Happy 75th Birthday, Carly Simon!!!!

Make sure you cradle it, hun!

she was an unconventional and kooky beauty, I’ve always liked her.

I don't know her.

Always a cool chick. Love Carly.

My favorite Carly song: "Jesse"...with a special performance at Grand Central.

Happy Birthday, doll

She is actually 78.

OP - Who came in your coffee?

Classic Carly on Martha's Vineyard. The wind is lovely on her.

Lots of other vids from that concert.

I'm gonna give Mom the best gift I can give her.....me!

Those hard nipples were worth million to her back in the day. Good job girls.

I tiptoe past the master bedroom where my mother reads her magazines.

Fuck that bitch.

Their children hate them for the things they not. They hate themselves for what they are.

[that is some dark shit in that song but i love it]

Still jealous she had that primo James Taylor cock.

You can't do much with even a huge cock when it's limp from drugs.

Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1945), 75; The Bronx, NY.

She was never a good singer and not pretty. Sexy and an okay songwriter. Forgotten.

R16. How old are you? Run along. Carly Simon is not forgotten nor are her songs.

Damn, that bitch is old

Carly Simon with Howard Stern in 1995:

R16, are you mentally retarded?

Just asking.

[quote] Damn, that bitch is old

Say that about ME and I'll put out my lit cigarette in your fuckin' eye!

I didn’t know she was a cancer. Makes sense. I love her music. Great to get sad drunk too

[quote] Still jealous she had that primo James Taylor cock.

And then later his son Ben's

^ did anyone read her book about Jackie Kennedy?

You mean his AND her son R23.

How old of a white gay man are you sir @ R20? Over 75 to be sure. Who uses words like mentally retarded? I bet you love to call Beyonce names on a Friday night too. Carly Simon is almost 40 years older than I am. She is homely and can't sing. Facts are facts. That one song over and over again. Her classic covers are torture to the ears. Thin and flat, in voice and chest. Got hit by a shovel. Enjoy yourself racist GRAMPS, aka R20!!

I eat piles and piles AND! PILES! of shit.

So much shit! I can barely fit it on my fork!!!!!!

Carly and her two sisters have a pact: They all subtract 3 years from their ages. That used to be more significant than it is now.

When the author of "Girls Like Us" was writing the book about Carly, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King, Carly was the only subject who agreed to cooperate and be a source. Her only condition: the author would not reveal the actual year Carly was born. She agreed.

If you read the book, it is very clear that the author gets suddenly vague about certain events (like high school graduation) that would tip off the reader to Carly's actual age.

R16 = Joni Mitchell

Why doesn't Carly sing anymore? Is she retired?

Carly never really could sing. And yes, she's retarded now.

When Carly married James Taylor in 1972, Time Mag said they were 32 and 28 respectivly. Hmmmm.

Sounds like Carly is no stranger to the Lez Lez.

"In an interview published on May 1, 2008, with the Bay Area Reporter, an LGBT news service, Simon was asked about the possibility of a performance in the True Colors Tour. She responded, "The part that I could be involved in is the gay and lesbian part. The part that would be hard for me is to commit to a tour, because I'm not very comfortable being onstage. But the part that would be easiest for me would be singing on behalf of all of us. I don't consider myself to be not gay... I've enlarged all of my possibilities. I have a lot of extremely personal stories to tell about that, but we won't go into that right now. Let's just say that it just depends upon who I'm with."

While she didn't have the vocal chops of a Ronstadt, Raitt, Mitchell, or Nyro, her voice worked very well with her own material. And she certainly has/had a better voice than Carole King ever did.

Carly wrote better lyrics than Carole and better music than Joni. Carly sang better than both of them.

Joni wrote better lyrics than either of them, but Carole wrote better music than the other two. Joni sang better than Carole.

[quote] better music than Joni

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Carl Simon is not any better singer that Carole King and doesn't have 1/100th of her talent. Carly was just around. She's lucky that Mike Nichols kept her shitty career going for another 20 years. Truly a terrible singer. At least Carole King knew he limitations as a vocalist.

Carly Simon doesn't belong in the same sentence as Ronstadt, Raitt, Mitchell, Nyro OR King. Don't be silly.

Carly Simon belongs in the same category as Jewel, Suzanne Vega and Janis Ian.

Evidently the author of Girls Like Us begs to differ with Miss R37 as she felt Carly, Carole and Joni were in the same sentence.

