Carole King 50 Years In The Making – American singer-songwriter Carole King had an astounding life. Read on to explore how her talent and passion for writing and singing helped to shape a generation of musicians.

Since 1958 singer-songwriter Carole King has written and composed some of the most influential and renowned songs of her generation. King is widely regarded as one of the most prolific female pop musicians in history, with numerous number one songs and incredible albums, including the iconic, award-winning Tapestry. Her remarkable talents in writing, composing, and performing have been enjoyed and adored across the globe for over 50 years.

The Life of Icon – Carole King Celebrating 50 Years

Carole King 50 Years: The people in her life 

King was born in New York in February 1942, to Jewish parents, Eugenia Gingold, a teacher and Sidney Klein, a firefighter. Her parents had met in an elevator in 1936 at Brooklyn College where her father was a chemistry major and her mother was an English and drama major. Her mother, Eugenia, had learned piano as a child and from birth Carole was surrounded, and largely influenced by, her passion for the arts, rapidly developing an insatiable love and curiosity for music. When she was just three years old King’s mother began teaching her basic piano skills. When the young King showed a talent and interest in music, she began taking formal lessons when she was four and in kindergarten demonstrated impressive literacy and numerical skills, resulting in her being moved to second grade early. Her mother’s great influence and inspiration shaped an incredible passion in King, one which would later be the vital fuel for her success.

In high school, King went on to begin writing and composing her own music. As her appetite for this grew, she formed a group called the Co-Sines and made demo records with her close friend Paul Simon. It was also at this time that the singer formally took on the stage name Carole King. After finishing high school, King briefly studied at Queen’s College where she met her first husband Gerry Goffin. He became her writing partner and the two married in a Jewish ceremony in August 1959, after King became pregnant with their first daughter, Louise Goffin. They decided to leave college early and King started a day job working as a secretary, writing songs with her husband in the evenings. Shortly after the birth of their first daughter, King had her second baby Sherry. The sisters have been seen to follow in their mother’s footsteps with impressive careers in music and acting. Sadly, King and Gerry divorced in 1968 but the two remained friends up until his death in 2014. During a memorial for the late lyricist, King expressed the “profound impact” he had on her life and the wonderful legacy he leaves behind in their daughters and the songs they made together.

In September 1970 King remarried Charles Larkey, with whom had two more children: an artist, Molly and her first son Levi Larkey. During the 1970s, Charles played the bass on some of her albums and the two worked creatively together until their divorce in 1976. King remarried twice after this but since her divorce from her last husband has remained happily single, continuing to work and perform as solo artist.

Career: The Songs of Carole King 

As well as raising her first child, King began her career at the age of 17, when she was writing songs for Aldon music from a small cubicle near the Brill Building on Broadway. It was at this time that she wrote and composed Will You Love Me Tomorrow? with her husband Gerry, which became a number-one single on the U.S top 100 before she turned 19.

Throughout the 1960s, her fame increasingly grew and the accomplished duo continued to write and produce popular songs. After their divorce and at the turn of a new decade, King worked briefly as a solo artist in Los Angeles but struggled to gain commercial success. Despite this, the singer-songwriter continued to make music and briefly worked with James Taylor, where she wrote songs, played the piano, and sang. Her single You’ve Got a Friend from her album Tapestry was reproduced by Taylor as a single and reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was with her 1971 debut album Tapestry that King finally attained recognition for her work with over 25 million copies sold worldwide.

The album features her most popular songs, including You’ve Got a Friend, It’s Too Late and I Feel the Earth Move; the latter two were the lead singles off the album and spent five weeks in the number 1 spot on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening Charts. In addition to the immense popularity of the Tapestry album, King is an incredibly decorated artist with impressive discography with hit songs in many of the featured albums. Her 1974 album, Wrap Around Joy, is yet another embodiment of King’s unique talent with track number 6 Jazzman. This album earned King her familiar number 1 spot on the Billboard Album Charts.

In addition to her success as a vocalist, King is also the talented writer behind many popular songs. Sitting at the top of the impressive list is (You make me feel like a) Natural Woman. King and Goffin wrote this song in 1967 for the late ‘Queen of Soul’, Aretha Franklin, it became one of her most famous songs and the stunning performance is treasured by many. Four years after the original’s release, King released her own rendition of the hit record on Tapestry, giving the song a further unique and remarkable dimension. In honour of her 75th birthday, music magazine Rolling Stone released a list of 10 songs written by King. The list includes numerous legendary number 1 hits such as Loco-Motion which was originally released under the name ‘Little Eva’ in 1962 and was later covered by Kylie Minogue. The iconic cover remains one of the most prolific dance crazes to date and demonstrates the immortality of King’s work. King quickly gained a lot of respect within the music industry soon into her career and a demo of her song Take Good Care of My Baby , sung by King herself, was discovered by producer Snuff Garrett, who felt as though the song was perfect for up-and-coming vocal sensation Bobby Vee. The song quickly became number 1 following its release in 1961 and remained in that spot for 3 weeks, adding to King’s reign at number 1.

