Music Friday: If That ‘Mockingbird’ Won’t Sing, He'll Buy Carly Simon a Diamond Ring

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Carly Simon and then-husband James Taylor perform their hit, “Mockingbird,” in a rare live performance at NYC's Madison Square Garden in 1979.

In the catchy song that is actually based on the lullaby “Hush Little Baby,” the duo sings, “Everybody have you heard? / He’s gonna buy me a mockingbird / And if that mockingbird won’t sing / He’s gonna buy me a diamond ring."

“Mockingbird” reached #5 on the US Billboard Top 40 chart in 1974 and was released as the lead single from Simon’s Hotcakes album.

Five years later, “Mockingbird” would be back in the spotlight as Simon (who suffered from stage fright) and Taylor kicked off the high profile MUSE No Nuke concert at Madison Square Garden with a rousing rendition of the song.

MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy) staged a series of concerts in September of 1979 to bring national attention to the dangers of nuclear power. Among the artists participating in the all-star shows were Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Brown, Bonnie Raitt, John Hall, The Doobie Brothers and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Even though “Mockingbird” is widely associated with Simon and Taylor, who were married from 1972 to 1983, Inez and Charlie Foxx first released the song in 1963. That version was also a Top 10 hit.

It’s hard to believe that Simon, one of the quintessential singer/songwriters of the 1970s celebrated her 75th birthday in June. The Bronx-born, two-time Grammy winner has amassed 24 Billboard Hot 100 singles over her stellar career.

A few items of Simon trivia…
• She attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y.
• She is the daughter of Richard Simon, co-founder of the publishing house Simon & Schuster.
• She submitted a demo tape to Clive Davis at Columbia Records, who turned her down. She she ended up signing with Elektra.
• She earned a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1971.
• She and James Taylor lived in the house later owned and made infamous by O.J. Simpson.

The 72-year-old James Taylor is a five-time Grammy Award winner and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

Please enjoy the video at the end of this post. It’s a classic clip from Simon and Taylor’s triumphant performance of “Mockingbird” during the No Nukes concert. As a bonus, we're including the audio track of the original release by Inez and Charlie Foxx. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along…

“Mockingbird”
Written by Inez and Charlie Foxx. Performed by Carly Simon and James Taylor.

Everybody have you heard?
He’s gonna buy me a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird won’t sing
He’s gonna buy me a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring won’t shine
He’s gonna surely break this heart of mine
And that’s why I keep on tellin’ ev’rybody, sayin’
Wo, wo, wo, wo, wo

Hear me now and understand
He’s gonna find me some peace of mind
And if that peace of mind won’t stay
I’m gonna find myself a better way
And if that better way ain’t so
I, I, I’ll ride with the tide and go with the flow
And that’s why I keep on shoutin’ in your ear sayin’
Wo, wo, wo, wo, wo

Everybody have you heard?
She’s gonna buy me a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird won’t sing
She’s gonna buy me a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring won’t shine
She’s gonna surely break this heart of mine
And that’s why I keep on tellin’ ev’rybody, sayin’ no, no, no, no,no

Listen now and understand
She’s gonna find me some peace of mind
And if that peace of mind won’t stay
I’m gonna find myself a better way
I might rise above , I might go below
I, I, I’ll ride with the tide and go with the flow
And that’s why I keep on shoutin’ in your ears y’all
No, no, no, no, no, no, now, now, baby 

Credits: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

November's Fiery Birthstone Takes Center Stage in 'Jolie Citrine Necklace'

Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals in the Earth’s crust, and in its pure state it is colorless. But when trace amounts of iron (about 40 parts per million) mix into quartz's chemical makeup, extraordinary things happen. The colorless silicon dioxide emerges as citrine in a gorgeous array of fall colors, from the warm hues of golden champagne to the deep orange-browns of Madeira wine.

Citrine, which gets its name from “citron,” the French word for “lemon,” is one of the two official birthstones for the month of November (the other is topaz).

One of the finest examples of gem-quality citrine is the 177.11-carat pear-shaped drop that dangles from the Jolie Citrine Necklace, a stylish piece donated by actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie to the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection in 2015.

