That pretty much leaves Carly Simon.
If this were the Adult Contemporary Music Hall of Fame - sure. I mean, I guess. But Rock and Roll ?
"You Belong to Me"? "Comin' Around Again"? James Bond theme "Nobody Does it Better"???? All nice songs and all, but rock?
Yes, she wrote her own music - mostly. Yes, she plays guitar and piano. Save for doing this in the early to mid-70s (well the bland stuff - see above - was later), Simon was not really at the forefront of women in music. Carole King and Joni Mitchell were much more prominent and influential.
I struggled with the song to choose. "Your So Vain" seems too obvious. "Mockingbird" seems too....I dunno.....trite and she didn't write it. "Anticipation" seems to catsup-y.
Just to get this over, I did pick "You Belong to Me". She co-wrote it with Michael McDonald, which explains why both she and the Doobie Brothers recorded their own versions. Their version came out in '77, Simon's in '78. Her's hit #6 on Billboard's Hot 100 (higher on their Adult Contemporary chart). The Doobies didn't release it as a single until a live rendition in '83, and their's peaked at 79.
I'm sure the royalties still got McDonald a pool at his house.
....but it's not Rock.
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