Carly Simon is an American singer-songwriter who can boast that she has rated to date no less than 24 singles in the Billboard Hot 100, 28 in the Billboard Adult Contemporary and won 2 Grammy Awards, just that !
A vocation as a singer that manifests in her from the age of 8 when she sees herself suffering from stammering. Despite being under the care of a psychiatrist, only singing will allow her to effectively combat this affliction.
In the 60s, she started a duet with her sister Lucy called The Simon Sisters, a duo which would experience its heyday in the middle of the decade with the title "Winkin", blinkin "and nod".
The real solo career began in 1970 when she signed with Elektra Records, a label that allowed her to release a first eponymous album a year later in 1971. And for a first try, it was particularly successful since the album is a real success, notably thanks to the flagship single “That's the way I've always heard it should be”.
An exceptional year 1971 which saw the release of a second album called "Anticipation", which was going to be as strong as its predecessor and produced two new hits which are "Anticipation" and "Legend in your own time".
Success confirmed, but especially amplified the following year in 1972 when the enormous album "No secrets" was released, an album of consecration and which produced the biggest success of all his single-side discography, namely "You're so vain". A title that will sell more than a million copies in the United States alone and literally explode the notoriety of the singer internationally.
Two years later in 1974 the album "Hotcakes" was released, an album that was less successful than its predecessor but still successful. Album which will offer the singer a new global top hit with the title "Mockingbird".
Surprisingly, after an exceptional start to the 1970s in all respects, the end of the decade will prove to be much more complicated to manage than expected. The albums "Playing Possum" and "Another passenger" which came out in 1975 and 1976 respectively were relatively successful and struggled to produce any major hit.
It is James Bond who will allow her to come back to the surface in a sensational way in 1977 thanks to the title "Nobody does it better", title present on the soundtrack of the film 'The Spy who loved me'.
Return of the frank and massive success on the album side in 1978 with the release of "Boys in the trees". Album from which the flagship single “You belong to me” will be extracted. And to a lesser extent “Devoted to you”.
New air hole in 1979 and 1980 with the somewhat disappointing release in terms of sales of the albums "Spy" and "Come upstairs". Only the second will pretty much out of the game with the big-caliber single "Jesse".
New album "Torch" in 1981, album which will allow the singer to experience a slight upturn in sales but which will be unable to produce any major hit. The albums "Hello big man" and "Spoiled girl" which will be released in 1983 and 1985 will not do much better.
It was not until 1987 that she resurfaced with the release of the album "Coming aroud again". The album will be a hit globally and produce two major hits, "Coming around again" and "Give me all night".
New hit soundtrack two later in 1989 when she signed the track "Let the river run" featured on the soundtrack for the movie 'Working girl'.
A major success which will unfortunately be the last because everything that will come out subsequently will have only limited success.
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
That’s the way I’ve always heard it should be 1971
Anticipation 1971
Legend in your own time 1972
I've got to have you 1972
You’re so vain 1972
The right thing to do 1973
We have no secrets 1973
Mockingbird 1974
Haven’t got time for the pain 1974
Attitude dancing 1975
Waterfall 1975
More and more 1975
It keeps you runnin 1976
Half a chance 1976
Nobody does it better 1977
You belong to me 1978
Devoted to you 1978
Tranquillo (Melt my heart) 1978
Vengeance 1979
Spy 1979
Jesse 1980
Take me as I am 1980
Hurt 1981
I get along without you very well 1981
Why 1982
You know what to do 1983
Kissing with confidence 1983
Tired of being blonde 1985
My new boyfriend 1985
Anyone but me 1985
Coming around again 1986
Give me all night 1987
The stuff that dreams are made of 1987
All I want is you 1987
Let the river run 1989
Better not tell her 1990
Holding me tonight 1991
Love of my life 1992
Like a river 1994
Touched by the sun 1994
Ev'ry time we say goodbye 1997
Last night when we were young 1997
Cross the river 2000
Whatever became of her 2000
Son of a gun 2001
I only have eyes for you 2005
My one and only love 2005
Best of friends 2006
Blackbird 2007
Quiet evening 2007
This kind of love 2008
They just want you to be there 2008
No freedom 2009
Songbird 2009
Grandmother's house 2015
Clips :
1971 ... first title and already first success. Certainly the success is limited to the Anglo-Saxon sphere but it is already that as they say !
1971 ... she immediately confirms all the good we can think of her. In just one year, she has established herself as one of the big revelations of the moment ...
1972 ... the year 1972 starts again on roughly the same bases as the year 1971. The dynamics of success are now well in place and she only has to unroll from now on !
1972...we're not going to get carried away too quickly because this title will already go a little more unnoticed. But given what's on the horizon, nothing to worry about...
1972 ... then THIS title comes ! Here she signs one of the biggest standards of the decade and of all her discography. With the key a planetary mega hit as a bonus. MAS-TER-FUL !
1973 ... it is clear that after such a title, the rest can only seem pale. And yet, this title will not be unworthy, far from it ...
1973... the level of success achieved by this title is largely sufficient in any case to show that the young singer has nothing to fear concerning the following events...
1974 ... here she is in shock duo mode with James Taylor, a duo that works very well. Admittedly, it is not what she did best but the title holds the road ...
1974 ... a nice title full of finesse which allows her to maintain a level of excellence sufficient to stay in contact with the best. The essential is preserved ...
1975 ... despite a level of success that remains high, she still does not manage to find the exceptional inspiration she experienced on 'You're so vain'. Patience, patience ...
1975 ... a mid-decade that saw her somewhat drop from the head of the peloton. After a startling career, to say the least, she struggles to find a second wind. Attention danger...
1975...certainly the level of success fell in a brutal way, but it happens even to the best. Nothing to worry about at this point...
