Carole King
(born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. While she has been a successful songwriter for decades, her singing career and fame peaked during the first half of the 1970s. [1]
King has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her songwriting, along with long-time partner Gerry Goffin.
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CAROLE KING TICKETS
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Biography
Born
Carole Klein
in 1942 to a Jewish household in
Brooklyn, New York, King started out playing the piano then moved on to singing, forming a vocal quartet called the Co-Sines at
James Madison High School.
She attended
Queens College, where she was a classmate of
Neil Sedaka and inspired Sedaka's first big hit, "Oh! Carol." She wrote "Oh! Neil" in return. While attending Queens College, King befriended
Paul Simon and
Gerry Goffin.
Partnership with Gerry Goffin
Goffin and King soon formed a songwriting partnership. Working for
Aldon Music in the
Brill Building, where chart-topping hits were churned out during the 1960s, the Goffin-King partnership first hit it big with "
Will You Love Me Tomorrow". Recorded by
The Shirelles, the song topped the charts in 1961; it was later recorded by
Ben E King,
Dusty Springfield,
Laura Branigan,
Little Eva,
Roberta Flack,
The Four Seasons,
Bryan Ferry and King herself. As with many of King's compositions, the song has been recorded by too many artists to enumerate and continues to be recorded to this day.
Goffin and King married in September 1960 and had two daughters,
Louise Goffin and Sherry Goffin Kondor, both of whom also became musicians.
In 1965, Goffin and King wrote a theme song for
Sidney Sheldon's new television series,
I Dream of Jeannie,
but the song was not used. Instead, an instrumental theme by
Hugo Montenegro was used.
Their 1967 song "
Pleasant Valley Sunday", a #3 hit for
The Monkees, was inspired by their move to suburban
West Orange, New Jersey.
[2] Goffin and King also wrote several songs for
Head
, the Monkees feature film.
Goffin and King divorced in 1968.
Hits by Goffin and King
Year
| Song
| Original artist
| U.S. Hot 100
| Cover versions
|
1960
| "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"
| Shirelles
| 1
| Carole King (in 1971), The Four Seasons, Roberta Flack, Amy Winehouse, Melanie, Jackie DeShannon, Len Barry, Bunny Sigler, Cissy Houston, The Platters, Neil Diamond (in 1993), Linda Ronstadt, Angus Tung (in Mandarin), Shirley Kwan and Alan Tam (in Cantonese), Dave Mason (under the title "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"), The Rocky Fellers
|
1961
| "Take Good Care of My Baby"
| Bobby Vee
| 1
| Dion and the Belmonts (later in 1961), Smokie (in 1981), Bobby Vee, Stephen Collins, Dick Brave
|
"Some Kind of Wonderful"
| The Drifters
| 32
| Marvin Gaye (in 1968), Carole King (in 1971); not the same song as the Grand Funk Railroad hit
|
"Halfway to Paradise"
| Tony Orlando
| 39
| Billy Fury (1962), Bobby Vinton(1968), Tina Charles(1977)
|
"Every Breath I Take"
| Gene Pitney
| 42
| no relation to The Police's "Every Breath You Take"
|
"Walkin' with My Angel"
| Bobby Vee
| 53
| Herman's Hermits
|
1962
| "Chains"
| The Cookies
| 17
| The Beatles (in 1963), Carole King (in 1980)
|
"Keep Your Hands Off My Baby"
| Little Eva
| 12
| The Beatles (in 1964, unreleased until 1994)
|
"The Loco-Motion"
| Little Eva
| 1
| The Chiffons (in 1963), Emerson Lake & Powell (instrumental), Grand Funk Railroad (in 1974, #1), Carole King (in 1980),
Kylie Minogue (in 1988, #3), Tina Turner, Dwight Yoakam
|
"He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)"
| The Crystals
|
| The Motels (in 1982), Hole (in 1994), Grizzly Bear (in 2007)
|
"Go Away Little Girl"
| Steve Lawrence
| 1