That's a trashy and poorly researched book R38. They're close to the same age. And they fucked some of the same men. The end. Carly Simon doesn't inhabit a place as singer or songwriter. As a singer - YUCK. She would be left out of a 12 hour Ken Burn's documentary.

Carly Simon is a footnote in Martha's Vineyard music history. A whiny dilettante with an annoying voice full of false emotion. She's grotesque.

R35 That sounds like the beginning of an SAT word problem.

Carly was my babysitter back when she was at Sarah Lawrence. All I can remember was that she seemed ENORMOUS to me. ENORMOUS. And very nice.

[quote]Sounds like Carly is no stranger to the Lez Lez

Yikes can you imagine those chompers coming at your lady bits?

Carly looked like a less attractive Yvie Oddley. Covergirl won't cover boy.

White Boomers LOVE Carly and James Taylor. Everybody else is kind of "meh" about both.

Well, I'd rather give the boomers some credibility on that count, rather than any generation that foisted Iggy Azalea on us.

Nobody foisted Iggy Azalea on anyone but herself. She's a universal joke and a weird name to bring up. Carly Simon sucked her way to the middle though, for sure. And SHE did heroin too sister. That bitch ain't some suffering wife. Save your old white gay pity for more deserving people. Not preppy Kennedy Centre hippies from the Vineyard. They flew private planes long before real superstars. James Taylor despises her. Carly is a toxic cookie and he got out the only way he knew how. Behave worse and hope she leaves. She's grotesque.

Well, smell Miss R46.

I await her command to sashay away.

I'd forgotten what a massive mouth she has. It's served her well.

she was a big old heaux

I really liked her "Anticipation" and "No Secrets" albums. But not much else. She's always seemed very neurotic, a neurotic rich girl. And no, she was never that much of singer. "Flat voiced" is what one critic called. She stupidly made her hair very blonde, to look younger I suppose. But the blonde hair doesn't become her, it makes her look like a hag. She was considered quite the sex symbol in her day, but looking back it's hard to see why. She was tall and skinny, with a wide nose and a huge mouth with prominent teeth. Not exactly a beauty.

Mama needs a back rub, Ben, for old time's sake.

And bring the lotion.

I met her on the vineyard and she attached herself to me! We were never friends. I never confided in her. She was so neurotic I felt compelled to be her friend least she do away with herself. She had the gall to ask me about the assassination ! Bunny and I laughed ourselves mercilessly at her sad little attempts to break into our clique.

"I feel like a concert on Martha's Vineyard is like stepping out of my bathroom and into my bedroom. It's sort of like going downstairs. It feels as if the islanders are my family. Most concerts I feel it's me and them, the audience. On the island I don't feel that way. I feel that it's me and us."

[quote]She was considered quite the sex symbol in her day, but looking back it's hard to see why. Not exactly a beauty.

Carly was pretty glam for a pop singer.

And her hard nipples on the cover of No Secrets and spread legs with the light coming through her dress on the cover of Anticipation helped her sex symbol image. Sears banned her Playing Possum album because they deemed the cover too sexy.

She was provocative (the Boys in the Trees cover looks like she's just been fucked) before long Madonna came along.

Very spotty career. Chronicling the lives of the east coast elite has limited appeal. Much of her album work is filler. And she has released plenty of flat-out dreck.

That said, I kind of love her. She can be a wry lyricist, and always had a sexiness that seemed more from being than performing.

Her first album of American standards, Torch, was my gateway into the American songbook. While her voice is nowhere near as technically impressive as Ronstadt’s, her interpretations of classic torch and tin-pan-alley songs are superior.

And yeah, she got to ride peak JT, fight with a drunken Chrissie Hynde at a Joni Mitchell show, and date the original Stephen Carrington. And then marry a real-life gay! Plenty of drama in addition to decades of good music.

Speaking of which, where are the fucking YouTube previews?

R55 I love that version of I Get Along Without You Very Well. It is heartbreaking.

I recommend her memoir "Boys In The Trees." It is very well written, candid, and interesting.

Her book on Jackie O is dreadful.

Everything about her is dreadful and inky dinky special. Every time celebrates a few lightweights. Carly was the lightweight of the 1970s female singer/songwriters who made musical and personal history. Karen Carpenter is light years more important and loved. Carly is kind of grossly self indulgent. Who told her she could sing? I'm no fan of Ronstadt's dreck, but that bitch could sing. Real songs.

Anyway, RIP Carly. At first do no harm. I'm sorry for her children.

I just bought a collection called Reflections, which is remastered old hits. It's wonderful.

