Carole King

Who Is Carole King?

Carole King is a highly acclaimed singer and songwriter who has made a profound impact on the music industry. With a career spanning several decades, she has written or co-written more than 400 songs, many of which have been recorded by over 1,000 artists. Some of her most iconic works include “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles, “Take Good Care of My Baby” by Bobby Vee, and Aretha Franklin’s “You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman).” These hits, among many others, were crafted in collaboration with her first husband, lyricist Gerry Goffin.

Early Songwriting Career

Carole King, born Carol Klein on February 9, 1942, in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Brooklyn, demonstrated her remarkable musical talent from a very young age. By the age of 10, she was already an accomplished pianist, and during her early teenage years, she began composing a large collection of songs. While attending James Madison High School, she adopted the stage name “King” and formed her first musical group, the Co-Sines.

King continued to develop her craft at Queens College, New York, where she crossed paths with future musical legends like Neil Sedaka, Paul Simon, and Gerry Goffin. A brief romance with Sedaka led to his famous hit “Oh! Carol,” to which she humorously responded with “Oh! Neil!,” though it did not achieve the same success. Nonetheless, King’s career progressed as she began a songwriting and romantic partnership with Goffin. After becoming pregnant at 17, the couple married in 1960 and quickly caught the attention of music publisher Don Kirshner, who signed them to his Aldon Music company.

Their collaboration soon produced a string of hits, including “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” for The Shirelles, “Take Good Care of My Baby” for Bobby Vee, and “Up on the Roof” for The Drifters. As the 1960s progressed, the Goffin-King partnership thrived, with songs like “You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)” for Aretha Franklin, “Goin’ Back” for Dusty Springfield, and “Pleasant Valley Sunday” for The Monkees. Despite the male-dominated nature of the music industry at the time, King felt comfortable in her role, although she acknowledged the contrast between her career and the lives of her suburban peers.

However, the partnership began to fray in the late 1960s, largely due to Goffin’s infidelities, which caused significant strain on their relationship. According to Sheila Weller’s biography of King, she even supported one of Goffin’s mistresses and their child by helping purchase a home for them. As their marriage unraveled, so did their small record label, Tomorrow. King poignantly chronicled the end of their relationship in her 1967 song “The Road to Nowhere,” before the couple ultimately divorced in 1968.

Following the split, King relocated to Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles with her two daughters, joining a vibrant community of musicians that included James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. She soon began collaborating with lyricist Toni Stern, co-writing the hit single “It’s Too Late,” one of King’s most iconic songs. Reflecting on this period, King credited Stern and Taylor with helping her transition from writing with Goffin to working independently: “Toni was wonderful help with the transition from writing with Gerry to writing songs on my own … I didn’t have the courage initially. James inspired me a lot. I write heavily under the influence of James Taylor.”

King briefly formed a band called The City with musicians Danny Kortchmar and Charles Larkey, whom she married in 1970. Despite their album Now That Everything’s Been Said, The City never gained momentum due to King’s reluctance to tour, stemming from her stage fright. By the end of 1970, King shifted her focus entirely to performing her own songs, setting the stage for her legendary solo career.

Going Solo as a Singer: Tapestry

Carole King’s initial foray into solo work with her debut album, Writer, did not achieve significant success. However, her second album, Tapestry, released in 1971, marked a dramatic turning point. The album topped the Billboard charts for a record-breaking 15 consecutive weeks and remained on the charts in various forms for an impressive six years. Tapestry held the record for the longest tenure at No. 1 until Michael Jackson’s Thriller surpassed it in 1982. As fellow songwriter Cynthia Weil aptly noted, “Carole spoke from her heart, and she happened to be in tune with the mass psyche. People were looking for a message, and she came to them with a message that was exactly what they were looking for.”

The album featured a mix of earlier King compositions, such as “It’s Too Late” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”, performed in her distinctive voice, alongside new singles like “So Far Away,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” and “You’ve Got a Friend” (the latter of which later became a No. 1 hit for her friend James Taylor).

King’s subsequent album, Music (1971), produced the No. 1 hit “Sweet Seasons” and achieved gold certification but did not match the extraordinary success of Tapestry. Her following albums, Rhymes and Reasons, Wrap Around Joy, Fantasy, and Thoroughbred, each received gold certification as well. With Thoroughbred, King reunited with her former husband and collaborator Gerry Goffin, and worked with notable artists such as James Taylor, David Crosby, and Graham Nash.

King’s marriage to Larkey ended in divorce in 1976. Shortly thereafter, she married songwriter Rick Evers in 1977. The couple moved to a small mountain town in Idaho, where King’s affinity for nature grew and sparked a lifelong commitment to environmental activism. Despite their collaborative work on the album Simple Things, which was one of King’s last to achieve gold certification, the marriage deteriorated due to Evers’ increasing abusiveness and ultimately ended with his death from a drug overdose in 1978.

King’s subsequent albums, Welcome Home and Touch the Sky, did not garner the acclaim of her earlier works. However, she found renewed commercial success in 1980 with Pearls, an album featuring performances of her earlier songs co-written with Goffin. Following this period, King shifted her focus to writing singles for film, television, and other artists, marking a hiatus from her career as a solo singer.

Recent Work

During the 1980s and 1990s, Carole King experienced a decline in her prolific songwriting output, but her commitment to activism and public engagement remained unwavering. Since 1990, she has been actively involved with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, advocating for the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA), and has testified before Congress twice in support of this legislation. Additionally, King has been a prominent supporter of Democratic candidates, notably backing John Kerry in 2004 and Hillary Clinton in 2008.

By the late 1990s, King began her resurgence in the music industry. She composed the hit song “The Reason,” which was performed by Celine Dion in 1997, and later joined Dion on stage at VH1’s Divas Live concert. In 2004, King released a highly regarded live album, recorded during her Living Room Tour. She continued to bridge generational and genre divides by touring Japan in 2007 with R&B artist Mary J. Blige and Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. The following year, she reunited with longtime friend James Taylor for the Troubadour Reunion Tour, resulting in the Live at the Troubadour album, which achieved No. 4 on the U.S. charts and underscored King’s enduring influence in the music industry. Reflecting on her journey, King remarked, “You’re going to have a very rich and wonderful life,” when asked what advice she would give her younger self.

Following her divorce from her fourth husband, Idaho rancher Rick Sorenson, King embraces an independent and fulfilling life in her mountain home. She expresses gratitude for her surroundings, stating, “When I wake up every morning, I smile and say, ‘Thank you.’ Because out of my window I can see the mountains, then go hiking with my dog and share her bounding joy in the world.”

In 2013, King achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first woman to receive the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, an honor presented by President Barack Obama at a special White House ceremony. At that time, King conveyed her intent to continue her musical career, acknowledging, “I still feel that it would be lovely to retire, but that time is not yet here apparently.”

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

In October 2021, King will be honored with an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He will join an esteemed class of inductees, including Jay-Z, the Go-Go’s, Tina Turner, Todd Rundgren, and the Foo Fighters.