| Mark Wynter, The Tams, Donny Osmond (in 1971, #1), The Happenings (in 1966, #12)
|
"Point Of No Return"
| Gene McDaniels
| 21
|
"Crying in the Rain"
| The Everly Brothers
| 6
| A-ha (in 1990, #1 in Norway), Dave Edmunds
|
1963
| "Don't Say Nothing Bad (About My Baby)"
| The Cookies
| 7
|
|
"I Can't Stay Mad At You"
| Skeeter Davis
| 7
|
|
"Hey Girl"
| Freddie Scott
| 10
| Donny Osmond (in 1972, #9), George Benson ("Livin' Inside Your Love" in 1977), Carole King (in 1980),
Billy Joel (Greatest Hits Volume III
in 1997), Bob James & David Sanborn, Bobby Vee (as part of a medley with The Temptations' hit My Girl
in 1968, #35)
|
"One Fine Day"
| The Chiffons
| 5
| Rita Coolidge (in 1979, #66), Carole King (in 1980, #12), Aaron Neville (in 1993), Natalie Merchant (in 1996)
|
"Up on the Roof"
| The Drifters
| 5
| Kenny Lynch (1964),King (in 1970), Laura Nyro (in 1970), James Taylor (in 1979, #28), Neil Diamond (in 1993), Billy Joe Royal, Peter Cincotti
|
1964
| "I Can't Hear You No More"
| Betty Everett
| 66
| Dusty Springfield (in 1965), King (in 1970), Helen Reddy (in 1976, #29)
|
"I'm into Something Good"
| "Earl-Jean" McCrea
| 38
| Herman's Hermits (later in 1964, #13)
|
"Oh No Not My Baby"
| Maxine Brown
| 24
| Manfred Mann (in 1965), Dusty Springfield (in 1965), Aretha Franklin (in 1970), Rod Stewart (in 1973, #59), The Partridge Family (Bulletin Board
in 1973), King (in 1980 and 2001), Cher (in 1992), Linda Ronstadt (in 1994)
|
1965
| "Don't Forget About Me"
| Barbara Lewis
| -
| Dusty Springfield
|
1966
| "Don't Bring Me Down"
| The Animals
| 12
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (in 1986)
|
"Goin' Back"
| Dusty Springfield
| -
| The Byrds (in 1968, #86), King (in 1980), Larry Lurex (1973) Nils Lofgren,Elkie Brooks Johnny Logan, Diana Ross, Glen Shorrock & Renee Geyer (Aust. 1983)
|
"I Can't Make It Alone"
| P.J. Proby
| -
| Dusty Springfield, Maria McKee (in 1993)
|
1967
| "Pleasant Valley Sunday"
| The Monkees
| 3
|
|
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
| Aretha Franklin
| 8
| King (in 1971), Laura Nyro (in 1971), Rod Stewart (in 1974), Mary J. Blige (in 1995), Celine Dion (in 1995)
|
1968
| "Porpoise Song"
| The Monkees
| 62
|
|
"Wasn't Born to Follow"
| The Byrds
|
| King (in 1980)
|
1970
| "Hi-De-Ho (That Old Sweet Roll)"
| Blood, Sweat & Tears
| 14
| Dusty Springfield (non-LP B-Side in 1969), King (in 1980)
|
Recording artist
In 1966 artist
Peter Max introduced King to guru
Sri Swami Satchidananda, who became a friend and adviser to King.
In 1968, King was hired to co-write two songs for
Strawberry Alarm Clock with
Toni Stern, "Lady of the Lake" and "Blues for a Young Girl Gone," which appeared on the album,
The World in a Seashell
.
King began to focus on her own singing career. She sang backup vocals on the demo of Little Eva's hit "The Loco-Motion"
[3]. She had had a modest hit in 1962 singing one of her own songs, "It Might As Well Rain Until September" (#22 in the US and a top 10 success in the UK, later a hit in
Canada for
Gary and Dave), but after "He's a Bad Boy" made #94 in 1963, it would take King eight years to reach the Hot 100 singles chart again as a performer.
As the '60s waned, King helped pioneer a record label,
Tomorrow Records, divorced Goffin and married
Charles Larkey (of the
Myddle Class).
Moving to the West Coast, Larkey, King and
Danny Kortchmar formed a group called
The City, which released one album,
Now That Everything's Been Said
, but the album was a commercial failure. King then released
Writer
(1970), a critically acclaimed record, but another commercial failure.
Tapestry
and beyond
King followed up
Writer
in 1971 with
Tapestry
, featuring new folk-flavored compositions, as well as reinterpretations of two of her early pop hits as a songwriter, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."
