More Room in a Broken Heart: The True Adventures of Carly Simon

by Stephen Davis

A love song to an American icon: the first full-length biography of Carly Simon, from an acclaimed music journalist who has known her for decades

She's won two Grammys and an Academy Award, and her albums have sold more than forty million copies. Her music has touched countless lives since her debut in the 1970s, yet her own life story has remained unpublished-until now. Tapping private archives, family interviews, and a forty-year friendship with the legend herself, Stephen Davis at last captures Carly Simon's extraordinary journey from shy teenager to superstar. I Believe in Love candidly covers everything her fans want to know, including

Growing up with her father, publishing mogul Richard Simon
The Bob Dylan turning point that launched her career
The real story behind "You're So Vain"
Carly's severe stage fright (she's the only musical guest to pretape an SNL segment)
Romantic involvements with Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, and Cat Stevens
How Carly and James Taylor went from being pop music's reigning couple to independent souls living at opposite ends of Massachusetts
Surviving breast cancer
Her recent financial and spiritual crises

Along the way, Davis vividly takes readers back to some of the most powerful eras in American music history and delivers a tribute worthy of the artist and her loyal fans, who know that nobody does it better than Carly Simon.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Music, Biography Memoir

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 10, 2012

About the author

Stephen Davis is is a rock journalist and biographer, having written numerous bestsellers on rock bands, including the smash hit Hammer of the Gods. He lives in Boston.

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Donna McCaul Thibodeau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read. Part of the problem was that the writing didn't flow and the timeline went back and forth. At the end, I didn't feel like I'd learned who the real Carly was.

[Carly Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I began reading this biography and gave up and skimmed most of it. My problem is that the author is a very poor stylist. He writes of Carly Simon's birth, "World War II began for America in late 1941, and a third daughter, Carly Elizabeth Simon, was born toward its conclusion." What type of biographer leaves the birth date of his subject vague? That sentence made me think Carly Simon was born in December 1941, when she was born in June of 1945. Much of the book is written as then this happened, then something else happened. (For example: "Now it's late March 1975 and the Vietnam War is almost over.) There is also no index and sources are not cited, so it is unclear if Davis did original research/interviews or not. Not recommended.

[Al · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Unauthorized biography”—two words that conjure both good and bad with readers. For some it means a juicy biography with incidents that the subject would prefer suppressed. For others it likely leads to a poorly written “clip job” by a writer with little or no access to the subject, so he has to rely on public sources. This “unauthorized biography” of Carly Simon tends towards the latter, unfortunately. Simon’s life has been a veritable open book with years of candid interviews and revealing song lyrics for a lazy author to mine. “More Room in a Broken Heart” is a conventional, chronological narrative with a generally sympathetic take on the singer’s struggles with men, creativity and anxiety disorders. While many readers may come to the book with memories of Simon’s decade-long marriage to James Taylor, they’ll leave appreciating her whole life—an idyllic youth with exposure to many of the greats in the arts, a floundering start as a young women in a male dominated recording industry, a determined middle age raising two teens as a single mother, and later years mourning the loss of friends and family while battling cancer. Author Stephen Davis seems thorough in his coverage of Simon’s career, he bogs down with descriptions of every song Simon released, which may be of limited interest (and questionable value given some of his interpretations--see his take on “Jesse”). There is precious little career insight or overview with Davis especially rushed in his coverage of Simon’s recent years, as if he was facing an impending deadline to publish. Readers in search of a well written and researched biography would be better served reading “Girls Like Us,” Sheila Weller’s far superior biography of Simon, Joni Mitchell and Carole King.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this over the weekend, and although I am not a fan of this type of music (Lite Rock/Soft Rock/Adult Contemporary), the story of Carly Simon's life made for an entertaining and gossipy read. She is no doubt a child of wealth and privilege, and has led a remarkable 'storybook life'. Her father was the co-founder of Simon and Schuster, she is the friend and lover to numerous super famous men, the ex-wife of James Taylor, and she has written and sung songs that are undeniably part of America's Pop Lexicon.