The necklace is beautifully styled with 64 graduated citrine gems, each bezel set in 18-karat yellow gold. The large pear-shaped citrine drop is also bezel set, giving the necklace a sharp, clean look.

A collaboration between the actress and American jewelry designer Robert Procop, the Jolie Citrine Necklace is from the Style of Jolie jewelry collection. Jolie created the collection to promote education and establish schools in conflict-affected countries. Proceeds from the sales of jewelry in the Style of Jolie collection are donated to the Education Partnership for Children in Conflict, which builds schools for children around the world, the first few of which were established in Afghanistan.

“We are thrilled to receive this important piece for the Smithsonian,” Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem Collection, said in 2015. “It is the first piece of citrine jewelry in the collection. The fact that it was personally designed by Angelina Jolie and Robert Procop makes it all the more significant.”

The Jolie Citrine Necklace is on permanent display at the Janet Annenberg Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, which is located in the National Museum of Natural History. Sadly, the Smithsonian museums in Washington, DC, have been temporarily closed to support the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Citrine is a near-cousin to other popular quartz-family members, including amethyst, rose quartz and tiger’s eye.

Most citrine comes from Brazil, but other important sources include Spain, Bolivia, France, Russia, Madagascar and the U.S. (Colorado, North Carolina and California). Citrine wasn’t always an official birthstone for November. The National Association of Jewelers (now Jewelers of America) added it in 1952 as an alternative to topaz.

Credits: Images by Robert Procop/Smithsonian.

Ultra-Rare Julius Caesar 'Assassination Coin' Sells for Record-Setting $4.2 Million

An ultra-rare ”Ides of March” gold coin commemorating the assassination of Roman dictator Julius Caesar in 44 BC broke an auction record Thursday when it fetched $4.2 million at London-based Roma Numismatics Limited. The selling price, which includes a buyer’s premium, was more than six times the pre-auction estimate of $650,000.

The impressive performance of the nickel-sized coin came as no surprise to Mark Salzberg, Chairman of Sarasota, FL-based Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, the company whose experts in the U.S. and U.K. confirmed its authenticity.

“I’m not surprised it set a world record as the most valuable ancient coin ever sold,” said Salzberg. “It’s a masterpiece of artistry and rarity, still in mint condition after 2,000 years, and only the third known example made in gold. Many of us believed it would sell for millions, and it did.”

The name of the winning bidder was not revealed by Roma Numismatics Limited. According to the auction house, this previously unrecorded coin was closely held in a private European collection for many years.

“It was made in 42 BC, two years after the famous assassination, and is one of the most important and valuable coins of the ancient world,” explained Salzberg.

The front of the coin features a portrait of Marcus Junius Brutus, one of Caesar’s assassins, and the other side dramatically depicts two daggers and the marking “EID MAR.” The initials represent the Latin abbreviation for the Ides of March, which corresponds to March 15 on the calendar and is the date Caesar was assassinated.

Roma Numismatics explained that the coin represents a "naked and shameless celebration of the murder of Julius Caesar two years earlier, in 44 BC. This brutal and bloody assassination had been prompted by the well-founded belief among the Senate that Caesar intended to make himself king.”

While nearly 100 Ides of March silver coins are known to still exist, this is only the third example known to be struck in gold. Of the other two, one is in the British Museum on loan from a private collector and the other is in the Deutsche Bundesbank collection.

“There were rumors of a third example, and NGC authenticators were excited when this coin was submitted at our London office and sent for evaluation at our headquarters in Sarasota,” said Salzberg. “The coin is only about the size of modern United States five-cent and United Kingdom five-pence denomination coins, but it’s an historic treasure worth far more than its weight in gold,”

While the ”Ides of March” gold coin set a new auction record for an ancient coin, the world record for any coin ever sold at auction remains with the 1794 United States “Flowing Hair Dollar,” the first federally issued coin. That coin — which was also graded by NGC — fetched just over $10 million at an auction in 2013.

Credits: Images courtesy of Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.