When we lose someone close to us, a little part of us tends to die with them. Losing a close relative is heartbreaking – but imagine losing two of your siblings in just one week. Tragically, that’s what happened to Carly Simon.
Carly Simon’s sisters passed away one day apart after battling cancer, a representative for the singer confirmed, according to Fox News Digital.
Both Carly’s sisters pursued a career in the music industry. Lucy Simon was 82 when she died at her home in Piermont, New York.
She worked as a Broadway composer known for the musicals The Secret Garden (1991) and Doctor Zhivago (2011). Lucy also formed a band with Carly when they were teenagers. She died from Stage 4 breast cancer.
Carly Simon and sisters Lucy Simon and Joanna Simon attend The National Academy of Popular Music’s 25th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on June 1, 1994 at Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York City (Getty Images)
Former opera singer and journalist Joanna Simon passed away after having been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She died in Manhattan on October 19, 2022, a day before her 86th birthday.
”I am filled with sorrow to speak about the passing of Joanna and Lucy Simon. Their loss will be long and haunting. As sad as this day is, it’s impossible to mourn them without celebrating their incredible lives that they lived,” Carly said in a statement, according to Fox News.
Lucy Simon was perhaps the most well-known Simon sister, after Carly. She received a Tony nomination after writing the music for ”The Secret Garden”, a Broadway musical. As Carly writes on her website, she and her sister Lucy taught themselves three chords on the guitar and hitch-hiked up to Provincetown, MA in the summer of 1964.
Carly Simon, sister Lucy Simon singing with Judy Collins circa 1982 in New York City. (Photo by Sonia Moskowitz/IMAGES/Getty Images)
The Simon Sisters – as they called themselves – sang at a local bar called The Moors, with a repertoire consisting of folk music, as well as some of their own songs.
The sister duo released three albums in the 1960s before Lucy left to get married to David Levine. Together, Lucy and David went on to produce two Grammy-winning children’s albums, “In Harmony,” and “In Harmony 2.”
Lucy and David remained married for 55 years until her death. They had two children together: Julie and James.
Joanna Simon was also a successful singer with a great voice (mezzo-soprano). In 1962, she made her debut at the opera in New York City.
The oldest Simon sister then enjoyed a long career on the opera stage. The acclaimed singer, known for her “smoky-voiced mezzo-soprano”, was part of the New York Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Joanna, Carly, and Lucy Simon pose for a photograph before their concert May 12, 1982 in New York City. The Simon sisters returned to their school for a benefit. (Photo by Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images)
In 1992, however, she changed career and started working as a real estate broker, according to Fox News. In 1976, Joanna married Gerald Walker, an editor for The New York Times Magazine. They remained married until Walker died in 2004. After that, she dated Walter Cronkite.
Carly and her sister’s father, Richard Simon, was the co-founder of the Simon & Schuster publishing company. Their mom, Andrea, was also famous and mostly known as a civil rights activist and singer.
“We were three sisters who not only took turns blazing trails and marking courses for one another, we were each other’s secret shares. The co-keepers of each other’s memories. I have no words to explain the feeling of suddenly being the only remaining direct offspring of Richard and Andrea Simon. They touched everyone they knew and those of us they’ve left behind will be lucky and honored to carry their memories forward. With great and eternal love and respect,” Carly said.
My heart and prayers go to Carly. This is very traumatic and heartbreaking! The one consolation is that they both lived long life.