1973! Ladies' Choice!
Carly Simon actually put out her album No Secrets in 1972, but one of the songs from it made her an international sensation in 1973. “You’re So Vain” reached the top of the pop charts in January and stayed there for three weeks until it was dethroned by Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.” (Did I mention it was an incredible year for music?) It’s ironic that Carly called her record No Secrets since the biggest song from it is still shrouded in mystery today. The story goes that she wrote “You’re So Vain” about three different men, but she’s only publicly revealed that Warren Beatty was one of them.
Maria Muldaur made her splash in the summer of ’73. It was the song “Midnight at the Oasis" that made her famous, a song that she later admitted was a last minute afterthought to her debut album. That fall, Rolling Stone’s Jon Landau hailed the record as "one of the half-dozen best" of the year, and went on to describe it “as the kind of glorious breakthrough that reminds me why I fell in love with rock & roll." Remember, this is the same journalist who would later write about another artist who debuted in 1973, “I saw rock and roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.”
Suzi Quatro began finding her fame as a musician when she released her self-titled debut album in 1973. Her career took off in both the U. K. and Australia where she frequently had #1 hits. But here in the U. S., Suzi’s better known for her acting on TV, most notably in the role of Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days. Like so many male musicians, Suzi says she was influenced by seeing Elvis Presley perform on television. Which is no surprise since in those days, there were no female role models in rock and roll for girls to emulate. Suzi considers it one of her life’s accomplishments that she was able to be one of the first.
Roberta Flack got a gift from Clint Eastwood when he used a song from her 1969 debut for his 1971 movie Play Misty for Me. The song, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” became a #1 single and instantly accelerated Roberta’s career. Her 1972 duo release with Donny Hathaway enjoyed a boost from the movie hit sending their song “Where Is the Love” to the top of the charts. And then in 1973, Roberta enjoyed her second #1 as a solo artist when she recorded a number that caught her ear on an in-flight audio program, “Killing Me Softly with His Song.”
Linda Ronstadt was on the verge of her big breakthrough in 1973. The album Don’t Cry Now found her joining the Asylum Records family and teaming up for the first time with the producer who would help her realize her potential, Peter Asher. As a reviewer in Pitchfork once noted, “Linda Ronstadt’s career is the story of a woman gradually recognizing the power of her own voice. She had the tone early, but you can hear her control improve in each successive album.”