The Simon Sisters

The Simon Sisters consisted of Carly Simon and Lucy Simon, a duo that issued several little-known folk-oriented albums during the 1960s prior to Carly’s emergence as a prominent singer-songwriter. In the middle of that decade the pair cut two LPs for Kapp, delivering agreeable yet conventional folk music tinged with pop and featuring close harmonies reminiscent of coffeehouse ensembles such as Peter, Paul & Mary and the early Simon & Garfunkel. Among those releases, the single “Winken, Blinken and Nod” achieved modest chart success. Although the sisters composed a portion of their own material, the bulk of their output comprised interpretations of both then-current and traditional folk numbers.

By the late 1960s Lucy Simon had married, bringing the partnership to an end and leaving Carly to pursue a solo career. Lucy nevertheless persisted in songwriting, and in 1969 the duo reconvened to record a children’s album for Columbia titled The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children, which set classic poems to melodies composed by Lucy. Distinct from Carly Simon’s familiar solo recordings and now difficult to locate, the Simon Sisters’ discs present solid folk and light folk-rock that merits attention from both committed Carly Simon listeners and dedicated followers of the folk-rock genre.