I enjoyed the book and was a bit dismayed to learn that it is perceived as a hatchet job, and paints an unfair portrait of the singer/song writer. I didn't get that impression at all. In the Forward to the book the author, Stephen Davis, claims that he was a big fan of The Simon Sisters, an early Folk Duo with Carly and her sister, Lucy, and he didn't meet Carly until he went home with a college roommate, and found that this guy's sister (Peter Simon, who later became a noted professional photographer) was "The" Carly Simon. Davis readily admits that his work is an 'unauthorized' biography. However, the book does contains a few factual errors. The author claims that the great Brooklyn Dodger, Duke Snider, was Black! And, apparently there are many more, but this to me seemed the most glaring.

Overall I thought that the Carly Simon portrayed in this book is a sexy, big-hearted, artistically gifted, yet neurotic woman, and it didn't seem like she would have much of a problem with this characterization. But, maybe I'm wrong.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reviews are all over the map and I'm unsure how much of what the author relates is the truth (he states he is a "friend" of the family but others say he's not and had no business writing this biography) but I found some of it quite interesting. I've been a fan since Carly burst on the scene with "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" and liked learning more about the inspiration behind her songs. And yes, I freely admit it, the gossip about her various marriages and mental health were also interesting.

If you are a fan of Simon's, then read this for insight into her career and personal life, which should probably be taken with a few grains of salt; but if not, don't bother.

[Mary Shafer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read this, but overall I thought it was clearly well-researched and I enjoyed it. I'm a huge fan of Carly's music, and it's clear from both this book and Carly's own memoir that her self-image and life were shaped by the "anything goes" spirit of the 60s and 70s, and irrevocably shaped by two apparently truly self-absorbed parents with some serious dysfunction going on. I feel that this version of her story is more clear-eyed and generally more openly revelatory of insight into her life, though some of the stuff Carly wrote in her memoir was almost embarrassingly so. I don't know if I'd have been able to write such personal stuff for the whole world to see and judge the way she did, but then again, I felt that in some ways, she was deliberately obfuscatory when it served her purposes. My advice to anyone who wants to get a more well-rounded picture of Carly Simon's life and work would be to read both books; this one first because it's more comprehensive, and then her own memoir, for some more intimate and perhaps surprising details.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, I didn't expect great writing, just a readable "popular" biography. However, I did expect someone to fact-check the manuscript. George Gershwin died of a heart attack? Duke Snider was black? Record executive Mo "Austin?" Hall & Oates's big hit "Every Time She Goes Away?" Mia Farrow is Woody Allen's ex-wife? These are inexcusable errors. And who knows how many I missed?? Pathetic.
This is the first Goodreads review I have written...because I'm just so disgusted by the state of publishing. This is hardly the first non-fiction book I've read with errors or inconsistencies, but these were just so numerous and glaring.

[Jim Nemeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

DO NOT buy this book thinking that it is a true biography or has Carly's approval in any way or form.

Please be aware that this is NOT a authorized biography of Carly Simon. Carly had NO input to this book and is furious and upset with the untrue picture Davis paints of her within.

The book is a collection of uncredited quotes from other sources. The author did little original research of his own - what is the author's own actual contributions are fabrications. He additionally "borrowed" freely from other sources. Authors Sheila Weller (Girls Like Us) and Roger Friedman have both blogged about their concern and unhappiness that their researched and published works have been quoted in this book without citation.

The author did not interview Carly Simon, her family, nor her friends or ANY musicians or producers Carly has worked with over the 40+ years of her career.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved Carly's music since the beginning of her solo career, and hoped this might provide more than gossipy info. It doesn't, really. Some things I'd read elsewhere, and that, along with sloppy errors (dates mostly) make this a less than compelling read. But I DID read it all and in one weekend, so obviously it was enough to keep me turning the pages.

I wish Carly would offer her own story, but based on the knowledge I do have of her, her background and history would seem to preclude that possibility.

I'm just gonna go and listen to all her songs again, and enjoy what she's shared with us.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this was an unauthorized biography, Carly Simon stated that the author was a friend of the family and she had known him very well during her lifetime. Much of it is music oriented, i.e. when she wrote, what she wrote and what she sang, and is easily depicted in chronological form. The parts that were really interesting to me was her shyness, the fact that she stuttered and suffered from stage fright her entire adult life and, of course, the story of her relationship and marriage to James Taylor. All of it brought back memories from my teenage years.

