My four ladies

Ever since I wrote on facebook that I would spend yesterday morning with four ladies, some people have pricked up their curious ears. Four ladies? Who would they be? Well, here they are: Carly Simon, Carole King, Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell. Four giant singer-songwriter ladies from the 1960s and 1970s...


American singer-songwriter, musician and children's author Carly Simon (born Carly Elisabeth Simon on 25 Jun 1945) rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records and has since been the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her work. She is the former wife of James Taylor with whom she has two children: Sarah "Sally" Maria Taylor and Ben Taylor, who are also musicians.

Side 1: The Right Thing to Do, The Carter Family, You're So Vain, His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin, We Have No Secrets
Side 2: Embrace Me You Child, Waited So Long, It Was So Easy, Night Owl, When You Close Your Eyes


American singer, songwriter and pianist Carole King (born Carole Klein on 9 Feb 1942) has been a successful songwriter for decades, her singing career and fame peaked during the first half of the 1970s. She has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her songwriting along with Gerry Goffin, with whom she penned several great hits for other singers.

Side 1: Brother Brother, It's Going to Take Some Time, Sweet Seasons, Some Kind of Wonderful, Surely, Carry Your Load
Side 2: Music, Song of Long Ago, Brighter, Growing Away from Me, Too Much Rain, Back to California


American folk and standards singer and songwriter Judy Collins (born Judith Marjorie Collins on 1 May 1939) is known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records which has included folk, showtunes, pop, and rock and roll, and for her social activism.

Side 1: Someday Soon, Since You Asked, Both Sides Now, Sons Of, Suzanne, Farewell to Tarwathie
Side 2: Who Knows Where the Time Goes, Sunny Goodge Street, My Father, Albatross, In My Life, Amazing Grace


Canadian musician, songwriter and painter Joni Mitchell (born Roberta Joan Anderson on 7 Nov 1943) began singing in small nightclubs in Canada and then busked on the streets of Toronto. In the mid-1960s she left for New York City and its rich folk music scene, recording her debut album in 1968 and achieving fame first as a songwriter and then as a singer in her own right. Finally settling in Southern California, Mitchell played a key part in the folk rock movement then sweeping the musical landscape.

Side 1: Banquet, Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire, Barangrill, Lesson in Survival, Let the Wind Carry Me, For the Roses
Side 2: See You Sometime, Electricity, You Turn Me On I'm a Radio, Blonde in the Bleachers, Woman of Heart and Mind, Judgement of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig's Tune)