One of the Greatest Songwriters of the ‘60s: Carole King
Best known for her iconic album Tapestry (1971), Carole King is not only a legendary performer but also one of the most successful songwriters in music history. Her career as a writer began long before Tapestry became the best-selling album by a female artist. Let’s explore some of the best tunes Carole King wrote.
Her debut as a songwriter came with the smash hit Will You Love Me Tomorrow? released by The Shirelles in 1960. The song reached #1, becoming the first chart-topping hit by an African-American girl group. It was later covered by numerous artists, including Dusty Springfield, Frankie Valli, Norah Jones, and Amy Winehouse. In my opinion, the best version of the song appears on Tapestry as a tender ballad.
The following year, she penned another #1 hit with Take Good Care of My Baby, first recorded by Bobby Vee. This song was later covered by Frankie Valli, Smokey Robinson, Donny Osmond, and even The Beatles.
In 1962, Carole King wrote The Loco-Motion (sometimes spelled Locomotion), which was first recorded by Little Eva. The song became a global hit and was later covered by Kylie Minogue, Grand Funk Railroad, and Carole herself. For a fun twist, check out her live version of the song, featuring Slash on guitar, in the long playlist above!
The next year brought One Fine Day, first recorded by The Chiffons. This song was later covered by the Carpenters, Bette Midler, and of course, performed by Carole King herself.
Throughout the 1960s, Carole continued writing songs for numerous artists, including The Righteous Brothers, Dusty Springfield, Ben E. King, The Animals, The Drifters, and The Ronettes.
One of her major hits arrived in 1967 with Pleasant Valley Sunday, recorded by The Monkees. That same year, one of her all-time classics, You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman, was recorded by Aretha Franklin, solidifying Carole King’s place as a songwriting legend.
The End of the Goffin-King Partnership and Carole King’s Solo Journey
All of the tunes mentioned so far were written by Carole King, with lyrics provided by her husband Gerry Goffin. However, their partnership came to an end in 1968 when they divorced.
Following the split, Carole moved from New York to Los Angeles and formed a short-lived band called The City. When that venture didn’t take off, she released her debut solo album Writer (1970), which was met with a lukewarm reception. It wasn’t until her next album, Tapestry (1971), that she gained the recognition she deserved.
Tapestry is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. The album includes iconic tracks such as I Feel the Earth Move, It’s Too Late, You’ve Got a Friend, Will You Love Me Tomorrow?, and You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman. With five universally recognised tunes on one album, Tapestry stayed on the charts for a remarkable six years.
The success of Tapestry led Carole to release another ten albums in the 1970s, but none of these could match the impact of her earlier work.
Her best release following Tapestry came in 1980 with Pearls, an album that featured songs she had written with Gerry Goffin. However, she released seven more albums after Pearls, with none of them producing major hits.
Perhaps Carole King’s career offers us all a valuable lesson: when you find a songwriting partner that you truly click with, hold on to them!
Carole King Tunes | Related Pages
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman | Chords + TAB
Learn how to play (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recordings.
| C | G/B | Bb | F F C/E Dm |
Looking out on the morning rain, I used to feel so uninspired…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: You’ve Got A Friend (Carole King) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
You’ve Got A Friend | Chords + TAB
Learn to play You’ve Got A Friend by Carole King using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recordings.
| Em | B7/F# | Em B7/F# | G B7/F# Em Em/D |
When you’re down and troubled and you need some lovin’ care...
Check out the full TAB lesson here: You’ve Got A Friend (Carole King) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Carole King on the web