Very interesting and a good read.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh...I loved Carly Simon's music and grew up with her as a soundtrack to my high school years. I was looking forward to learning more about her life. This unauthorized bio was so poorly written that I wanted to toss it immediately. I am not opposed to unauthorized biographies. They often ring true and aren't written to appease the subject BUT this book contained MANY errors in dates and identifications. It is sloppily edited and must have been "researched" very lazily. Disapponting!

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a huge gap between what this is and what a biography of this amazing singer songwriter should be. On the positive side, author Steven Davis has created a chronology of Simon's life. The merely reportorial parts of the book are good, but an attitude, like that expressed in the title continues to surface.

Carly Simon is singular in her work, style and achievements. She made full voiced melodic (almost operatic) recordings and was successful in competition with hard rock, the Beatles, folk music and more. In the time before the Pat Benetar's, the Debbie Harry's and Madonna, female music was cute and ethereal with "he centered" lyrics. She had no parallel then, and still does not, in her style, content and vocal presentation.

Being a Simon fan, I picked this up (at the public library) despite all the red flags. First, of course, is the title/subtitle which damn the sad parts of Simon's life, not with faint praise, but with a snide remark. There are no credits, no foot notes, no bibliography and the photos are random, hazy, and perhaps public domain. In the first few pages you learn that the author knew Carly's brother in the 60's. After that, if this friendship remained, he'd have surely noted it.

Not only is all this unattributed information of dubious quality, the way it is presented is strange. At times it's reportorial in style, at other times it is cold, at other times just plain snide. For instance, p. 123, the author says Carly "wanted to feel she had a home at Electra, a company named after a princess who killed her father." Her relationships are continually presented in a way that puts her down. He seems to want to report on how the men in her life hurt her. Since he's chosen to focus on this, he should have put it in the context of Carly's incredible success and the tenor of the times.

While much of the content is dubious, the chronology of the recordings and the details of who performed on them and who produced them can be verified. In assembling this, Davis has created a chronology of this incredible life.

I'd like to give this 2.5 stars. The chronology was great and with it as background, I visited YouTube and had a deeper understanding of what I heard and saw. Since 2.5 is not possible, I'll go up because of the work involved in assembling this. My advice to the writer is, next time, profile someone you like and respect.

Hopefully, there will be a good biography of Carly Simon in the future that will explore what she did and take into account the pressures under which she achieved.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the day, (before people actually said, “Back in the day”), when this reviewer was playing Carly Simon music on the radio, I had no concept of her personal life. Absolutely no clue. I didn’t read the trade publications much. With the possible exception of Billboard magazine occasionally. But now, thanks to her biographer, Stephen Davis, boy, do I know now!

As Davis so graphically illustrates in this unauthorized biography, it’s interesting to note that both Simon and her first husband, James Taylor, came from similar privileged backgrounds. It would also seem both wrestled with demons for large portions of their adult life, largely through no fault of their own, but caused at least in part by less than ideal relationships with their fathers.

Davis documents a lot of National Inquirer type gossip about Simon and Taylor and their family and friends. Within these 409 pages you’ll find some juicy stuff. Like stories about Taylor, “an alcoholic, drug-addicted husband.” Like stories about her adulterous affair with Jeremy Irons. Simon allegedly not only aborted a child fathered by Irons but the singer “did” cocaine with the actor for the first time. Not to mention two failed marriages before a third. Alleged one night stands. Numerous affairs, including a hidden relationship with Mick Jagger. No wonder she has refused numerous attempts by others to have her write her own biography. She told one would-be biographer, “I would pity you, having to re-live my experience, I would say, 89 percent of which was painful.”

Aside from the Simon family dirty laundry that gets aired here, Davis seems obsessed with analyzing every single song Simon and Taylor ever wrote and produced. He breaks down every Simon album, including what every tune is about, whom or what inspired it and the musicians, engineers and producers who recorded it. Unless you love to read the Yellow Pages from cover-to-cover, this could be 89 percent painful for you. Davis may have created the world’s longest album liner notes.

By and large, this is a sad but true adventure but told well. As Larry King would say, it’s a real page turner. I couldn’t put it down. But, I should’ve paid more attention. Back in the day.

