Yet, their similarities, as revealed in their recent best-selling, critically acclaimed autobiographies, are surprisingly as significant.
Carly Simon was born to a wealthy family and had a privileged life growing up in the New York City area. Her parents hosted the rich and famous in their home, often getting away to their mansion in Connecticut and, each summer, vacationing in Martha's Vineyard.
Patti Smith grew up in a working class family in a modest New Jersey suburb of Philadelphia.
Carly graduated from a private girls high school in Westchester County and went on to Sarah Lawrence College. She dropped out after one semester in order to concentrate on her music career as one-half of the Simon Sisters.
After Patti graduated from her local public high school, she went to work at a toy factory.
After a few twists and turns, however, their different paths began converging in New York City by the time they were in their early 20s. Carly found fame as a solo singer in 1971 with her song, "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be." She had a succession of hit singles and albums over the next several years.
Just as Carly's fame was peaking in 1975, Patti released her first album, Horses. The differences between their music could not be more pronounced. Yet, at least one New York radio station, WNEW-FM, saw nothing strange about playing songs from both of their new albums.
After reading Boys in the Trees, Carly Simon's 2015 book about the first three decades of her life, and M Train (2015) and Just Kids (2010), Patti Smith's books recalling events in her life, it's startling to learn how similar many of their experiences have been.
They both worked hard to achieve their success. Despite her background, the music business gave little to Carly. She earned her fame with determination, using her singing voice to deal with a stutter that for years undermined her self-confidence. She also overcame stage fright, triggered by depression and anxiety, to bring her recordings to the attention of more people.
In spite of her humble origins and need to constantly work odd jobs to support herself, Patti found her muse and would not let it go. She wrote constantly and, eventually, found the right kind of sound to accompany her words. She sought opportunities to showcase her talent and, when they came, vocalized her poetry in a unique way that caught on with an increasing number of people.
And then there were the men in their lives.
For Carly, the main man was James Taylor, of course. Both of them already successful, they married in 1972. Even though they've been divorced for over 30 years, he remains the most significant lover of her life. But, certainly not her only.
In her autobiography, Carly sheds a lot of light on many other men. But, she's holding on to some secrets. Following is her explanation of "You're So Vain," her 1973 hit:
And no, the song is not just about one person. Let’s just say Warren Beatty played second base in this particular infield, which he knows so well, but as for who manned first and third–ask the shortstop. In all seriousness, the subjects of the first and third verses don’t know that this song is also about them, so it would be inappropriate and a rude awakening to disclose their identities until they, them (vain) selves, were notified.
For Patti, the main men were Robert Mapplethorpe and Fred "Sonic" Smith. She devoted Just Kids to chronicling her relationship with Mapplethorpe, an artistic photographer she befriended shortly after arriving in New York City. They remained close until his death from AIDS in 1989, by which time she had been married to Fred for nine years. Fred passed away in 1994.
Broken-hearted but far from broken, both Carly and Patti carried on with their careers and continued raising the son and daughter each of them had with their husband. Patti reflected on this in M Train:We want things we cannot have. We seek to reclaim a certain moment, sound, sensation. I want to hear my mother’s voice. I want to see my children as children. Hands small, feet swift. Everything changes. Boy grown, father dead, daughter taller than me, weeping from a bad dream. Please stay forever, I say to the things I know. Don’t go. Don’t grow.
Carly and Patti are both grandmothers now and sharing their life experiences with music fans, some who realize that, like many other things around the world, the similarities of people are often as significant as their differences.
