”, “Coming Around Again”, and the Oscar-winning “Let the River Run”. She is the first artist to have won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy for a song she wrote, composed, and performed entirely on her own.

Carly Simon Award Nominations

Across her career Carly Simon has received 14 Grammy Award nominations, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. She has also received nominations at the BAFTA Film Awards for Best Original Film Score, and has earned multiple Boston Music Award nominations.

Carly Simon Awards Won

Carly Simon has won two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Let the River Run”, and a Golden Globe Award for the same composition. She has also received three Boston Music Awards, an ASCAP Founders Award, and an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music.

Carly Simon Family

Carly Simon was born to Richard L. Simon and Andrea Heinemann Simon. She has two sisters, Joanna Simon and Lucy Simon, both of whom died of cancer in October 2022, and a brother, Peter Simon, who died from lung cancer in 2018.

Her maternal uncle was the writer George T. Simon. Simon’s family heritage includes German-Jewish roots from her father’s side and German and Pardo heritage through her maternal grandmother, Ofelia Oliete, a Cuban-born Catholic who was raised in England.

Personal Life

Simon married fellow singer-songwriter James Taylor on 3 November 1972 in New York City, and the couple had two children, Sarah “Sally” Maria Taylor (born 7 January 1974) and Benjamin “Ben” Simon Taylor (born 22 January 1977), both of whom became musicians. Simon and Taylor divorced in 1983.

She was engaged to musician Russ Kunkel from 1985 to 1986, and later married writer and businessman James Hart in 1987, divorcing in 2007. Simon has resided on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and was reported in later years to be in a long-term relationship with surgeon Richard Koehler. She underwent treatment for breast cancer between 1997 and 1998.