[Roo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the many references in this book to my old haunts on the East Coast - The Bitter End and The Village in NYC in the early 1970's.
Although author Stephen Davis claims the book is approved by Simon, the writing felt a bit voyeuristic to me.
Davis wrote about Buzzy Linhart, whom I saw back in the day at Central Park, 1972. And he mentions Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and especially, Mick Jagger. I didn't know about James Taylor's addictions - almost in a way I wish I didn't have to know about it now! My memories of listening to "Sweet Baby James," "Fire & Rain," and other songs are intertwined with my adolescence and I would have preferred to keep those memories a bit more innocent.
Towards the latter third of the book I was having trouble keeping track of all the meanings of all of Simon's songs. The author was thorough to a fault with listing all the recording sessions, and all the songs included in each album. I liked that he gave the context for each year's music scene by noting the top songs of the time, but the minute details of every single song she ever sang made it drudgery to finish the book.

If you have all of Carly Simon's albums and are familiar with every song, then this book may have more meaning to you. The book reminds the reader of her later songs that were used on movie soundtracks, which goes to her importance as a female singer-songwriter of our time.

[Laren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I prefer memoirs to biographies, and this book reminded me why. I picked it up mistakenly thinking it was the autobiography of Carly Simon, but it makes a very big point of stating that it is an unauthorized biography. I read it anyway. The biographer had apparently met his subject numerous times because he was friends with her brother. He inserts a few too many biased statements making it clear that he is a huge fan, and therefore felt that her story should be told even though he admits that Ms. Simon desires her privacy greatly and did not want it written. Apparently it is okay not to uphold that wish as long you are a fan with the intention of providing a loving tribute. However, the reader never gets a real sense of just who Carly Simon is as a person. The book regurgitates her own words as immortalized in various interviews over the years, but either no one who knows her better was talking, or the author didn't ask them to help him with the book. Either way, I felt like I just read a timeline of her accomplishments, and a real person never materialized on the page for me. That is particularly sad because Ms. Simon is still alive. I was also irritated by how much of the book was taken up talking about James Taylor. I felt like I knew more about him than the actual subject of the book by the time I finished it. Very disappointing.

[Naturegirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love reading about the songwriters of this era. This book is fascinating if you love Carly Simon and know a little bit about her history, otherwise, I would say it's a long read if you're just looking to find out a little bit about her. Every album, every song, and the stories behind them are mentioned. One thing I did not realize was how heavily James Taylor's drug addition played into the downfall of their marriage. After living on Martha's Vineyard for a while, people used to talk about how crazy Carly was, but hearing her story of growing up, the story of her marriage, and all the obstacles and grief she has faced in life makes a person realize that there are events who shaped her to be who she is. I admire what a prolific writer she is, the impact that her songs have had on people, films, and political events...it's amazing and she is truly an artist to be admired.

Also, I want to read a bio on James Taylor and get his side of the story. Carly is obviously still brokenhearted over what went down!

[Sheryl]

This book held my attention and the discussions about her music were interesting enough, but overall not a very indepth biography. The author portrays Carly as always carrying a torch for James Taylor, yet Taylor refusses to even speak to her. I really didn't get a strong sense of why he cut off communciation with her. There is also mention that her daughter Sally didn't speak to Carly for awhile over a dispute with Sally's husband about land. Huh? It seems there are many casual mentions of Carly having falling outs with people close to her, but we don't get the details on what happened and what role she played in all this conflict.

Simon has had a fascinating life and maybe some day she will tell her own story. Now that would be a book worth reading.

[Elizabeth Periale · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://xoxoxoe.blogspot.com/2013/09/t...

"If you hoped that this (or any) book would give an insight into the real story behind her top hit "You're So Vain" this is not the case. As many errors or missteps as this book may take, there are a few underlying suggestions, that if they are true, are quite interesting. That Carly's interest in working with Rolling Stone Mick Jagger led to a long-term friendship (and possible affair). That her success may have fueled jealousy with husband Taylor. That she enabled his relapses into drugs. The last few chapters of More Room in a Broken Heart gloss over most of her recent work as well as a (successful) bout with breast cancer. What was the rush?"