Tapestry
was an instant success and was soon recognized as one of the landmark albums of the
singer-songwriter genre of the early 1970s. With numerous hit singles,
Tapestry
would remain on the charts for nearly six years and sell over 10 million copies in the United States and an estimated 22 million worldwide. The album garnered four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year; Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female; Record of the Year ("It's Too Late", lyrics by Toni Stern); and Song of the Year ("You've Got a Friend"). The album signalled the era of platinum albums, though it was issued prior to the invention of the platinum certification by the RIAA.
Tapestry
became the top-selling pop solo album ever, a position it held until the release of
Michael Jackson's
Thriller
in 1982. The album was later placed at #36 on
Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.
[1] In addition, "It's Too Late" was placed at #469 on
Rolling Stone's
500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Music
(1971),
Rhymes and Reasons
(1972), and
Fantasy
(1973) followed, each earning either a gold or platinum
RIAA certification.
In 1973, King performed a free concert in
New York City's
Central Park and broke all previous records for such a concert with over 100,000 people attending.
[5]
King also enjoyed major success with her 1974 album
Wrap Around Joy
and the subsequent tour to promote the album. The album reached number #1 on the Billboard charts and, for only the second time in her career, she had a song reach as high as #2 on the singles chart with "Jazzman."
In 1975, King scored a number of songs for the animated TV production of
Maurice Sendak's work
Really Rosie
, which was also released as an album by the same name, with lyrics by Sendak.
Thoroughbred
(1976) was the last studio album she released under the Ode label.
[6] In addition to enlisting her long-time friends such as
David Crosby,
Graham Nash,
James Taylor and
Waddy Wachtel, King reunited with Gerry Goffin to write four songs for the album. Songwriting partnership between King and her former husband lasted intermittently on later years. King also did a promotional tour for the album in 1976.
In 1977, King collaborated with another songwriting partner
Rick Evers on
Simple Things
, the first release under her contract with a new label distributed by
Capitol Records. King married Evers shortly thereafter; he died of a
heroin overdose one year later.
Simple Things
became her first album which failed to reach the top 10 on the Billboard since
Tapestry
, and it would be her last Gold-certified record by the RIAA, except a compilation entitled
Her Greatest Hits
released in the following year. Neither
Welcome Home
(1978), which marked her debut as a co-producer on an album, nor
Touch the Sky
(1979), reached the top 100.
Pearls - The Songs of Goffin and King
(1980) was moderately successful and yielded a hit single, an updated version of "One Fine Day".
Pearls
marked the end of King's career as a hitmaker and a performer, as no subsequent single release would reach the top 40.
Later work
King moved to
Atlantic Records and released with
One to One
(1982), and
Speeding Time
in 1983. In 1983 she played piano in "Chains and Things" on the
B.B. King album
Why I Sing The Blues
. In 1985, she wrote and performed "Care-A-Lot", the theme song to
The Care Bears Movie
.
She returned to music in 1989, recording
City Streets
with guest
Eric Clapton on two tracks, followed by
Color of Your Dreams
(1993), with a guest appearance by
Slash of
Guns N' Roses. In addition, her song "Now and Forever" was featured in the opening credits to the 1992
movie A League of Their Own
, and was nominated for a
Grammy Award.
In 1988 she starred in the off-Broadway production
A Minor Incident
, and in 1994 she played the role of Mrs. Johnstone on Broadway in
Blood Brothers
. In 1996, she appeared in a production of
Brighton Beach Memoirs
in Ireland, which was directed by
Peter Sheridan.
In 1991, she co-wrote with
Mariah Carey the song "If It's Over", for Mariah's second album
Emotions
.
In 1996 she co-wrote the song "Wall Of Smiles / Torre De Marfil", with the late Colombian-American singer-songwriter
Soraya for her 1997 album of the same title.
In 1997, King wrote and recorded backing vocals on the song "
The Reason" for
Celine Dion on her album "
Let's Talk About Love". The pair performed a duet version of the song on the first ever
VH1 Divas Live benefit concert. King also performed her classic hit, "
You've Got A Friend" with Celine Dion,
Gloria Estefan and
Shania Twain as well as "
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" with
Aretha Franklin and the other divas, including
Mariah Carey.
In 2001 she co-wrote a song for the
Semisonic album
All About Chemistry
. Also in 2001, she appeared in a television ad for The Gap, with her daughter,
Louise Goffin.
