Produced by Mike Mainieri, the song served as the lead single from Simon's ninth studio album, Come Upstairs (1980).

The song became a major critical and commercial success for Simon, remaining on the US Billboard charts for six months,[1] and later going Gold.

"[8] Cash Box said that the song "embodies the push and pull of love, the ailment and the cure - the person we try to resist but cannot.

"[9] Record World said that "Carly offers a slick, bouncy package about a one-sided love that won't go away.

"[10] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann called the track "the album's highlight" and declared it "Simon's best-written pop/rock song since 'You're So Vain' and a Top Ten hit to boot.

Simon has performed it in many of her concerts, including two in which it was filmed: Live at Grand Central in 1995[20] and A Moonlight Serenade on the Queen Mary 2 in 2005.