Funny how Karen Carpenter got so much shit in her day and Carly Simon and Linda Ronstadt were celebrated, and now it's the other way around. Simon and Ronstadt aren't really known that well to younger generations, but Karen Carpenter, who's been dead for nearly 40 years, is well-known.

Carly Simon? She's so vain!

In the 1970s, I actually heard Carly Simon say on a radio show* that she was better than Streisand - because Streisand used over dramatizing when singing like an ugly girl had a "good personality." In other words, Streisand had no looks, so she developed her singing voice to compensate.

I'm not a Streisand worshiper, but I found Simon's evaluation to be a real crock of sexist horseshit.

* the radio show was Jonathan Schwartz' local NYC

Streisand has awful taste. Simon's work form the 1970s and 1980s has aged better, on the whole.

75? Son of a gun.

R63, this is about talent, and encompasses ALL of Streisand's singing career. It is not about some stupid singles Streisand out out in the 1970s. Not think about that. If necessary, look it up.

Ok. I will not think about that.

Streisand's pop stuff in the late 70s/early 80s is the only music of hers I've ever liked.

You like this crap?

r68 I don't know that one. I was thinking more of "Prisoner," the theme song from the craptastic "Eyes Of Laura Mars" starring Faye Dunaway.

I was playing this repeatedly a few weeks ago. God how I miss the days of actual talent. Carly looks and sounds just amazing in this clip.

Streisand can't sing for shit. Zero emotion.

Don't be an idiot, r71. There are criticisms you can make of Streisand, but "zero emotion" isn't one of them.

I love that clip of Simon, r70. I don't remember her performing live in the 70s but maybe I just missed it.

She could've made bank as a touring artist in the 70s and 80s but she had horrible stage fright. I bet she regrets that now.

A rich Jewish girl without proper orthodontics. Something doesn't ad dup.

"Streisand can't sing for shit. Zero emotion."

Very funny. Streisand was criticized relentlessly for being overly emotional when singing. Unless you only know "The Way We Were" and all that 70s shit.

[quote]Karen Carpenter, who's been dead for nearly 40 years, is well-known.

Meanwhile, back in the real world . . .

Carpenter's music and Karen Carpenter's gorgeous voice and tragic legend are far more alive in people's minds that Carly Simon. Karen Carpenter had one of the most beautiful and evocative recorded voices of all time. Sheesh.

Fanatics are weird, but everyone is a secret Carpenter's fan.

A voice from Beyond The Grave. Superstar.

[quote]Funny how Karen Carpenter got so much shit in her day and Carly Simon and Linda Ronstadt were celebrated, and now it's the other way around. Simon and Ronstadt aren't really known that well to younger generations, but Karen Carpenter, who's been dead for nearly 40 years, is well-known.

Linda had a documentary movie done on her last year and was inducted into the Kennedy Center Honors a few months back.

Carly who?

Year: 1983; Age: 32

After the singer’s sudden death, her legacy felt cloudy – thanks to the then-misunderstood illness, anorexia, which took her life, and a prevailing lack of critical respect for the hugely popular music she and brother Richard produced as the Carpenters from 1970 onward. Many dismissed trademark hits like “Yesterday Once More”, “Close to You” and “Rainy Days and Mondays” as schmaltzy and Lawrence Welk–level square; others were haunted by images of an alarmingly frail, thin Carpenter in performance. She was the first celebrity to posthumously make eating disorders a part of the national conversation; her complicated relationships with her brother and her mother, Agnes, and lack of control over her own artistry have been explored extensively since her passing. What ultimately redeemed her has been a gradual reassessment and celebration of her extraordinary contralto and The Carpenters’ catalog. An early, now-impossible-to-find Todd Haynes documentary Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story became an underground classic after its 1988 debut, and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth wrote and recorded “Tunic (A Song for Karen)” in her memory in 1990. “I wanted to put Karen Carpenter up in heaven playing drums and being happy,” Gordon told Rolling Stone in 1997. Similarly, Elton John called her “one of the greatest voices of our lifetime,” and Madonna professed that she is “completely influenced by her harmonic sensibility.” In her final years, she was eager to take her lush, understated and crystal-clear voice into a new, independent direction. A 1979 solo album produced by Phil Ramone – not released until 1996 – had her singing about sex and liberation on tighter songs inflected with rock and disco. “It was a beginning,” Ramone told the New York Times. “I’m not saying that Karen was Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan, but a voice like that could have done anything.”