King launched her "Living Room Tour" in July 2004 at the
Auditorium Theatre in
Chicago. That show, along with the shows at the
Greek Theater (Los Angeles) in
Los Angeles and the Cape Cod Melody Tent (Hyannis, Massachusetts) were recorded and released as
The Living Room Tour
album in July 2005. The tour continued through 2005 and also made stops in
Canada,
Australia and
New Zealand. A DVD of the tour, called
Welcome to My Living Room
was released in October 2007.
Also in 2007, King released
Love Makes the World: Deluxe Edition
on her own label, Rockingale Records. The 2-CD set contains a bonus disc with five additional tracks, including "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)." In November 2007, King toured
Japan with
Mary J. Blige and Fergie from the
Black Eyed Peas.
King can be heard on the track "Everyday People" from
Reba McEntire's
Reba: Duets
CD, released September 18, 2007.
King recorded a duet of the Goffin-King song "Time Don't Run Out On Me" with
Anne Murray on Murray's album
Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends
. The song had previously been recorded by Murray for her 1984 album
Heart Over Mind
.
Outside music
After relocating to Idaho in 1977, King became involved in environmental issues. Since 1990 she has been working with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and other groups towards passage of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA). King has testified on Capitol Hill twice on behalf of NREPA: in 1994, and again in 2007.
King is also politically active in the
United States Democratic Party. In 2003 she began campaigning for
John Kerry, performing in private homes for caucus delegates during the Democratic primaries. On July 29, 2004, she made a short speech and sang at the
Democratic National Convention, about two hours before Kerry made his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for President. King continued her support of Kerry throughout the general election.
In 2008, King appeared on the March 18th episode of
The Colbert Report, touching on her politics once more. She stated that she was supporting
Hillary Clinton and mentioned that the choice had nothing to do with gender. She also expressed that she would have no issues if
Barack Obama were to win the election. Before the show's conclusion, she returned to the stage to perform "I Feel the Earth Move."
King has appeared sporadically in acting roles, notably three appearances as guest star on the TV series
Gilmore Girls
as Sophie, the owner of the
Stars Hollow music store. King's song "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" was also the theme song to the series, in a version sung with her daughter
Louise.
On April 9, 2009, Carole appeared as a guest on
The One Show.
Tributes and covers
An all-star roster of artists paid tribute to King on the 1995 album
Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King.
From the album,
Rod Stewart's version of "
So Far Away" and Celine Dion's cover of "A Natural Woman" were both
Adult Contemporary chart hits. Other artists who appeared on the album included
Amy Grant ("It's Too Late"),
Richard Marx ("Beautiful"),
Aretha Franklin ("You've Got a Friend"),
Faith Hill ("Where You Lead"), and the
Bee Gees ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow?").
In addition to the numerous hit versions of her songs with Gerry Goffin and
Tapestry Revisited,
many other cover versions of King's work have appeared over the years. Most notably, "You've Got a Friend" was a smash hit for
James Taylor in 1971 and a top 40 hit for
Roberta Flack and
Donny Hathaway that same year.
Barbra Streisand had a top 40 hit in 1972 with "Where You Lead" twice — by itself and as part of a live medley with "Sweet Inspiration." Barbra also covered "No Easy Way Down" in 1971, "Beautiful" and "
You've Got A Friend" in 1972, and "Being At War With Each Other" in 1974.
The Carpenters recorded King's "It's Going to Take Some Time" in 1972 and reached number 12 on the Billboard charts.
Richard Carpenter produced a version of "You've Got A Friend" with then teen singer/actor
Scott Grimes in 1989.
Martika had a number 25 hit in 1989 with her version of
I Feel the Earth Move, and "It's Too Late" reappeared on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1995 by
Gloria Estefan.
Linda Ronstadt recorded a new version of
"Oh No Not My Baby" in 1993.
Celine Dion also recorded King's song "The Reason" on her 1997 album
Let's Talk About Love.
Jonathan Rayson recorded a new version of "Beautiful" in his 2006 release
"Shiny And New".
"Where You Lead" (lyrics by
Toni Stern) became the title song of TV show
Gilmore Girls
.
In 1996 a film very loosely based on her life,
Grace of My Heart,
was released. In the film an aspiring singer sacrifices her own singing career to write hit songs that launch the careers of other singers. Mirroring King's life, the film follows her from her first break, through the pain of rejection from the recording industry and a bad marriage, to her final triumph in realizing her dream to record her own hit album.
