Carole King - Songwriter, Singer and Pianist
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You've Got A Friend
Celine Dion, Carole King, Gloria Estefan
& Shania Twain
Uploaded by albertulloamsn
"You've
got a Friend" is probably the most successful of Carole's compositions
and has been recorded by artists including
James Taylor, Dusty Springfield, Donny Hathaway, Petula Clark, Michael
Jackson, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard, Barbara Streisand, Andy Williams &
the 4 Seasons.
This track was recorded live at the VHI Divas Concert in
new York, April 14 1998 |
Carole
(Klein) was born on February 9, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York, learned the piano at
the age of four, joined her first band whilst at high school and eventually
changed her name to Carole King. She took up with Paul Simon, Neil
Sedaka and Gerry Goffin.
Sedaka’s hit Oh Carole was devoted to her.
Carole King the Songwriter –
 Carole
developed a writing partnership with Gerry Coffin, who she eventually
married.
Together Goffin and King wrote over 100 hit songs including -
Will You
Love Me Tomorrow: The Shirelles
Take
Good Care of My Baby:
Bobby Vee
The
Locomotion: Little Eva
One Fine
Day: The Chiffons
Pleasant
Valley Sunday: The
Monkees
Up on the
Roof:
The Drifters
Chains: The
Beatles
You Make
Me Feel like a Natural Woman: Aretha Franklin
He Hit Me
And It Felt Like a Kiss:
The
Crystals
You got a
Friend:
James
Taylor, Roberta Flack,
Barbra Streisand,
Richard Carpenter, Donny Hathaway
Barbra Streisand
recorded Where You Lead, No Easy Way Down, Beautiful
and Being At War With Each Other.
During the
1990’s
Gloria Estefan
recorded It’s too Late,
Linda Ronstadt
a new version of Oh No Not My Baby
Celine Dion
did King's song The Reason on her 1997 album
Let's Talk About Love
and
Jonathan Rayson
recorded a new version of Beautiful in his 2006 release Shiny And
New.
Carole King the Singer –
James
Taylor
and Carole King were close friends and it was he who encouraged her to
pursue a solo career.
However, Carole’s only real successes as a composer/singer were her 1962
single It Might as Well Rain Until September and her landmark album
Tapestry (1971). For 11 years Tapestry was the best selling album to
be finally replaced by Michael Jackson's Thriller in 1982.
Tapestry also produced the hit singles, So Far Away and the
chart-topping It's Too Late with the flip side I Feel the Earth
Move.
Her 1971 album Music also hit number one, and generated the hit
Sweet Seasons.
In 1972 Rhymes & Reasons reached number two and 1974's Wrap Around
Joy, featuring Jazzman reached number one.
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Read the
Wikipedia Article about Carole King's Album, Tapestry |
Carole King - Tapestry
Why has
Carol King's Tapestry stood the test of time?
It's not just the superb melody or the wonderful rhythm.
The secret is in her unpretentious, post-liberated woman singing. She
means EVERY word, every phrase and it comes across.
When the concert challenges (she never did like to perform in public)
Carole King makes her songs, performed by more famous artists, seem like
elevator music in comparison.
The Tapestry Album was No.1 for 15 weeks, on the charts for more than
six years, and earned four Grammies including Record of the Year (for
It's Too Late) and Song of the Year (You've Got a Friend). |
King and
Goffin had two daughters,
Louise Goffin
and Sherry Goffin Kondor who also became singers but the couple divorced in
1968
In 1968 Carole married Charles Larkey, the marriage ended in divorce.
In 1977 she married Rich Evers who died from a heroine overdose in 1978.
After Rick Evers death Carole moved to a tiny mountain village in Idaho to
become an environmental activist.
In July
2004, Carole King re-launched her singing career with the Living Room Tour
in Chicago, which resulted in Living Room Tour album in July of 2005.
The tour continued through Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A DVD of the
tour, called Welcome to My Living Room was released in October of
2007.
The Living Room is a revival of songs from throughout her career with only
her piano and acoustic guitars as accompaniment.
Carole
King – The Democratic Party Campaigner
Recently
Carole King has been politically active in the United States Democratic
Party. In 2003 she campaigned for John Kerry, whilst her lifelong
friend James Taylor campaigned for George Bush.
During the 2008 presidential campaign 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 and she eventually also campaigned for him.
External Links
www.caroleking.com
Carole King at the
Internet Movie Database
Carole King at the
Internet Broadway Database
Carole King at the
Songwriters Hall of Fame
Articles on Carole King
Carole
King - Wikipedia
Carole King at the
Songwriters Hall of Fame
Rachel Louis Snyder on Carole King, Salon, June 19, 1999
Franck Scheck on Carole King, Hollywood Reporter, July 15, 2005
Carol
King Displays Support for Obama |