Carole King 50 Years – Her Awards 

There is no debate that King has achieved immense success in her career, with plenty of number 1 songs and just as many highly respected awards. Collectively, her album Tapestry won four Grammys in 1972 alone, the album itself being awarded Album Of The Year and Best Female Vocal Performance, as well as You’ve Got A Friend winning Song of the Year and It’s Too Late winning Record of the Year. Her story of success does not end there, however, as King has also been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, 2002 and 2003 and 10 years later, in 2013, was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

King’s work has also earned her a place in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and two inductions into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame for performing and songwriting. Her accomplishments grow even more impressive in more recent years with King being awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2013. She was the first woman to achieve this honour and is the inspiration of many young females in the industry of just how much they can achieve despite their circumstances. More so, in 2015 King was awarded the Kennedy Centre Honours for her countless contributions to American culture and history. Above Taylor Swift accepts her Artist of the Decade Award from the legendary Carole King at the 2019 American Music Awards on Sunday (November 24) at the Microsoft Theater.

Carole King – Top 10 facts 

1. King was one of the first to perform a big free concert on the Great Lawn in Central Park in 1973, the event was attended by numerous celebrities including Jack Nicolson and Joni Mitchell.
2. King was in a band with guitarist Danny Kortchmar and bassist Charles Larkey, they released one album in 1968 but broke up soon after. Both Kortchmar and Larkey both appear on the Tapestry album.
3. King acted on Broadway for the first time in 1994, in which she played the role of Mrs. Johnstone in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers at the Music Box.
4. She met her first husband as Queens College in New York, where she was studying at the time.
5. King and her daughter Louise Goffin sang the theme song “Where you Lead” for the long-running sitcom Gilmore Girls. Also, many of her songs are used throughout the show itself.
6. Her Gilmore relationship doesn’t end there though, King also appears on the show as a reoccurring character Sophie Bloom, the owner of a record store.
7. King’s birth name is Carol Joan Klein.
8. In high school, she formed her own group called the Co-Sines and this is when she decided on the professional name Carole King.
9. King’s one-hit-wonder record in the 1960s ‘It Might as Well Rain Until September” was originally supposed to be written for Bobby Vee.
10. King’s second album tapestry stayed on the Billboard charts list for 6 years.

Carole King 50 Years – Her Legacy

Despite her reputation as a singer and songwriter, King’s legacy extends beyond her musical achievements and talents. The singer published her memoir A Natural Woman in 2012, which debuted on the New York Times best-seller list. The book discusses many events in Carole’s life and truly demonstrates the astounding woman she is, from being a teenage mother whilst building a career to surviving domestic abuse in her third marriage. King serves as a symbol of strength and courage for many individuals and her work has touched millions of people and there have been numerous dedications to her. 2 years after the release of her memoir, the Broadway show Beautiful: The Carol King Musical aired and offered yet another look into the life of the great pop-musician in addition to the 1996 film, loosely based around her life, called Grace of my Heart.

The star has also shown talents in acting as well as literature, with her first major role, playing Mrs Johnstone in the 1994 Broadway production of Blood Brothers and had a recurring role in the long-running television show Gilmore Girls, for which she also sings the theme tune of. She has frequently performed this song with her daughter, Louise Goffin, and the sentiments have become widely associated with female friendships and family members.

The philanthropy exhibited by King throughout her career highlights the importance of personal passions and the singer has been active in environmental and gender politics. After moving to Idaho in 1977 King became increasingly involved in environmental activism and has worked to preserve the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection act, as well as actively donating to environmental charities. She also works with charities supporting struggling musicians and is very politically active in terms of feminism. In 2017 she attended a Woman’s march in Idaho, where she carried a sign which read “One small voice”. In the Huffington Post, she wrote that she chose that message because she has “never stopped believing that one small voice plus millions of other small voices is exactly how we change the world.” Her dedication to bettering the world is perhaps one of King’s most admirable traits and is certainly deserving of recognition.

There is much to be said about Carole King and the astounding life she has led. Her talent and passion for writing and singing have helped to shape a generation of musicians and inspire creativity in all art forms. Her abundance of awards and hugely successful records only just beginning to demonstrate the impact she has had on music and the legacy she will leave behind. We have had the great pleasure of enjoying King’s work for over 50 years and will continue to do so for many more to come, her lasting impact on the world of art is an astonishing example of hard work, talent and, most importantly, the value of pursuing the things you love.