Carly Simon & Mick Jagger—2nd Duet Discovered

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One of the biggest hits of 1973 was “You’re So Vain,” the Carly Simon classic that featured a cameo harmony vocal from none other than Mick Jagger. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart in late 1972, reached the top spot in January and stayed there for three weeks. For decades, fans wondered who the song was about, only to be met by sealed lips from Simon. “I don’t see why I ever would. What would it advance? I wrote that song in the days when people kept confidences to themselves,” she said when asked (one of many times) to reveal who had inflamed her so. (In 2015 she finally revealed that part, but not all, of the song was about actor Warren Beatty.)

Now, it turns out, Simon and Jagger didn’t leave the studio after completing the one hit record. According to an article published by the Associated Press, a second duet—which has never been heard by the public—was cut that day. A tape recording of the performance, believed to be titled “Fragile,” has been discovered by a Rolling Stones collector named Matt Lee. It’s described as a slow ballad that features the two singers sitting together at a piano.

Unfortunately, the music has not been posted online or otherwise circulated, so other than Lee and the pair that recorded the tune, few have heard it. The article says that a snippet of the song can be heard in the underground 1972 Stones film Cocksucker Blues.

The AP article notes that Simon confirmed the existence of the song in a 2016 interview: “We had this little back and forth at the piano for about an hour,” she said. She also recalled part of the lyrics: “Funny, funny, funny, funny, funny, How love can make you cry.” (The article says that Jagger sings the word change, not cry.)

Lee, described in the article as an entrepreneur from London, did not reveal how he came upon the tape. He said that he’s sent the recording to Rolling Stone magazine, which has promised to forward it to Simon.

In the absence of the recording of “Fragile,” take another listen to “You’re So Vain”