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rather long, but interesting book on tape. I must say that I really like Carly Simon's
'Mockingbird" song, but I didn't know much about her other than her father was the Simon is Simon and Schuster Publishers. The book told in detail (a bit too much for me) of how every record was written and recorded, including all the musicians on each song. What was amazing was her many, many love affairs. I thought they might be as extensive as Wilt Chamberlain's for awhile. She comes from a very musical family (surprise!!) and plays "authoratative piano and exuberant, though uncomplicated guitar." Well documented book but TMI for me.

[PennsyLady (Bev) · Rating 3 out of 5]

More Room In A Broken Heart by Carly Simon

I just mentioned the other day that I didn't care to read unauthorized bios
This turned out to be unauthorized.
But, it did involve true stories and portrayals.

Carly Simon: "I know the author (Stephen Davis), so there's some integrity.
He's interviewed me over the years; he knows my family.
He's a good guy.
He's written many books about rock and rollers."

For me:
3.25
..all the anxiety experienced made me anxious but there was a well defined time line.
A treat for the "information junkie"
---

But, only my opinion

Please read it and I'll look for your comments

[Robyn Obermeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at salvation army, I found the cover and photos to be beautiful!I quickly realized it was not Carly writing ,it was some guy,and how can he get away with this kind of book? Yes there was a lot of information about the albums and the songs and a lot to much imformation about stuff that is none of his business.The book had a lot of James Taylor in it and I did read it all,but in some way it feels wrong to go on about someone elses life and feelings......I think Carly Simon is a beautiful talented singer songwriter mother/grandmother,I have always been a big fan and am presently singing Hotcackes in the back of my mind!

[Ursula Shelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a Carly Simon fan...I really enjoy her music. I never knew that she came from such a distinguished family and that she experienced so many heartaches in life. She had a wonderful career and had relationships with so many famous folks. I would certainly recommend this book to both family and friends. This book is about a wonderful person who never gives up on life; she loves her children, siblings and at one time her ex-husbands. She had a wonderful career and worked with many artists. She is the best at what she does (writing song and performing)and I enjoyed reading about her life.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other reviews of the book were not positive, but I thought the book was pretty good. Even though it was an unauthorized bio, I think the author knew the Simon family and tried to be fair. If Carly Simon ever writes her autobiography I will read it, but since that has not happened, this book satisfies my curiosity about a singer/songwriter who I have listened to for many years.

[Pat Lampe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Carly Simon is one of a kind and has worked hard for her life and family. I especially liked learning more about her music and the music of the day. Just because she was from a prominent and wealthy family did not guarantee a carefree childhood but she worked hard to overcome the sadness and fears. I admire her.

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a long time Carly Simon fan, I really did not know much about her personal background, just loved her sound and music. This was a very interesting and fun read and I felt like an insider with her stories. Well done and direct in dealing with faults, flaws and successes of this amazing and talented woman.

[Lynn Shurden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe since I'm such a Carly Simon fan, I really enjoyed this book. It was enlightening regarding the many drug abuse problems of James Taylor too. The author's background history of her family proved to be interesting to me also. Never connected the Simon and Schuster to her family! It was an easy read since I checked it out on a Thursday from MY public library and finished it Sunday night.

[Susan Beals · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading this book my thought was, sometimes the less you know about a person the better off you are. After reading other reviews of this book maybe I should suspend an opinion of Carly Simon until I have read something about her from another source. I have loved Carly's music, but wow, I hope her life hasn't been as miserable and ugly as this book portrays it.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how factual all of the information in this book is, based on other reviews from others whom have read it. But since the subject matter dealt with two of my favorite musicians, Carly Simon and James Taylor, I thought I'd give it a read. It wasn't bad but some of the information provided didn't seem to add up.

[Brenda Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did learn a lot about Carly Simon that I didn't know. For example, she is a stutterer, which is why you don't see her often in concerts or tours. However, I did find the writing kind of dry. But if you enjoy Carly Simon's music, you will probably want to read this book just to learn more about this amazing song writer.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you grew up in the Seventies and you were a fan of Carly Simon and her contemporaries, you will enjoy this unauthorized biography. Despite her musical accomplishments, she seems to have experienced a lot of unhappiness and disappointment in her life. Of course, it seems much of it might have been of her own making.