 | |
| Author | Carly Simon |
|---|---|
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | Flatiron Books |
Publication date | November 24, 2015 |
| Pages | 376 |
| ISBN | 978-1-250-09589-3 |
Boys in the Trees is a memoir by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon. [1]
| | |
| Author | Carly Simon |
|---|---|
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | Flatiron Books |
Publication date | November 24, 2015 |
| Pages | 376 |
| ISBN | 978-1-250-09589-3 |
Boys in the Trees is a memoir by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon. [1]
Boys in the Trees was published on November 24, 2015 by Flatiron Books. [2] [3] The book is titled after Simon's 1978 album, Boys in the Trees . A two-disc compilation album, Songs From The Trees (A Musical Memoir Collection) , was released on November 20, 2015 to accompany the memoir, and includes a previously unreleased track entitled "Showdown", which was originally recorded during the Boys in the Trees sessions. [4]
Reviewing Boys in the Trees, Fiona Sturges describes the book as "primarily about [Simon's] family, her interior life and her stormy relationships with men, and her candour is frequently startling." Simon describes her early life as the child of privileged parents (her father Richard L. Simon founded the publishing company Simon & Schuster). She documents a line of failed boyfriends and an eventual marriage to musician James Taylor. Although she was happy to be "Mrs. James Taylor" and they had two children together, the marriage ultimately dissolved. [5] Simon also revealed in the memoir that when she was seven years old, a family friend in his teens sexually assaulted her: "It was heinous", she stated, adding, "It changed my view about sex for a long time." [6]
The book concludes in the mid-1980s, shortly after the release of Simon's 11th studio album Hello Big Man (1983). [7]
The book received predominantly favorable reviews, with some exceptions. In The Guardian , Jude Rogers wrote "Complex, quick-witted and stack-full of raw talent: this isn't how people like to see Carly Simon. After all, [Simon] was also the long-legged, hyena-mouthed lover of many famous men (William Donaldson, writer of the Henry Root letters, Kris Kristofferson, Mick Jagger and Jack Nicholson, for starters), and the wayward daughter of a publishing icon Richard, the Simon of Simon & Schuster. These boys in the trees, and many more, follow her, dog her and haunt her. Her process of shaking them free forms the foundations of this brilliant memoir." [7] Similarly, in The Independent , Fiona Sturges found Boys in the Trees a "hugely affecting memoir", describing Simon's recounting "as, for the most part, heartfelt and remarkable in [its] detail...Similarly impressive is the fearlessness, frankness and wisdom with which she chronicles half a lifetime of pain." [5] However, in The New York Times , Janet Maslin found the "book's style recalls that of [Simon's] songs: a little precious, a little redundant, a little too much." [8] In 2016, Billboard ranked the book No. 50 on list of the 100 Greatest Music Books of All Time. [9]
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American musician, singer, songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), "The Right Thing to Do" (No. 17), "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" (No. 14), "You Belong to Me" (No. 6), "Coming Around Again" (No. 18), and her four Gold-certified singles "You're So Vain" (No. 1), "Mockingbird", "Nobody Does It Better" (No. 2) from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, and "Jesse" (No. 11). She has authored two memoirs and five children's books.
Lucy Elizabeth Simon was an American composer for the theatre and of popular songs. She recorded and performed as a singer and songwriter, and was known for the musicals The Secret Garden (1991) and Doctor Zhivago (2011).
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Boys in the Trees is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, in April 1978.
Janet R. Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as a Times film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, Maslin helped found the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York. She is president of its board of directors.
The discography of Carly Simon, an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author, consists of 23 studio albums, two live albums, 10 compilation albums, four soundtrack albums, two audiobooks, and 41 singles, on Elektra Records, Warner Bros. Records, Epic Records, Arista Records, Rhino Entertainment, Columbia Records, Hear Music, and Iris Records, with special releases on Qwest Records, Angel Records, Walt Disney Records, and Macmillan Audio. These lists include all live and studio albums, and the motion picture soundtracks list includes albums containing more than 50% of music by Simon.
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