Will Pet Clark do this for Carly Simon? I don't think so. ONJ and Dionne Warwick, Burt Bacharach and Herb Alpert and Phil Ramone all showed up for Karen Carpenter too. A special voice she had. A wonderful musician and a great vocalist.

[quote]Carpenters' music and Karen Carpenter's gorgeous voice and tragic legend are far more alive in people's minds than Carly Simon.

Not in mine. I hated the Carpenters. Never spent one cent on their recordings until I got an SACD player around 1999. Still the sappiest fucking shit in the universe: on a par with other seventies misery makers Barry Manilow, the Captain and Tennille, England Dan & John Ford Coley, John Denver, Afternoon Delight, and Bread. I never listened to the Carpenters disc, and gave it away.

"Fanatics are weird, but everyone is a secret Carpenter's fan."

R83 is right. I remember them where they had their first hits - I ALWAYS disliked The Carpenters, always disliked Karen. They were gooey pop pablum, and gave me the creeps on top of that. It's younger audiences that are in love with Karen's voice because they don't know any of good voices. I don't even refer to Karen as a vocalist because she has a unique sound but no technique.

Nonsense. Madonna is as old as most of you and she liked Karen's voice. Ditto Sonic Youth.

Sonic Youth / Superstar

Whether Madonna, Sinatra, Robert Q Lewis or Soupy Sales "liked" Karen Carpenter's voice does not make her a good voice or a good singer. Odd some list names who said they liked her somehow makes her good. It's like the idiots here who claims something's good because it sold.

Oh, yeah, r85...Madonna has always been my first reference in matters of taste. (Smirking My Ass Off.)

Do you perform nincompoopery for a living? You're good at it.

Muriel, can we please have an Idiot Of The Thread button? Please? r85 deserves—nay, needs—one desperately.

Call be overly sensitive, but I just couldn't get into a brother-sister act who were fucking.

[quote] Whether Madonna, Sinatra, Robert Q Lewis or Soupy Sales "liked" Karen Carpenter's voice does not make her a good voice or a good singer. Odd some list names who said they liked her somehow makes her good. It's like the idiots here who claims something's good because it sold.

This is like on every Judy Garland thread -- all 12 trillion of them -- some idiot will always trot about some purported Frank Sinatra quotation about Garland being the only singer who won't be forgotten -- as if whatever that mean, old drunk said matters.

[Quote] Whether Madonna, Sinatra, Robert Q Lewis or Soupy Sales "liked" Karen Carpenter's voice does not make her a good voice or a good singer. Odd some list names who said they liked her somehow makes her good. It's like the idiots here who claims something's good because it sold.

The poster up thread write that younger audiences don't know a good voice, so I named some old people who are Karen fans...

r88

The woman knows talent. Madonna wouldn't have a career based just on her own skills.

[Quote] Around 1970, I was invited into Herb Alpert's office at A&M Records to listen to the Carpenters' version of "Close To You," a song that I had recorded in the mid 1960's. I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the way Karen sounded. They also recorded a song I considered one of my biggest Bacharach challenges from the Broadway play PROMISES PROMISES titled "Knowing When To Leave." Karen nailed it.

[Quote] I do miss her, but her legacy is her music, and that will live on long after we are all gone.

Love them both. Who I don't love is the talent free Carl Simony.

Knowing Dionne, she would only ever compliment someone she didn't consider a threat. "I got your number, skinny white hussy."

Dionne loved Karen Carpenter. Everyone knows that.

What did Lainie Kazan say about Karen?

Don't try this Carly Simons.

Karen Carpenter's voice is discovered every day. Her sound is very, very special. To say she had no technique displays incredible ignorance. She had a great gift which she used beautifully.

[Quote] What did Lainie Kazan say about Karen?

"Can I have your stuff?"

Geez, I love both Carpenter's and Simon's sound.

I'll leave the technical debate to those who know what they're talking about.

I give the nod to Carpenter, though, for sheer talent.

Nobody else's voice creates such poignancy within me. I love to feel sad when I hear Carpenter sing.

[Quote] Carpenter's

Mary Chapin?

No, r103, Karen Carpenter's

R101, at first I thought you mean that Lainie wanted to seduce Karen. But even old fat Lainie had standards.

Carly has a bright, funny, observant personality that is surprising to those who know only her neurotic celebrity persona (although there's is certainly plenty of neurosis there too)...

But Carly is a "Pleaser" personality type and has never been particularly good at protecting herself, which has provided plenty of fodder for her enemies - kind of amazing that she still inspires such a range of strong opinions here.

