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Tapestry
Background:
“My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the
ever changing view.” Carole King
Artist/songwriter Carole King mainly earned commercial and critical success with
her sophomore solo album Tapestry (1971, earned four Grammy Awards), which
widely introduced the Grammy-winning “You’ve Got a Friend,” “I Feel the Earth
Move,” and “It’s Too Late” (also received a Grammy Award for the album). She is
also known for her long-lasting partnership with songwriter Gerry Goffin that
gave rise to numerous hits, including “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,”
“Up on the Roof,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “The Loco-Motion,” and other
songs from her albums. King, who in 2001 co-wrote 2 unreleased songs with the
pop group Hanson, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Gerry
Goffin, in 1990.
Apart from her steady musical career, the artist also made some periodic
appearances on the small and big screen. Starting out with voice work for the
titular character in the animated Really Rosie (1975, TV), King has since taken
minor roles in such films as Murphy’s Romance (1985), Hider in the House (1989)
and “Gilmore Girls” (2002, 2005).
The 10th artist on VH1’s “100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll” is an active
supporter of the Democratic Party. She supported the campaign of presidential
candidate John Kerry, and in July 2004, she made a short speech and performed at
the Democratic National Convention.
On a more private note, King has had three marriages. She was married to
longtime partner Gerry Goffin (1960-1968), Charles Larkey (1968-1976) and Rick
Evers (1974-his death in 1978). She is the mother of a son and 3 daughters.
Longtime Partner
Childhood and Family:
Carole Klein, later famous as Carole King, was born on February 9, 1942, in
Brooklyn, New York. Already playing piano and singing as a child, Carole formed
a vocal quartet called the Co-Sines while studying at Abraham Lincoln High
School. While at Queens College, she met Gerry Goffin, her future real-life and
professional partner.
After graduating from college, Carole married Gerry Goffin in 1960. The couple
has two daughters who are now singers, Louise Goffin and Sherry Goffin Condor.
In 1968, they separated and Carole wed Charles Larkey, bassist of Myddle Class.
She and Charles have 2 children (son Levi and daughter Molly). Sadly, the 8-year
marriage (1968-1976) also ended in divorce. Carole then had a one-year marriage
with composer Rick Evers, which came to an end in 1978, after Rick died of an
overdose.
Feel Like A Natural Woman
Career:
After graduation, Carole King and Gerry Goffin soon created the chart-topping
song “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (1961), which originally was sung by The
Shirelles. King and Goffin continued their professional partnership with
numerous sensational hits, including Bobby Vee’s “Take Good Care of My Baby,”
Little Eva’s “The Loco-Motion,” The Chiffons’ “One Fine Day,” The Drifters’ “Up
on the Roof,” and Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”
In 1962, King sang the self-composed “It Might As Well Rain Until September,”
which only became a modest hit. The founder of Tomorrow Records, King eventually
formed a band named The City, with second husband Charles Larkey and guitarist
Danny Kortchmar. With the group, she released Now That Everything’s Been Said,
an album that failed. Her misfortune continued when she launched a first solo
album titled Writer (1970). Still working with Larkey and Kortchmar, King
compiled songs primarily co-written by her and Goffin, such as “Child Of Mine,”
“Up On The Roof” and “I Can’t Hear You No More,” and faced another commercial
flop.
Success arrived with the landmark sophomore recording Tapestry (1971), which
churned out a number of hit singles. Putting together her previous hits and some
new material, the No.1 album on Billboard charts featured her old songs “(You
Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” as well as
the new tracks “I Feel the Earth Move,” “It’s Too Late,” the title song and the
legendary “You’ve Got a Friend.” Soon, the album won four Grammys: one for Album
of the Year, one for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, one for Song of the Year
(for “You’ve Got a Friend”), and one for Record of the Year (for “It’s Too
Late”).
Following the chartbuster album, King quickly released the No.1 US album Music
(1971), spawning “It’s Going To Take Some Time” (later covered by The
Carpenters), “Sweet Seasons,” “Brother Brother” and the title track. Next, she
issued the albums Rhymes and Reasons (1972) and Wrap Around Joy (1974), before
conducting a record-breaking free concert in New York City’s Central Park, which
was attended by over 100,000 people. It was ensued with her next album,
Thoroughbred (1975), for which she reunited with Goffin to write the songs.
King appeared on screen, where she lent her voice to Rosie in the made-for-TV
animated Really Rosie (1975). Two years later, she had a role in the sci-fi
movie Bionic Boy (1977). Meanwhile, the prolific artist/songwriter continued
stunning her listeners with such albums as Simple Things (1977), Welcome Home
(1978), Touch the Sky (1979), Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King (1980), One to
One (1982) and Speeding Time (1983). After releasing her 1983 album, King took a
little break from her music career.
King, who in 1978 appeared in Dynamite Johnson (Bionic Boy’s sequel), was cast
as a mother in an episode of “Faerie Tale Theatre” (1984). She then took a small
part as Tillie in the romantic comedy Murphy’s Romance (1985) and had the
supporting role of Mrs. Kovac in the drama Russkies (1987). In 1989, King
contributed her vocals for the thriller Hider in the House, starring Mimi Rogers
and Gary Busey, as well as guest starred as a Shopaholics Anonymous member in
“The Tracey Ullman Show.”
1989 also marked King’s comeback to music with the release of the album City
Streets. It was followed with Color of Your Dreams (1993), which featured a
guest appearance of Slash from Guns N’ Roses, as well as Time Gone By (1994),
Time Heals All Wounds (1997), Goin’ Back (1998), the greatest hits collection
Super Hits (2000) and the studio album Love Makes the World (2001), her first
album under the Rockingale Records label.
Meanwhile, King also proved to be a talented songwriter for motion pictures. In
1993, she earned a Grammy nomination for her composition in “Now and Forever”
for the comedy drama A League of Their Own (1992). She then co-wrote, with
Carole Bayer Sager, the song “Anyone At All,” a soundtrack for the romantic
comedy You’ve Got Mail (1998) and received a Golden Satellite nomination. Two
years later, she was nominated for an Emmy for the track “Song of Freedom,” from
the TV drama Freedom Song (2000).
King, who was seen as a guest performer in “The Trials of Rosie O’Neill” (1991)
and “ABC Afterschool Specials” (1991), resurfaced on TV with the recurring role
of Sophie Bloom, the owner of the Stars Hollow music store, in the family series
“Gilmore Girls” (2002 & 2005, 3 episodes). For the latter series, she also
provided “Where You Lead I Will Follow” as the theme song.
Also in 2005, King launched the album The Living Room Tour, which was the live
recording from her performances in the Illinois, California and Massachusetts
staging of her Living Room Tour, in 2004. The 2005 extension of the tour started
on July 3, 2005, in Ontario, Canada.
Awards:
