“I felt that I was second best, and I wasn't getting the kind of attention that a pasha like myself would want. [Ex-husband] James [Taylor] just always was much more of a worker bee than I, and therefore it reflected in the kind of attention from a business manager that one would expect."—Carly Simon, on why she made the disastrous decision to change her then-money manager for the budding criminal Kenneth I. Starr, quoted in Max Abelson, “He’s So Vain: Carly Simon and the Wannabe Madoff,” The New York Observer, June 14, 2010
“Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” might have been one of her singles when she and JT were the Taylor and Burton of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1970s, but these days I suspect it’s another story. As she celebrates her 65th birthday today, Carly Simon is undoubtedly singing the blues not only over her drawn-out lawsuit against Starbucks, but also, even more so, over being defrauded of $15 million by Starr.
(Contrary to popular perception, Ms. Simon might have grown up privileged, as the daughter of a co-founder of publishing firm Simon & Schuster, but not that privileged. Her father sold the firm seven years before his death in 1960, before the company really earned major money in the Sixties and Seventies. So she is at pains to let interviewers know that she is not really an heiress.)
Over a decade ago, watching the Warren Leight memory play Side Man, about the often ill-starred lives of jazzmen, it struck me what financial naifs so many musicians are. They live for their art and pay little attention to survival—until it’s too late.
A year or two ago, Ms. Simon was looking forward to retiring, cushioned by wise investments from her album sales over the years. It looks like that dream is now on hold. Ms. Simon learned a hard lesson: Never trust anyone who promises a 28% rate of return on investment. If she wants to emerge from financial dire straits, she probably has some combination of these three choices:
* Perform in front of live audiences (an admitted stretch, given her intermittent stage fright over the years);
* Record as many CDs as she can; or
* Write her memoirs (the title is self-evident, isn’t it? No Secrets).
In any case, much to her consternation—but to the delight of her many fans—it looks as if she’ll be singing for her supper for awhile.
“Haven’t Got Time for the Pain” might have been one of her singles when she and JT were the Taylor and Burton of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1970s, but these days I suspect it’s another story. As she celebrates her 65th birthday today, Carly Simon is undoubtedly singing the blues not only over her drawn-out lawsuit against Starbucks, but also, even more so, over being defrauded of $15 million by Starr.
(Contrary to popular perception, Ms. Simon might have grown up privileged, as the daughter of a co-founder of publishing firm Simon & Schuster, but not that privileged. Her father sold the firm seven years before his death in 1960, before the company really earned major money in the Sixties and Seventies. So she is at pains to let interviewers know that she is not really an heiress.)
Over a decade ago, watching the Warren Leight memory play Side Man, about the often ill-starred lives of jazzmen, it struck me what financial naifs so many musicians are. They live for their art and pay little attention to survival—until it’s too late.
A year or two ago, Ms. Simon was looking forward to retiring, cushioned by wise investments from her album sales over the years. It looks like that dream is now on hold. Ms. Simon learned a hard lesson: Never trust anyone who promises a 28% rate of return on investment. If she wants to emerge from financial dire straits, she probably has some combination of these three choices:
* Perform in front of live audiences (an admitted stretch, given her intermittent stage fright over the years);
* Record as many CDs as she can; or
* Write her memoirs (the title is self-evident, isn’t it? No Secrets).
In any case, much to her consternation—but to the delight of her many fans—it looks as if she’ll be singing for her supper for awhile.
Happy Birthday Carly!!!!!!!
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