# Who was the guitarist for Carly Simon when she recorded You're So Vain **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368 "2003-05-01T13:20:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/1 "2003-05-01T13:20:56Z")
Me and my wife have to know. Who was the guitarist for Carly Simon when she recorded “You’re So Vain?” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/2 "2003-05-01T13:37:01Z")
The credits for the “No Secrets” album (which includes “You’re so Vain”) list as guitarists Carly Simon, Paul Keough, Jim Ryan, and Lowell George (founder of Little Feet). I suspect that George – a superb musician – may have be the one performing “You’re So Vain.” ---
**Author:** ![El\_Gui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@El\_Gui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Gui)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/3 "2003-05-01T13:37:52Z")
Klaus Voormann? Or perhaps the producer, Richard Perry? Sorry, but no definite answer from my end . . . Mick Jagger did background vocals, I know that much . . . ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/4 "2003-05-01T13:55:40Z")
Off the point, but who was this song _actually_ about? If it was the person she thinks is vain, then surely that person would be _justified_ in thinking that the song was about them? Therefore, thinking that the song was about them would not, in fact, demonstrate their vanity, but would have the opposite effect of questioning the accuracy of other _previous_ accusations of vanity. I really should get out more. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/5 "2003-05-01T14:08:40Z")
Carly Simon has never explained who the song is about, perhaps so as not to be gratifying. 😉 Though I think being correct about the song being about him wouldn’t mean he’s not vain, it would just mean he can take a hint. Rumors have named a bunch of people as subject, I know Warren Beatty is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Gui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@El\_Gui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Gui)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/6 "2003-05-01T14:27:17Z")
In the book _Carly Simon Complete_, written by her brother Peter, Carly Simon states: “I would say I had about three or four different people in mind when I wrote that song . . . I actually did think specifically about a couple of people when I wrote it, but the examples of what they did was a fantasy trip.” My guesses would be Kris Kristofferson and James Taylor. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/7 "2003-05-01T14:43:48Z")
She was still married to Taylor at that point, wasn’t she? Would that maybe put a damper on that theory? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/8 "2003-05-01T14:53:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SentientMeat \* > **If it was the person she thinks is vain, then surely that person would be _justified_ in thinking that the song was about them?** Well, the person would be correct in thinking that. And the singer would be correct in her assessment of his vanity–so focused on himself that his ears would prick up at possibility someone was talking about him. > [@](#): > > **Therefore, thinking that the song was about them would not, in fact, demonstrate their vanity, but would have the opposite effect of questioning the accuracy of other _previous_ accusations of vanity.** No, that doesn’t follow. Someone who was not vain wouldn’t be thinking that he was the subject of the song. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Gui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@El\_Gui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Gui)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/9 "2003-05-01T14:55:27Z")
Oops . . you’re correct Marley23 . . She has said it’s definitely not about James. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/10 "2003-05-01T15:34:13Z")
Carly Simon has never said flat-out that it’s about one man or another, but she did once say coyly, “There’s nothing in it that isn’t true of Warren Beatty.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/11 "2003-05-01T15:41:44Z")
As for the guitarist, I’d assumed (perhaps wrongly) that it was Jimmy Ryan, who’d been her steady guitarist for many years, and who’d also played on her “Anticipation” album. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/12 "2003-05-01T15:52:56Z")
It doesn’t sound like Lowell George’s work to me. Whenever I’ve heard him play on other folks’ records he always added slide touches (Robert Palmer, Jackson Browne, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/13 "2003-05-01T16:31:04Z")
Trivia - at one time Lowell George used a wrench socket on his pinky for a slide (as opposed to the pill bottle which would come to be used by many guitarists in emulation of Duane Allman). BTW, his band was “Little Feat”, not “Feet” - this reminder brought to you by The Society for the Preservation of Feeble Puns in Band Names. ---
**Author:** ![nebco9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@nebco9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nebco9)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/14 "2003-05-01T21:43:46Z")
Back to OP. Liner notes for “Best of Carly Simon” lists Jimmy Ryan as Guitarist. ---
**Author:** ![nebco9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@nebco9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nebco9)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/15 "2003-05-01T21:48:03Z")
Back to OP. Liner notes for “Best of Carly Simon” lists Jimmy Ryan as Guitarist for “Your So Vain”. ---
**Author:** ![JKB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@JKB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKB)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/16 "2003-05-02T01:52:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astorian \* > \*\*Carly Simon has never said flat-out that it’s about one man or another, but she did once say coyly, “There’s nothing in it that isn’t true of Warren Beatty.” \*\* A book of rock in roll lists I used to have speculated it was “probably about Warren Beatty, (but Mick Jagger probably thinks the song is about him)” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-guitarist-for-carly-simon-when-she-recorded-youre-so-vain/172368/17 "2003-05-02T02:13:23Z")
Lowell used a socket wrench exclusively, I think. I meant to make that point about Mick earlier: he’s so vain that he would’ve appeared on the song even if he _knew_ it was about him. 🙂