You're so Vain by Carly Simon mystery man

[Wing Ding]

I just can't picture him LOL but who knows?

The closest Melissa Ethridge wanted to be to Crosby was a turkey baster.

 

[Wing Ding]

She's the daughter of the Simon in Simon and Schuster and she's made A LOT of money from her music career.

I hope she's made a lot of money from her music. Hopefully she got good advice early on in her career and insisted on a recording contract that gave her ownership (or at least partial ownership) of own her own material. Which is something I don't think many artists got back then (unless of course they started their own label).

I wish she'd tour, but I don't know if she still gets stage fright or not. You'd think she would have outgrown that by now, but maybe not.

 

[Steely Dan]

I hope she's made a lot of money from her music. Hopefully she got good advice early on in her career and insisted on a recording contract that gave her ownership (or at least partial ownership) of own her own material. Which is something I don't think many artists got back then (unless of course they started their own label).

I wish she'd tour, but I don't know if she still gets stage fright or not. You'd think she would have outgrown that by now, but maybe not.

Yeah, A LOT of artists got screwed by unscrupulous lawyers. The Beatles and Tom Petty being the most famous I think, oh and John Fogerty. I'm sure she's far from starving though.

Tom Petty was lucky to get a sweeter deal after fighting with the :butthead: at his label. For some reason if you pull a knife and start cleaning your nails with it the executives seem to become more open minded to your side. :giggle:

 

[cf0319]

Sorry if someone already said this, but I always thought she was talking about James Taylor.

 

[cf0319]

Sorry I am coming to this discussion late and don't have time to go through all the posts, but I always thought that Carly was talking about James Taylor.

 

[kittychi]

I always assumed it was Mick Jagger since he IS so vain, lol.

Eric Clapton fits the A E R letters, not the B, but perhaps she could have said "P" not B?

I do know that Eric Clapton actively pursued George Harrison's then wife Pattie Boyd (who Clapton used to call "Layla" and wrote the song to her.) Clapton and Harrison were close friends at the time. So "wife of a close friend" fits.

So...my guess is Eric Clapton.

Thoughts?

 

[wfgodot]

I'm wearing an apricot-colored scarf as I type this so you will believe me when I tell you the Triple Crown favorites for this question are Willie Donaldson-Mick Jagger-Warren Beatty with a dark horse on the outside (hi David Crosby!) and all others as also-rans. You can take that to Saratoga and put your money on the line, naturally.

 

[Steely Dan]

I always assumed it was Mick Jagger since he IS so vain, lol.

Eric Clapton fits the A E R letters, not the B, but perhaps she could have said "P" not B?

I do know that Eric Clapton actively pursued George Harrison's then wife Pattie Boyd (who Clapton used to call "Layla" and wrote the song to her.) Clapton and Harrison were close friends at the time. So "wife of a close friend" fits.

So...my guess is Eric Clapton.

Thoughts?

There is no B. I was wrong. :shame:

 

[kittychi]

OT, but, Steely Dan, do you happen to know what "Steely Dan" means?

 

[Steely Dan]

OT, but, Steely Dan, do you happen to know what "Steely Dan" means?

Yeah, it comes from Naked Lunch. :blushing: I've never read that though. The guys said it was the first thing they thought of, but kind of wish they would have thought about it more.

 

[wfgodot]

Yeah, it comes from Naked Lunch. :blushing: I've never read that though. The guys said it was the first thing they thought of, but kind of wish they would have thought about it more.

"....naked lunch, a frozen moment when everyone sees what is on the end of every fork."

Must be read, Steely Dan III from Yokohama!!

OK, back to Carly.

 

[Wing Ding]

I do know that Eric Clapton actively pursued George Harrison's then wife Pattie Boyd (who Clapton used to call "Layla" and wrote the song to her.) Clapton and Harrison were close friends at the time. So "wife of a close friend" fits.

Not only did E.C. actively pursue Pattie Boyd, he actively married her.

 

[Steely Dan]

Not only did E.C. actively pursue Pattie Boyd, he actively married her.

Mick Fleetwood was married to Patty Boyd's sister.

 

[Aeronomy]

Wow, I'm late coming to this thread. Reading the clues left little to zero doubt in my mind who Carly wrote that song about. All the clues point to Bob Dylan, with the most obvious, I think, being the one about giving away the things he loved.

Bob Dylan wrote a song around 1968/1969 called "I Threw it all Away" about losing a love interest/partner because he was so mean to her. BTW, he only played that song publicly on two occasions prior to his 1978 tour and after the tour he didn't play it again for 20 years.

Also:

In July 1972, four months before Carly's song came out, Dylan made an impromptu appearance at the Mariposa Folk Festival in Canada after being spotted in the crowd by fans on Sunday, July 9, 1972. The total eclipse took place the following day.

And of course:

Bob Dylan has been pictured in numerous scarves, so he definitely wore them; his name fits; and as far as him being vain, there are many recorded calls between he and AJ Weberman that leave little doubt to him being vain.

 

[Steely Dan]

Wow, I'm late coming to this thread. Reading the clues left little to zero doubt in my mind who Carly wrote that song about. All the clues point to Bob Dylan, with the most obvious, I think, being the one about giving away the things he loved.

Bob Dylan wrote a song around 1968/1969 called "I Threw it all Away" about losing a love interest/partner because he was so mean to her. BTW, he only played that song publicly on two occasions prior to his 1978 tour and after the tour he didn't play it again for 20 years.

Also:

In July 1972, four months before Carly's song came out, Dylan made an impromptu appearance at the Mariposa Folk Festival in Canada after being spotted in the crowd by fans on Sunday, July 9, 1972. The total eclipse took place the following day.

And of course:

Bob Dylan has been pictured in numerous scarves, so he definitely wore them; his name fits; and as far as him being vain, there are many recorded calls between he and AJ Weberman that leave little doubt to him being vain.

He might be #3 Charles William Donaldson, Warren Beatty and Bob Dylan.

 

[STEADFAST]

Has anyone investigated whether Carly Simon knew Steely back in the day?

 

[monkey222]

Ha. Good one Steadfast :slap: Steely's "emu was turbricot" :drumroll:

 

[Steely Dan]

Has anyone investigated whether Carly Simon knew Steely back in the day? View attachment 68796

I told you "Nobody Does it Better" is about me. :snooty:

 

[Madeleine74]

The way she spoke about writing this song, which was done over a fairly long time, collecting cool sentences she heard here and there, makes me think the song is not only about one person but maybe features a main person but then combines traits/aspects of others too. It's worded in such a way that almost any man she knew well, who she considered exceptionally vain, could fit into the song. I don't think anyone here is going to crack that code and figure out who this is to a certainty.

She has kept this mysterious for decades and that's the charm of it, and she knows it.

 

[LoriMcA]

I was always under the impression from back in the day *70s* ...that the song was written about Warren Beatty.....
Mind you...I just skimmed thru some of the posts here.....so this could have been suggested...or I could be WAY off base...
I don't know if they even knew each other...I'm sure they knew 'of' one another.....but what about David Gates of Bread....fits the David...fits the 'pretty' ...they were successful about the same time ...
The reasoning for me is...the 'David' mention...and the B...R...E...A....*I don't know where that came from but read it in the very first post*....Add the D from David to those 4 letters...you actually get the band name....
Anyways.....just a thought! Smack me with a wet noodle but it just 'struck' me...haha...