Over twenty years ago, a television host introduced Carly Simon with such words as “exploded onto the charts” and “one of the most prolific singer-songwriters.” Simon shunned those descriptions, calling them too hyperbolic. Her rejection of such praise is a significant clue as to who she really is. More importantly, it reveals her great creative gift, which is consummate honesty.

Simon’s musical gift of creative honesty began almost as a parable on how an impediment can be transformed into magical artistry. When she was around 8, she developed an intense stutter. In her 2015 memoir, Boys in the Trees, she recalled that “if up until that point words and life were easy, and limitless, my stammer made me aware that life could also be tough. There was very little it would not affect about me.”