Carly Simon
b. 25 June 1945, New York City, New York, USA. Simon became one of the most popular singer-songwriters of the '70s and achieved equal success with film music in the '80s. In the early '60s she played Greenwich Village clubs with her sister Lucy. As the Simon Sisters they had one minor hit with Winkin' Blinkin' And Nod (Kapp Records 1964) and recorded two albums of soft folk and children's material. After the duo split up, Carly Simon made an unsuccessful attempt to launch a solo career through Albert Grossman (then Bob Dylan's manager) before concentrating on songwriting with film critic Jacob Brackman. In 1971, two of their songs, the wistful That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be and the Paul Samwell-Smith produced Anticipation were US hits for Simon. Her voice was given a rock accompaniment by Richard Perry on her third album which included her most famous song, You're So Vain, whose target was variously supposed to be Warren Beatty and/or Mick Jagger, who provided backing vocals. The song was a million-seller in 1972 and nearly two decades later was reissued in Britain after it had been used in a television commercial. NO SECRETS remains her most applauded work, and featured among numerous gems, The Right Thing To Do. 
Simon's next Top 10 hit was an insipid revival of the Charlie And Inez Foxx song Mockingbird on which she duetted with James Taylor to whom she was married from 1972-83. Their marriage was given enormous coverage in the US media, rivalling that of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Their divorce received similar treatment as Carly found solace with Taylor's drummer Russell Kunkel. HOTCAKES became US Top 3 album in 1972. During the latter part of the '70s, Simon was less prolific as a writer and recording artist although she played benefit concerts for anti-nuclear causes. Her most successful records were the James Bond film theme. Nobody Does It Better, written by Carole Bayer Sager and Marvin Hamlisch and You Belong To Me, a collaboration with Michael McDonald, both in 1977. During the '80s, Simon's work moved away from the singer-songwriter field and towards the pop mainstream. She released two albums of pre-war Broadway standards (TORCH and MY ROMANCE) and increased her involvement with films. Her UK hit Why (1982) was written by Chic and used in the movie Soup For One while she appeared in Perfect with John Travolta. But her biggest achievement of the decade was to compose and perform two of its memorable film themes. Both Coming Around Again (from Heartburn, 1986) and the Oscar-winning Let The River Run (from Working Girl, 1989) demonstrated the continuing depth of Simon's songwriting talent while the quality of her previous work was showcased on a 1988 live album and video recorded in the open air at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. In 1990, her career came full circle when Lucy Simon was a guest artist on HAVE YOU SEEN ME LATELY ?.