Variety‘s assistant managing editor Steve Chagollan wrote a great article about the significance of Carly Simon being awarded the ASCAP Founders Award this April 18th.
It includes some comments from Carly, such as her reflecting on her experiences trying to get signed in the start of her solo career. On her late ’60s meeting with producer Jerry Ragavoy (“Piece of My Heart”):
“He said, ‘The problem with you is I don’t know who you are. I cannot tell if you are a pop singer, a rock singer, a country singer, a folk singer, a cabaret singer. I don’t know where to place you.’ And I said, ‘Well try not placing me. Try just listening to what I am saying.’?”
On the differences in writing lyrics and music:
“As a lyricist, I use much more of the left side of my brain,” Simon says. “As a composer, it’s something like running water — it never stops. I can perfect it, I can edit it, I can do all kinds of things with it, but if you stop me at any point during the day or night I will sing you the melody that’s going around in my head. And it’s not a familiar melody, it’s a melody of mine that’s being created while I’m sleeping, while I’m doing other things. The only thing that gets in its way is another melody.”
She also confirms writing new songs. “I Can’t Thank You Enough” will be performed at the ASCAP gala. Here’s a video of Carly performing the unreleased song in 2010 with son Ben Taylor and John Forté:
