In 1973, Rolling Stone asked Simon if the song's subject was then-husband James Taylor. She replied: ""No, it's definitely not about James, although James suspected that it might be about him because he's very vain. No, he isn't, but he had the unfortunate experience of taking a jet up to Nova Scotia after I'd written the song. He was saved by the fact that it wasn't a Lear."

In 1989, Simon told FAME that the song was "a little" about ex Warren Beatty and added: "...I never took him seriously. He was great fun and very, very, bright. But noooo...as a boyfriend."

In 1983, the Washington Post asked Simon if Mick Jagger, with whom she had also been involved, was the vanity man. A simple "No" was her answer.

NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol paid ,000 at a charity auction to gain the privleged information in the form of a whisper from Simon. Acccording to him, the offender's name contains an "E."

David Bowie was long believed to be a candidate, though many have ruled him out because there's no "R" in his name. (Simon told Regis Philbin in 2004 tthat the subject's name contained an "R.")

So is David Geffen our man? While Simon's rep confirmed today that the backwards "David" is a "clue," they added, "There are a lot of Davids."