November 8, 1972: Carly Simon Releases "You're So Vain"

November 8, 1972: Carly Simon releases "You're So Vain," a single from her album No Secrets. She has yet to make an honest woman of herself: Half a century later, she still keeps the big secret, the identity of the man to whom she sang in the chorus, "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you."

She was born Carly Elisabeth Simon on June 25, 1943 in Manhattan, but she wasn't one of those New York "street kids" like doo-woppers Frankie Lymon and Dion DiMucci who convinced a million teenagers, boys and girls alike, that, "They came from nothing and had a hit record, so if they can do it, I can do it."

The Simons were rich: Her father, Richard L. Simon, was a co-founder of publishing house Simon & Schuster. He raised his 4 children -- daughters Carly, Joanna and Lucy, and son Peter -- in one of the City's wealthiest neighborhoods, the Riverdale section of The Bronx. "You're So Vain" is a song about rich people, with mentions of Summers in Saratoga Springs, in Upstate New York, and a Lear jet.

And they all had classical training. Peter was the only one who didn't go into music, becoming an esteemed photographer. The girls formed a folksinging group, The Simon Sisters, before going their separate ways. Lucy become a composer for Broadway musicals, and Joanna became an opera singer, who appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, since Sullivan liked opera, and was also a friend of the family.

The Ed Sullivan Show was canceled in 1971, just a little too late for Carly to appear on it. It was just as well: Her entire career, she has battled stage fright. One of the few times that Saturday Night Live has aired an on-stage performance (as opposed to one of the short films or fake commercials they make) on tape rather than live (with a 7-second delay, in case somebody lets a naughty word slip) was during Carly's appearance on May 8, 1976.

She sang "Half a Chance" and "You're So Vain." To help keep her calm, Chevy Chase assisted her band, playing the cowbell. (Nobody asked for "more cowbell.") She's never appeared on the show again, and it's not because show boss Lorne Michaels, known to hold grudges, holds one against her.

She's recorded several hit songs, including perhaps the best theme song for a James Bond film, "Nobody Does It Better," for the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me. It reached Number 2 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100, and it remains her 2nd-biggest hit, behind "You're So Vain," which hit Number 1 on January 6, 1973.

Carly sang lead and played piano on the song, although she also plays guitar. Playing guitar on the song was Jimmy Ryan, a session legend who had a hit in 1966 as a member of The Critters, "Mr. Dieingly Sad." The bass guitarist was German session legend Klaus Voorman, also a renowned artist who recorded with The Beatles and drew the cover for their 1966 album Revolver. The drummer was Jim Gordon, who had worked with Eric Clapton and Duane Allman in Derek & The Dominos. Richard Perry produced the song, and also played percussion on it. As of November 8, 2022, all are still alive. Paul Buckmaster, who led the orchestra, died in 2017.

And just who was the "You son of a gun" that she was singing about? Most of the speculation has centered around 3 men: Singer James Taylor, then her husband; actor Warren Beatty, an ex-boyfriend who had a reputation as incredibly unfaithful before he married actress Annette Bening many years later; and Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger, who sang backup on the song, but apparently was never a boyfriend, lover, one-night stand, whatever term you want to use.

She has denied that the song is about Taylor or Jagger. But Angela Bowie, wife of David Bowie, about whom Jagger wrote the Stones' 1973 Number 1 hit "Angie," claimed to be the song's "wife of a close friend." Then again, Angela has said a lot of things.

Simon has occasionally dropped clues as to the subject's identity. She has said that the man has the letters A, E and R in his name. But those are incredibly common letters, and could apply to Taylor, Beatty or Jagger.

She was married to Taylor from 1972 to 1983, divorcing him due to his drug problem. He has since gotten clean, but despite this, and despite having 2 children, daughter Sarah and son Ben, they have rarely seen each other since. She was married to writer Jim Hart from 1987 to 2007. Another man with an A, an E (if you count his full name, James) and an R in his name, but it can't be him, since she didn't know him at the time. He says he's sure that the song is not about anyone famous -- which suggests that she's never told him.

Beatty has said he's sure it's about him. Producer Perry also thinks it's about Beatty. A friend, author Sheila Weller, wrote that she thinks the song is about a pre-Taylor boyfriend, guitarist Dan Armstrong, and both Daniel and his middle name, Kent, would provide the E. Another suggestion has been recording industry executive David Geffen, whose middle name, Lawrence, would provide the R. Simon says it's not Geffen, whom she hadn't met yet. Hart backs this up.

After former FBI executive Mark Felt was revealed as "Deep Throat," Carly suggested he was also the subject of "You're So Vain." That may have been a joke, and I can't even be sure that they knew each other -- but he did have an A, and E and an R in his name!

Both radio host Howard Stern and singer Taylor Swift claim that Simon told them who it's about. Stern said he was surprised when he heard who it was, "because he's not that vain." Saying it in the present tense suggests that he was still alive at the time Stern said it.

In 2015, Simon confirmed that the 2nd verse is about Beatty, but, as of the song's 50th Anniversary, she still refuses to confirm that the 1st and 3rd verses are about him. She has suggested it's three verses, and therefore is about three different men. There's allegedly a 4th verse that didn't make it onto the record, which may have been about a 4th different man.

As of November 8, 2022, Simon, Taylor, Beatty, Jagger, Hart and Geffen are still alive. Armstrong died in 2004, and Felt in 2008.

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November 8, 1972 was a Wednesday. Actress Gretchen Mol was born on this day.

Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. There were 5 games played in the NBA:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors, 128-11 at the Boston Garden. In spite of the defeat, Rick Barry scored 34 points for the Warriors.

* The Baltimore Bullets beat the Buffalo Braves, 126-94 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena).

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 116-103 at the Milwaukee Arena. In 1974, it was renamed the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* The Kansas City-Omaha Kings beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 125-107 at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska. John Block of the Sixers scored 35, but this was just another loss for them in the worst season any NBA team has ever had: They finished the 1972-73 season at 9-73.

* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 107-99 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Charlie Scott scored 34 for the Suns.

And there were 4 games in the American Basketball Association:

* The Carolina Cougars beat the Kentucky Colonels, 126-111 at Freedom Hall in Louisville.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Stars, 135-124 at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis.

* The Dallas Chaparrals beat the Memphis Tams, 126-118 at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas.

* And the Virginia Squires beat the Denver Rockets, 116-11 at the Denver Auditorium Arena. Julius "Dr. J" Erving led all pro basketball players on the night with 38 points for the Squires.

There were 6 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Chicago Black Hawks, 6-1 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Los Angeles Kings and the Atlanta Flames played to a tie, 3-3 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the California Golden Seals, 5-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* And the Boston Bruins, the Detroit Red Wings, the St. Louis Blues and the Buffalo Sabres were not scheduled.

And there were 2 games in the World Hockey Association. The Quebec Nordiques beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Colisée de Québec. And the Los Angeles Sharks beat the New York Raiders, 2-1 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.