If you were browsing a record store in 1975, the Carly Simon Playing Possum cover probably stopped you mid-stride. There she was: knees on the floor, head tilted back, dressed in a black lace teddy and knee-high leather boots. It wasn't just a photo. It was a statement that felt like a slap in the face to the "confessional singer-songwriter" trope of the era.
Honestly, it's hilarious how much people overthought it. Critics at Time and Newsweek were basically having a meltdown. Was it a feminist reclamation of desire? Was it just pandering to the male gaze? The truth is way more chaotic. It involved a toddler, a bit of accidental shoplifting, and some very loud soul music.
The Accidental Origin of the Black Teddy
You'd think a shot this iconic was the result of weeks of high-concept planning. Not quite. The story actually starts at a Bloomingdale’s in New York. Carly was shopping with her daughter, Sally, who was just a baby in a carrier at the time.
👉 See also: Billie Joe Armstrong: What Most People Get Wrong About the Lead Singer of Green Day
While Carly was browsing, Sally apparently reached out and snagged a black negligee from a display. By the time Carly noticed, they were already out of the store. Instead of going back to return a piece of lingerie her baby had "stolen," Carly kept it. It sat in her drawer until she headed to Los Angeles for a shoot with photographer Norman Seeff.
The shoot wasn't supposed to be "sexy." Carly showed up in a casual cotton skirt. Seeff, known for his ability to get artists to drop their guard, asked if she had anything interesting on underneath. She remembered the "stolen" Bloomingdale's teddy.
Yoga, Shaft, and Pure Luck
What happened next was basically a high-energy jam session. Seeff cranked up the soundtrack to Shaft by Isaac Hayes. The wine started flowing. Carly started dancing, moving through poses, and even doing some yoga stretches.
✨ Don't miss: Truly Madly Deeply Cast: Why This 1990 Ensemble Still Breaks Our Hearts
The shot we see on the Carly Simon Playing Possum cover wasn't a posed "pin-up" moment. It was caught while she was transitioning from the floor to a standing position. "It wasn't done on purpose. It wasn't a setup," she told Rolling Stone years later.
She looked at the contact sheets later with her manager, Arlyne Rothberg. They both saw the shot and knew immediately. That was it. It captured a "containment of emotion" that felt powerful rather than just provocative.
Why the World Wasn't Ready for a Sexy Mom
You have to remember the context of 1975. Most female artists were leaning into the "natural woman" look. Think Carole King on the cover of Tapestry—knitting on a window seat with a cat. Very domestic. Very safe.
Carly had just had a baby four months prior. In the mid-70s, you were either a "mother" or a "sex symbol." You weren't allowed to be both. By putting that image on a major label release, she was basically saying her sexuality hadn't died just because she had a kid.
The Backlash Was Real
- Retail Bans: Some stores flat-out refused to stock the album.
- Hidden Displays: Others kept it behind the counter or turned it around so the back cover (which was much more "wholesome") faced out.
- Media Frenzy: Major news outlets treated it like a scandal, wondering what it "represented" for the feminist movement.
Carly’s response? She didn't really care. She thought it was a beautiful shot and a celebration of her body after childbirth. It’s a classic case of the public projecting their own anxieties onto an artist who was just having a good time in a studio.
The Musical Disconnect
There is a weird irony about this album. If you bought it expecting 40 minutes of raunchy disco to match the cover, you were probably disappointed. Playing Possum is actually a pretty introspective, jazzy record.
Songs like "Slave" dealt with the complexities of power dynamics in relationships, which some critics—ironically—called anti-feminist. Meanwhile, the title track "Playing Possum" was a sociological look at her generation turning 30 and losing their 60s radicalism. The cover was "hot," but the music was smart and sometimes a little dark.
The Legacy: From 1975 to Sabrina Carpenter
Fast forward 50 years. In 2025, pop star Sabrina Carpenter faced a similar "puritanical spiral" over her Man's Best Friend cover. People were up in arms about her pose on the floor.
Carly Simon actually stepped in to defend her. She told Rolling Stone that Sabrina's cover seemed "tame" compared to what she went through. It’s fascinating that the same conversation about whether a woman is "allowed" to pose a certain way is still happening half a century later.
What We Can Learn from Playing Possum
- Context is everything: An image that looks like a "male gaze" trap might actually be a woman doing yoga to the Shaft theme.
- Intent vs. Perception: You can't control how people interpret your art. You might as well do what makes you feel good.
- Motherhood isn't a funeral for sexuality: Carly's insistence on being "pretty hot" four months after birth was a quiet revolution.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into 70s rock history, don’t just look at the pictures. Grab a vinyl copy of Playing Possum. The music is a lot more complex than the lingerie suggests, but the cover remains one of the boldest "accidents" in music history.
Check out the back cover too—it’s a much more relaxed, smiling Carly. It serves as a reminder that she was always in on the joke.
Next Steps for You
- Listen to "Attitude Dancing": It’s the standout hit from the album and captures the energy of that photo session perfectly.
- Compare the Covers: Look at Playing Possum side-by-side with Carole King’s Tapestry or Joni Mitchell’s Blue. It’ll give you a real sense of why Carly’s choice was so jarring for the time.
- Research Norman Seeff: His "Sessions" series features some of the most candid photos of 70s icons like Ray Charles and Tina Turner.