Carly Simon, one of the great singer songwriters of all time, turns 70 years young today. Is this possible? Carly, the smart man’s sex symbol of the actual 70s, is still not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame despite more than a dozen hits and even more album tracks that have stood the test of time. The most famous of course is “You’re So Vain,” produced by Richard Perry, with vocals by Mick Jagger:

There are plenty more hits including You Belong to Me:

and an Oscar for “Let the River Run” from “Working Girl”:

also one of the most popular of all the James Bond theme songs, “Nobody Does it Better”:

Carly’s brutally honest and poetic lyrics established what became known as “confessional” songwriting in pop. Her buttery rich vocals often underscored the pain or yearning of the songs. And no matter how incisive the lyrics, the melodies are always haunting and memorable. When it comes to writing a hook, nobody does it better.

Why isn’t she in the Rock Hall? It’s just another of their transgressions. But I do hope “oldies” and “adult” radio will make a day of it today, and put “Anticipation.” or “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heart it Should Be,” or “Coming Around Again” on their playlists and celebrate Simon’s birthday. What’s she working on now? Finishing her memoirs, which should be out in 2016, and an album of her songs sung by other singers.

Happy Birthday Carly!

PS There was never anyone anywhere in the media named “Carly” before Carly Simon. From Carly Rae Jepsen to all the Carly’s on TV, they were all named for the one and only Ms. Simon, I assure you.

Watch this clip of Carly acting in “Perfect”– and yes, that chub face is Jann Wenner, who runs the Rock Hall:

I had dinner with Micky Dolenz tonight. If you’re 12, this would be if you dined with Harry Styles many decades from now. Do you get what I’m saying? Micky, Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork are the Monkees forever, the One Direction of 1967.

Micky wears a Panama hat to hide “a little bit of a bald spot.” He’s 70, and has four grown kids. But the Monkee never leaves him. Before the Monkees he was a child star. Since the Monkees he’s performed in Broadway shows and in London’s West End.

So 54 Below — the hot club under Studio 54/Roundabout Theater— asked Micky to come play three shows in July (7th,10th, 11th), and the place is pretty much sold out already. He’s got a crack Broadway combo, and he’s going to sing show tunes as well as Monkees hits that are appropriate to a club setting. Later, on August 29th, he, and Tork will do a rare Monkees show at Westbury Music Fair.

I’m in, I’m in for all of it. Apparently a lot of other people are, too.

Micky, trained as a classical guitarist, sang lead on most of the Monkees big hits–like my favorite, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” plus “I’m a Believer,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” and so on. He still gets royalties from record/CD/digital sales, he tells me, but not much. And nothing from reruns of the Monkees landmark TV series, which he describes– aptly– as little Marx Bros. type movies.

He’s not mad about the Monkees not being in the Rock Hall, by the way. “We got the Emmy for Best Comedy on TV,” he reminds me, “and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. That’s what I love. I don’t think about the Rock hall.”

The Monkees were famous for defying their own status. Cast to a band on a TV show, they turned out to be an actual band. The famous “Wrecking Crew” played on their records, but Micky, Mike, Peter, and Davy played and sang for real on the records.

“Some people didn’t want to believe it at the time,” he said.

And now it’s 50 years since his agent answered the ad Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson placed in Variety looking for band members for a TV show. And we’re still talking about it. Plus, a CD of Micky’s post Monkees singles is just being released. It’s worth checking out.

Meantime, I’m looking forward to the 54Below shows– Micky will tell some tales of rock superstardom that we haven’t heard. Plus he can sing, sing, sing.

Rick Ross, one of the more violent and anti-social rappers with millions of dollars, was arrested today in Georgia. According to TMZ, the charges are kidnapping, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery.

Just two weeks ago, Ross was pulled over in his Bentley because his windows were tinted too dark. The car reeked of pot and he was arrested.

I’m not kidding. His Bentley. Stupid kids have given him so much money that that’s his drive.

A convicted drug trafficker, Ross has a long history with the law. It’s unclear how he can still be in public.

Five years ago I wrote about him when Ross was made to pay $300,000 to a blogger he and his crew savagely attacked. Ross was angry the blogger had revealed he’d once been a corrections officer. The blogger’s injuries included a broken eye socket, a broken nose, nerve damage to his face, cheek, upper lip, teeth and gums.

Nice.

Ironically, Ross is besties with Sean Puff Daddy Combs, who was arrested Monday in Los Angeles for allegedly attacking his son’s football coach at UCLA with a kettle bell. Back in 1999, Combs attacked Steve Stoute, a rival record company exec, by hitting him repeatedly with a Champagne bottle. In 2010, Combs became Ross’s manager and close pal.

The Combs story is worse because he’s very smart. After the Stoute incident, he attended a mandatory one day anger management class.  That was the same year– 1999– when he and Jennifer Lopez were involved in a shoot out in a New York nightclub. His lackey wound up going to jail. Combs has since become the wealthiest of all hip hop and rap stars through clever marketing deals with companies like Ciroc Vodka.