Cut in 1982 for the soundtrack to a box office bomb called Soup for One, "Why" finds Carly Simon getting funky on a Caribbean groove.
No, seriously.
Featuring creamy bass lines and a bouncy reggae rhythm, "Why" was produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic. It was a radical stylistic shift for Simon, who was still primarily known from her hit ballads and pop singles from the '70s. The Rodgers/Edwards/Simon collaboration is one of those sonic experiments that might sound like a terrible idea on paper, but I'd be damned if "Why" isn't a straight-up banger.
It's one of those songs that always gets a great reaction when I play it for someone for the first time. In the years since I've been using streaming services like Mog and Spotify, I've thrown "Why" onto many different playlists.
"Why" became a hit in Europe, hitting #10 in the UK, but it had a dissapointing run in the States, only reaching the #74 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. That's where the story could have ended for the song if it weren't for a few tastemaking DJs on the Spanish island of Ibiza.
In 1989, "Why" became a staple in the Ibiza club scene, where mellow tracks by unlikely artists such as Chris Rea and Dire Straits were played alongside more upbeat dance singles. Referred to as "Balearic" or "Balearic beat," the sound of that era on Ibiza is looked at in the same kind of romanticized light as, say, an older hardcore dude would look at the CBGB's matinees of the mid to late '80s.
The version of "Why" that I love the most (embedded above) is featured on Lindstrøm's edition of the excellent Late Night Tales compilation album series. It captures the laid-back yet funky spirit of the Balearic sound I find so appealing.