Her personality came through in both of her books "Boys in the Trees" and "Touched By the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie" - she's known a lot of famous persons and has some amazing stories. She's obviously a talented writer, as well.

At this stage of her life, Carly has finally found a kind of completeness and contentment that eluded her earlier. I won't say she no longer cares - but she's no longer likely to be devastated by the disapproval of others...

And if you think Carly's not a talented lyricist, give a listen to "Libby" or "Boys in the Trees" (Tori Amos calls it the song she WISHES she had written), and some of the lesser known songs in her catalog that spans over three decades....

When Carly was on "Finding Your Roots", Henry Louis Gates called Carly the "blackest White woman" they had ever had on the show.

BTW, that was a great episode - they uncovered some interesting stories in her genealogy.

Carly can't sing though.

And you don't have any interesting thoughts, R108

Carly's maternal grandmother claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of the Infante of Span

Carly's mother Andrea had Caucasian features and hair and she generally "passed" as White in Segregated America

Her mother's brothers had black features and struggled to earn a living but they both were talented musicians

*Infante of Spain

Many of the best and most informed post on this thread come from me, R109. What a shame you can't track them. Can't afford a buck fifty?

Carly's mother Andrea Simon

Carly & Andrea

Carly's mother was mixed race?

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Was Carly a prize fighter or just a battered bitch? What a busted up face. She's a cutter kind of gal. Proud of her neurosis. She draws attention to her victim pains. Weak. Maybe that's why her songs are so putrid?

Yes, Carly's mother had a quarter African-Caribbean ancestry through her mother Andrea Heinemann

Carly has said she would have been considered an "Octoroon" or a person of 1/8 African ancestry, in the parlance of Segregated America

I didn't realize Carly's younger brother Peter Simon died in 2018

Carly's mother Andrea

So some of Carly's photos were clearly G-Rated

Sloan Wilson, author of "Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" wrote about visiting his publisher Richard Simon at Simon's country estate in Connecticut in the 1950s

Wilson wrote in one of his books that seeing Simon and his family in the setting of their estate, they all seemed to have a sort ethereal bronze glow of success, except for Simon's daughter Carly who was not as attractive

At what age was Carly lobotomized? No wonder Jackie fake friended her.

James Taylor and Carly celebrating Thanksgiving with Carly's family

r121 - That looks an awful lot like a young Lauren Bacall.

You all are comparing apples and oranges. Streisand, Rondstadt, Karen Carpenter were all singers. They didn't write music , they sang others music. King, Simon, Mitchell, were all troubadours. You don't need to have a great voice to be one, just a good one. I'm 64 years old and just became a real Joni Mitchell fan since I've been in quarantine.

Joni Mitchell is a genius. And she could SING. Her musicality and phrasing and timing and tuning are impeccable. Carly Simon never even resembled young Lauren Bacall's foot. And she has no place in the same sentence with Joni Mitchell either. Drink your vodka and cry over her "singing" old white DL posters - but don't try to convince the rest of us that Carling Simmons was anything but rich and lucky with connections. She SUCKS ass. Literally.

Carly Simon and James Taylor's Wedding Reception

I hope Yoko didn't insist on singing

I've never been into Carly Simon or James Taylor but by Boomer parents, aunts, uncles and their friends (east coast, upper-middle class types) loved them.

Damn fine looking woman in her day.

I love that Carly's mother kept a lover half her age in the same house as her husband.

My kind of gal!

According to DL, Carly herself carried on her mother's "younger lover in the house" tradition with Ben.

Your son can't be your lover. That's abuse.

Her song Jessie is a benchmark in payola. She was a major artist in the 70’s then, as said above, began to slide. Because she was paid the big bucks & had the decline her record company paid radio stations in money, travel $ coke to get it across. It worked with the song & somewhat the album She followed it with another that bombed (single was tired of being blonde) Mike nicols (sp?) did bump her career after that with all the movie soundtracks. This was from the payloa book i read (look up the title i don’t want to) I remember it because most of the book was about Arthur freed in the 50’s & The arthur pointed out it was still going on. The other problem with the 70’s artists (carly,etc) was Generation X wanted their own stars & the birth of mtv. So all these high paid singers were not returning on their investment. If i’m long winded it because I’m high.

[quote]The other problem with the 70’s artists (carly,etc) was Generation X wanted their own stars & the birth of mtv. So all these high paid singers were not returning on their investment. If i’m long winded it because I’m high.

