Carly Simon Remembers Marvin Hamlisch: "Damn It, I Loved the Guy"

Iris RecordsCarly Simon scored one of the biggest hits of her career courtesy of late composer Marvin Hamlisch: He wrote the music for "Nobody Does It Better," the theme from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. Carly remembered Hamlisch, who **** earlier this week at age 68, on her official website Wednesday.

"I'm writing only because I've heard that death is real, and here, deep in the night, I recall one of the wonderful things he did for me," she writes. "...**** it, I loved the guy. The sweetness beneath the 'prodigy' and slightly 'goofy' personality."

What was that wonderful thing? Simon explains, "Once I was working on a song called 'I Forget' and it was missing something that I couldn't find that would hoist it 'over,' make it mean something more. I called Marvin and like a Doctor who was making a special house call (though at his house, which was much more comfortable for both of us), he heard the song one time, and gave me the chord on his piano that was what I might have heard in my dreams, if only I'd been smart enough."

She finishes by writing, "There was both talent and instinct in Marvin's generosity. I'll love him on and on. Love, Carly."