(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Carly Simon - "You're so Vain"
Hit Number 1: January 6, 1973
Stat at Number 1: 3 Weeks
One of the fun mysteries surrounding music over the years is who the hell "You're so Vain" is about. The song hit #1 48 years ago, and we're still left with many questions. All we really know is that the song is a slam onto whoever the subject is. The stories that Carly Simon tells us are allegedly real, and are based on real love affairs of hers that turned sour for one reason or another. Simon's told us that only the second verse is about Warren Beatty, an actor who was the ultimate player at the time "You're so Vain" was popular. But Simon swears that the first and last verses are about two other guys that she for some reason will not give away their identities. Honestly, she probably likes seeing the questions swirl around her song. For all we know, the whole thing could be about Beatty. We don't know, and we might never know.
Simon wrote the song in 1971, and had already seen some hits before "You're so Vain". Her song "Anticipation" was a pretty big hit for her in 1972, but failed to reach the top ten, peaking at #13. (It's a 7) Her breakthrough hit, "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" just made the top ten, peaking at #10 in 1971. (That one is a 5) Those songs were both innocent, lovely enough songs that breeze along without a second thought. "You're so Vain" is a lot "meaner" though. Simon sounds like she's had enough. She sounds pissed the hell off. Her being pissed off scored her a #1 hit though, and it's become her signature song.
Not that anyone knew that this was a thing from the start, at least I didn't until I happened to read about it one day on the internet, but "You're so Vain" has one of the most fun Easter eggs of any song I've covered on here to this point. While Simon was recording some songs, including "You're so Vain", at the studio someone called in. That someone so happened to be Mick Jagger, and Simon invited him to come into the studio to collaborate with her on a new song she was recording. If you listen closely to the second chorus on the song, you can hear Jagger's signature growl underneath Simon's lead vocal. Naturally, rumors spread that Jagger was one of the subjects of "You're so Vain", but that's been disputed time and time again by Simon. Also, I doubt that Jagger would want to sing on a song that was slamming him. There also seems to be little to know evidence that Simon and Jagger ever had a thing together. I might be wrong, but I think the whole thing is about Beatty, and Simon wants everyone to go crazy over wondering who she's singing about in the other two verses. It's still fun to hear others' theories on the song, and it's something we'll keep hearing about for many years to come.
Musically, everything on "You're so Vain" works. The bass line murmurs, the piano (played by Simon) glides around everything including her own voice, and that's not to mention those lyrics, the perfect sock to the face slam about a man with a giant ego. Warren Beatty immediately knew that the song was about him, and even called Simon after the song's popularity and told her "thanks for the song." The guy sounds like a jerk, but at the same time he seemed to be oozing in "cool." "You're so Vain" is not a sad song or a happy song, more it's mere existence is just to get under egotistical guys' skin. And Simon doesn't hold back; that line "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you" will live forever. I guarantee it.
Simon didn't hit #1 again, but her lone one was a good one. She almost cracked the top of the charts again with the James Bond theme "Nobody Does It Better", but it only got to #2 in 1977. (It's a 6. For what it's worth, a James Bond theme song will eventually appear in this blog. There's only been one to ever top the Hot 100) "Nobody Does It Better" was a return to Simon's softer side, and while those songs are just fine, "You're so Vain" still reigns supreme to everything else she's ever done. Carly Simon with an attitude is the best Carly Simon. 1973 is off to a great start.
GRADE: 9/10
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