Absolutely. Also, the singer/songwriter type of artist fell out of favor in the 80s in favor of the big flashy pop stars like Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson.

"Carly Simon never even resembled young Lauren Bacall's foot."

That's correct. Carly Simon resembled Lauren Bacall's horse.

I read that stations were paid to play "Jesse."

That surprised me, as it is a very catchy song. Unlike almost everything else on that album. It was about the only song on "Come Upstairs" that sounded like a Carly Simon song.

Only other song from Carly Simon have liked is "Coming Around Again". Liked as it didn't turn radio off or change channel when it came on, but wouldn't go out and actually buy.

Thanks to film Heartburn the song was everywhere it seemed.

Like her earlier work "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be", CAA is about a woman's view point on life. This time instead of a hesitant young woman about to marry, we have an older wife/mother from the same sort of suburban upper middle class background wondering about her life.

Coming Around Again's lyrics are like a poem. Very clever.

Coming Around Again's lyrics are like a poem. Very clever.

R60, huh?

Love her music- and Joni, and Judy, and Carol. All of them light years more creative and original than any current artist. Joni’s music is towering.

r140 I'm Gen X and Karen Carpenter is more well-known and listened to among us than Linda or Carly. I know Boomers hate this because she's one of their icons, but Linda Ronstadt is not well-known at all among younger generations.

Carpenters were smart to cover lesser known songs/hits. Linda covered big hits (e.g. Motown standards). Her versions were never going to endure.

Linda Ronstadt was such a huge star in her day, but her legacy has not lasted much at all. Most people today who weren't around back then are like "Linda who?"

"Coming Around Again"

Baby sneezes

Mummy pleases

Daddy breezes in

So good on paper

So romantic

But so bewildering

I know nothing stays the same

But if you're willing to play the game

It's coming around again

So don't mind if I fall apart

There's more room in a broken heart

You pay the grocer

You fix the toaster

You kiss the host Good-bye

Then you break a window

Burn the Souffle

Scream a lullaby

I know nothing stays the same

But if you're willing to play the game

It's coming around again

So don't mind if I fall apart

There's more room in a broken heart

And I believe in love

But what else can I do

I'm so in love with you

I know nothing stays the same

But if you're willing to play the game

It will be coming around again

[repeat and fade]

Carly Simon, James Taylor, Janis Ian, Gordon Lightfoot, Jane Olivor, Christopher Cross and so many more songwriters/singers from 1970's and 1980's were just from a different time in music. Some of their works and or artists themselves have endured, others either way not so much.

Then again when you turn on the radio or however you listen to tunes it isn't any wonder. Much of what is out there today is garbage sung (if you could call it that) by people who cannot sing.

Back in 1970's or 1980's you could turn on radio and hear songs that moved you and or at least understood emotions behind the words.

LInda Ronstadt for one was one of the most emotionless singers ever. She had a pretty and powerful voice but she didn't really know how to sing. She just blares or trembles her way through shit. That's why she's not remembered. Her musical interpretations are hollow and meaningless.

Couldn’t agree more, Charlie (r140)...Joni deserved the Nobel for her lyrics as much or more than Dylan...

I think that the album cover for Playing Possum was the sexiest and prettiest photograph of Carly Simon.

exactly R128. she's very appealing to a certain demographic. i find her stuff unlistenable.

Probably one of the few Linda Ronstadt songs have liked.

My father had that album (the one OP’s photo is from). The photo is 70s style perfection. The nipples are mesmerizing.

Love Carly. Society girl made good.

Her Greatest Hits Live album recorded in Martha’s Vineyard ~1986 is a masterpiece. Probably one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time. She is underrated in my opinion. I’m guessing she will eventually get the Linda Ronstadt treatment (adoring documentary, Kennedy Center Honor), and I would be ok with that.

I'm not Linda's biggest fan (she has a couple stans on the DL music threads) but she can do heartfelt songs with plenty of emotion.

Exhibit A =

Rosemary Clooney wasn't far off needing an oxygen tank onstage but there's no comparison. Linda could produce sound. Rosemary Clooney was a singer. Rosie brought lyrics to life.

She probably thinks this day is about her.

Christopher Cross? Ewwww.

R154 At least both women sang live. Poor Ella had to lipsynch her duet with Karen (to the Carpenters original recording!?), because Miss Carpenter didn't want to do it live. It had to be perfect.

Karen doing her white girl shimmy while Ella sitting at the bar looking like she's counting the seconds until this medley was over.

That duet was gorgeous, whether it was lip synched or sung live.