Awards and recognition
- In 1987, Goffin and King were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
- In 1990, King was inducted, along with Goffin, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category for her songwriting achievements.
- In 2002, King was given the "Johnny Mercer Award" by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
- In 2004, Goffin and King were awarded the Grammy Trustees Award.
- King was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007. [7]
Discography
Studio albums
Year
| Title
| Peak chart positions
| RIAA Certification [8]
|
US
| UK
| JP
| NO
|
1970
| Writer
| 84
| -
| 67
| -
| -
|
1971
| Tapestry
| 1
| 4
| 29
| 8
| Diamond
|
1971
| Music
| 1
| 18
| 28
| 10
| Platinum
|
1972
| Rhymes and Reasons
| 2
| 40
| 34
| -
| Gold
|
1973
| Fantasy
| 6
| -
| 21
| -
| Gold
|
1974
| Wrap Around Joy
| 1
| -
| 73
| -
| Gold
|
1975
| Really Rosie
| 20
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1976
| Thoroughbred
| 3
| -
| 72
| -
| Gold
|
1977
| Simple Things
| 17
| -
| -
| -
| Gold
|
1978
| Welcome Home
| 104
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1979
| Touch the Sky
| 104
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1980
| Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King
| 44
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1982
| One to One
| 119
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1983
| Speeding Time
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1989
| City Streets
| 111
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
1993
| Colour of Your Dreams
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
2001
| Love Makes the World
| 158
| -
| 90
| -
| -
|
Live albums
- In Concert
(1994) - US #160
- Carnegie Hall Concert: June 18, 1971
(1996)
- The Living Room Tour
(2005) - US #17
Compilation albums
- Her Greatest Hits: Songs of Long Ago
(1978)
- Time Gone By
(1994)
- A Natural Woman: The Ode Collection (1968–1976)
(1994)
- Goin' Back
(1998)
- Super Hits
(2000)
Singles
Year
| Single
| Peak positions
| Album
|
US Hot 100
| US A.C.
| UK
|
1962
| "It Might As Well Rain Until September"/"Nobody's Perfect"
| 22
| -
| 3
| -
|
1963
| "He's a Bad Boy"/"We Grew Up Together"
| 94
| -
| -
| -
|
1971
| "It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move"
| 1
| 1
| 6
| Tapestry
|
"So Far Away/Smackwater Jack"
| 14
| 3
| -
|
1972
| "Sweet Seasons"
| 9
| 2
| -
| Music
|
"Been to Canaan"
| 24
| 1
| -
| Rhymes and Reasons
|
1973
| "Believe In Humanity"
| 28
| -
| -
| Fantasy
|
"You Light Up My Life"A
| 67
| 6
| -
|
"Corazon"
| 37
| 5
| -
|
1974
| "Jazzman"
| 2
| 4
| -
| Wrap Around Joy
|
1975
| "Nightingale"
| 9
| 1
| -
|
1976
| "Only Love Is Real"
| 28
| 1
| -
| Thoroughbred
|
"High out of Time"
| 76
| 40
| -
|
1977
| "Hard Rock Cafe"
| 30
| 8
| -
| Simple Things
|
"Simple Things"
| -
| 37
| -
|
1978
| "Morning Sun"
| -
| 43
| -
| Welcome Home
|
1980
| "One Fine Day"
| 12
| 11
| -
| Pearls: Songs Goffin and King
|
1982
| "One to One"
| 45
| 20
| -
| One to One
|
1989
| "City Streets"
| -
| 14
| -
| City Streets
|
1992
| "Now and Forever"
| -
| 18
| -
| Colour of Your Dreams
|
2001
| "Love Makes the World"
| -
| -
| -
| Love Makes the World
|
Notes
- The 1973 single, "You Light Up My Life" is not the same song as the No. 1 Pop hit for Debby Boone in 1977 (see "You Light Up My Life" song article.)
See also
- List of songwriter tandems
References
- The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
- La Gorce, Tammy. "New Jersey's Magic Moments", ''The New York Times'', October 30, 2005. Accessed November 25, 2007.
- King. C. BBC interview, ''Woman's Hour'', http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jpg35, April 8, 2009
- The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
- Carole King Artistfacts
- http://waddywachtelinfo.com/CaroleKing.html
- Home of the L.I. Music Hall of Fame
- RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Carole King