You're So Vain

You are looking at a page that was incorrectly labeled as an album. The data you see here actually refers to Carly Simon's 1972 single, which served as the lead track from her third studio album No Secrets. The song was released on November 8, 1972, through Elektra Records, twenty days before the parent album arrived on November 28. It was written entirely by Simon and produced by Richard Perry.

The recording took place at Trident Studios in London with an exceptional lineup of session musicians. Klaus Voormann played the instantly recognizable bass intro, Jim Gordon handled drums, and Jimmy Ryan contributed guitar. Mick Jagger, uncredited at the time, sang backing vocals alongside Vicki Brown and Liza Strike. Paul Buckmaster arranged the strings, and Simon herself played acoustic piano and contributed to the string arrangements. The song was originally titled "Bless You, Ben" and took roughly a year to complete.

Simon has stated that the lyrics are about three different men, with actor Warren Beatty being one of them. The identity of the subject has been a subject of public speculation for decades. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first three weeks of January 1973 and also topped charts in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. No Secrets itself hit number one on the Billboard album chart and remained atop the Record World sales chart for six weeks.

The song earned three Grammy nominations at the 1974 ceremony: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked it 495th on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The UK's Official Charts Company later named it the ultimate song of the 1970s. The single has sold over a million copies in the United States and has been certified 2x Platinum in the United Kingdom. [edit]