Carly Simon — who celebrates her birthday June 25th — had a lot of success recording for Clive Davis on Arista Records, but it wasn’t always easy.
She released six albums there, starting with a smash comeback in “Coming Around Again,” in 1986. In 1990, Simon won the Oscar for Best Song, from “Working Girl,” with “Let the River Run.”
But the two type A personalities had to negotiate those successes. Luckily, they’d known each other 20 years earlier, and Clive was an ardent fan. “Coming Around Again” followed Simon’s 15 years at Elektra and Warner Bros. Records that included hits like “You’re So Vain,” “Anticipation,” “You Belong to Me,” and “Jessie.”
Like most Clive Davis recording artists, Carly’s career still rides high. Her first single in 18 years — called “Howl” — has more than 100,000 views on YouTube since its release last week. A new album is set for August.
Carly writes on Instagram:
“Clive Davis was the gentlest, prickliest, most lovable, most ferocious pussycat around. He made me madder than anyone I ever knew, but in the end the things I got so indignant about were transformed into much better records. With Clive, the successes and big awards were worth all that fruitful, back-and-forth. I can still picture him in his office, and his face, his eyes closed, his cupid-bow lips, his arms tightly crossed, deciding whether you and your songs were destined for heaven, hell, or someplace in-between.
“Clive, you believed in music with your whole being. You had the rare gift of hearing not just what an artist was, but what they could become. Somehow, always, you made the impossible feel inevitable. I feel so lucky to have known you, lucky to have worked with you, and lucky, like so many, to have been on the receiving end of your clairvoyant ear.”
