The Simon Sister who became a Bond-theme singer

Carly Simon's career began as one half of a sister act. In 1963 she started performing with her sister Lucy as the Simon Sisters, and their debut album included “Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod”, based on a poem by Eugene Field and set to music by Lucy. It reached number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. They made two more albums, Cuddlebug and The Simon Sisters Sing for Children, before Lucy left the group.

As a solo artist Carly won the Grammy for Best New Artist with her 1971 self-titled debut, which produced her first top 10 single, “That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be”. Anticipation arrived later that year and became her first gold album. Then came No Secrets in 1972, which spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 and carried “You're So Vain”, a three-week number one on the Hot 100.

Her run in the 1970s was steady: “The Right Thing to Do”, the duet “Mockingbird” with James Taylor, “Haven't Got Time for the Pain” and “You Belong to Me”. In 1977 she recorded “Nobody Does It Better” as the theme to the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, a worldwide hit and the number one Adult Contemporary song of that year. It has been ranked among the great Bond themes.

She came back strongly in the 1980s with songs for films, notably “Coming Around Again” for Heartburn. The song became a major Adult Contemporary hit, and the album of the same name went platinum and earned two Grammy nominations. In all she has had thirteen top 40 hits in the US, written two memoirs and five children's books. It is a long arc from a children's lullaby to a Bond theme, held together by one voice.