Posted in: News, Trivia Q & A | 2 Comments | Posted on April 23, 2022 by Mary Anne

Q. What ‘uncredited’ back up singer is rumoured to be the subject of Carly Simon’s song “You’re So Vain”?

A.  Mick Jagger

The person Simon is singing about in this song remains a mystery, as she has never made it clear who she wrote it about; rumors include Warren Beatty, Kris Kristofferson, Cat Stevens, and Mick Jagger, all of whom she had affairs with. Carly has been elusive and changed her story a bit when asked the inevitable question about the song (strange considering the album title). In 1974, she told Modern Hi-Fi and Music: “That song is about a lot of people. I mean I can think of a lot of people. The actual examples that I’ve used in the song are from my imagination, but the stimulus is directly from a couple of different sources. It’s not just about one particular person.”

Simon started recording this with Harry Nilsson singing backup, but Mick Jagger ended up singing on it instead (listen for him on the “don’t you” parts on the CD version), although he was not credited on the album. When asked how she was able to get him, Simon said: “I guess it was kind of chance in a way. I was in London, it was 1972 and he happened to call at the studio while I was doing the background vocals with Harry Nilsson. Mick said ‘Hey, what cha doin’?’ and I said ‘We’re doing some backup vocals on a song of mine… why don’t you come down and sing with us?’ So Mick and Harry and I stood around the mic singing ‘You’re So Vain’ and Harry was such a gentleman - he knew the chemistry was between me and Mick; in terms of the singing, so he sort of bowed out saying, ‘The two of you have a real blend - you should do it yourselves.’