The legendary voice behind “You’re So Vain” is ready to step back into the limelight with a new collection of original songs, her first in almost two decades, even as she candidly discusses her recent health challenges.
WASHINGTON — Carly Simon, the iconic singer-songwriter, has disclosed her battle with Parkinson’s disease and her recovery from skin cancer surgery.
In a heartfelt message shared with the Associated Press, Simon spoke out about her journey with these health issues.
“Many of you have reached out, curious about my prolonged silence and wondering about my well-being. The reality is, I’ve been navigating life with Parkinson’s disease,” Simon expressed in her statement. “Understanding the diagnosis, coming to terms with it, and deciding how openly to discuss it has been a process. Parkinson’s manifests uniquely in everyone, and its unpredictability is a challenge. There are days when fatigue overwhelms me, halting my routine entirely. But then there are those days where I find more freedom to move, to think, to create, and feel closer to my old self.”
The singer explained that her health story began with arthritis affecting both knees and one hip.
“I eventually had all three joints replaced, out with the old and in with delicate bouquets of metal and plastic. After three replacement surgeries, I assumed my difficulty walking was simply an unfortunate and rather ironic part of the recovery process,” she said. “But my mobility continued to worsen. I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm… Eventually, there were periods when I could not walk without considerable help.”
“My family and I knew that something more was going on. After an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” she continued.
Parkinson’s is a neurologic disease that robs people of control over their movements. It typically starts with tremors and is characterized by slow movement, a shuffling gait, stiff limbs, balance problems and slurred speech.
About 1 million Americans are living with Parkinson’s, and 10 million people worldwide, the Parkinson’s Foundation estimates. It usually appears after age 60, though it sometimes develops before age 50. The exact cause isn’t known, but Parkinson’s develops when cells that produce one of the brain’s chemical messengers — dopamine — begin to deteriorate and die.
There is no cure, but there are treatments including medications that affect dopamine levels and a surgically implanted tremor-blocking device. Patients also can benefit from physical and occupational therapy.
“I began treatment, including taking medication to help with stiffness and other symptoms,” Simon said. “There is no tidy or predictable schedule to the illness. It does not consult my calendar before deciding what kind of day I am going to have.”
She said during this time, she was also undergoing treatment for basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, on her face. Simon said the cancer was removed but the surgery “affected my appearance and made me more self-conscious about being seen in public.”
Simon said while she has withdrawn from the public eye, she has “not stopped living” or working. One of her last public appearances was in October 2019 while promoting her memoir.
“In the middle of all this, I began recording a new album, Comes in Waves,” she said. “Music has always known when to arrive. It has rescued me more times that I can count.”
She said music has been a salve, and on Aug. 14, she will release “Comes in Waves,” her first album of original songs since 2008.
“Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape. It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room,” she continued. “It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life…These days I move more slowly, I lean on others more than I once did, and I have learned to accept that every day will look a little different. But I am still very much here.”
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