1976 ... 1976 will not do much better than 1975, despite an obvious desire to do well. We will still have to wait ...
1976...a very 'small' hit but which precedes a huge one. Like what there are always reasons to hope and to believe in it for a while...
1977 ... luckily James B., alias 007, will put her afloat in spectacular fashion. Here she simply signs the soundtrack of the film 'The spy who loved me', an enormous title which gives her her 2nd biggest success, just that. HU-GE !
1978 ... a return to the saddle which allows her to return to the front of the stage in a spectacular way. Like what, everything can turn around very quickly ...
1978 ... she was thought to be back in the saddle in a sustainable way but it will not quite go as planned. The duet she delivers here with James Taylor is nice but nothing more ...
1978...every year has its 'little' hit and for 1978 it will be this one. It is clear that she cannot classify all her titles N°1 of the Charts...
1979 ... the end of the decade which saw her seriously downgrade in the Charts. It is clear that a new breath will have to be found in order to be able to survive the 1980s ...
1979...for the year 1979, the 'little' hit will be this one. Small hits which we will be satisfied with in any case because the quality is present anyway...
1980 ... a new breath that seems to have been found on this track. It remains to be seen if the singer will go the distance in the years to come ...
1980...and for the year 1980 the 'little' hit is...this one ! But the adventure is far from over so there will inevitably be other 'big' hits...
1981...a beginning of the 80s decade which sees her struggling somewhat. She will have to reinvent herself and quickly, otherwise the exit door may arrive faster than expected...
1981...she is struggling but she still manages to maintain a minimum level of quality to stay afloat without too many problems. It's already that...
1982 ... the title she delivers here will undoubtedly remain as one of her most accomplished of the decade. She finally seems to have taken the exact measure of the new trends of the moment and you can hear it. HU-GE !
1983 ... there is really an evolution of the sound, that's obvious. The singer is now well anchored in the 80s and we suspect that she does not intend to stop there...
1983...a most sympathetic collaboration but which will only produce a level of success of the most limited. Really unfortunate...
1985 ... after a year 1984 empty, the singer returns in a more than certain form. A form that allows her to stay in the Elite with obvious ease...
1985... so we're not even talking about a 'little' hit because this title won't even be classified. It hadn't happened to her for a long time, but it definitely will...
1985...a first part of the 80s which will not remain as its best period, that's clear. But nothing is played as they say and it could be that the second half of the decade is much more favorable to her...
1986 ... only one title in this year 1986 but what a title ! She signs here a sumptuous Intimist title, a field in which she had little ventured for our greatest regret. MA-GIC !
1987 ... this title will not have the same level of success as its predecessor but it holds up, that's clear. A decade of 80 that she will have perfectly understood and especially mastered !
1987 ... the 'little' hit of the year. A 2nd part of the year which will not be as favorable for the singer as the 1st unfortunately. Can and must do better !
1987 ... this title will not do much better but it is far from unworthy, it is clear. Even if she does drop a little in the Charts, no worries for now ...
1989 ... new air hole in 1988. So here she is back in 1989 and like the previous comeback, it's a winning comeback. A decade of the 1980s which ended in ideal conditions ...
1990 ... she will have passed through the 1970s, then the 1980s and here she has arrived in this new 1990s. A longevity reserved exclusively for the best !
1991 ... unfortunately, the great adventure will quickly end in this new decade. As much as she will have been able to adapt to the new trends of the previous decade, she will not be able to adapt to that of the 1990s. Cruel disillusion ...
1992 ... her last single of the decade and almost of her career. Almost 20 years after its debut, the circle is now complete and nothing, and no one, will be able to change the course of time unfortunately ...
1994...last Single at the top level but certainly not the last Single. Because the adventure is far, very far from over...
1994...we're not going to lie to each other, the best years are now behind her. But she still has things to offer and especially to sing...
1997...a mid-1990s decade that will see her reorient her style and her sound towards a style a little further away from the latest musical trends of the moment...
1997...with as a consequence a pure and simple disappearance of the Singles Charts. There must be a price to pay in these cases...
2000... she now leads her career as she sees fit and without really taking into account the world around her. A choice of her own...
2000... a strategy that can only isolate her in the long term, but a good number of artists encounter this kind of problem at one time or another in their career...
2001 ... she will return to the front of the stage in a totally unexpected way at the beginning of the 2000s. A return which is not really due to its fact since this title is mainly to be credited to Janet Jackson ...
2005...we find her again a few years later in a style that is not likely to bring her closer to the younger generations. Afterwards, it is not certain that this is what she is looking for...
2005 ... she continues to appear in the Albums Charts which proves all the same that she continues to have a base of fans from the first hour which remains at the very least substantial ...
2006...she will even succeed in returning to the Singles Charts, certainly very furtively, but all the same. Like what in music nothing is ever finished...
2007... what is certain is that she won't let go until the end and as long as she takes pleasure in doing what she does, there is no question that she throws in the towel prematurely. ..
2007...and in principle she is absolutely right. A return to the front of the stage is always possible, you just have to go in the right musical direction...
2008 ... certainly for the moment it does not really take the path but nothing is impossible for the one who decides to take risks again ...
2008... it is clear that she prefers to stay well sheltered in her comfort zone but it is sure that this will not put her back in the race...
2009...a 2000 decade that will have seen her continue to exist, which is already more than positive. Because a bunch of singers who started at the same time as her have already disappeared from the radar for a long time, which is not her case...
2009... now remains to be seen if she will have the courage to return next decade. In any case, only her can answer this question...
2015...a title which will be released on a compilation in the middle of the 2010 decade but which does not necessarily mean a new comeback. We'll have to wait a little longer...
Top Bonus : the story of a lifetime...
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