Posted on 06/29/2014 4:37:52 PM PDT by blam
Aly Weisman
June 26, 2014
The Broadway musical "Beautiful" — the true story of Carole King's remarkable rise from behind-the-scenes songwriter to solo stardom — took home three Tony Awards in June, including Best Actress for Jessie Mueller's portrayal of King. "Tapestry" launched Carole King's solo career in 1971, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time.
But what many don't realize about King's career is that the musician began songwriting for other artists in the 1960s, over a decade before she became a famous artist in her own right. King and her then husband, Gerry Goffin, wrote more than two dozen hits for top artists of the time, including Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, and the Beatles.
It wasn't until divorce and a cross-country move to Los Angeles that King released her first successful solo album, "Tapestry," which included hit songs like "I Feel the Earth Move," "You've Got A Friend," and "It's Too Late." In 1971, "Tapestry," produced by Lou Adler, hit No. 1 on the charts and won a Grammy in 1972 for Album of the Year.
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Yes, she was very prolific, like Neil Sedaka, David Gates, and Mac Davis.
All politics aside, the fairly recent DVD of James Taylor and Carole King’s concert at the old Troubadour club in L.A. is just terrific.
I knew about “You’ve Got a Friend”, but the others all came as a surprise.
Agreed. “Home Again” on that album is a favorite of mine. With so many number ones on that album it doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
Didn’t know about the Motown tunes.
She’s incredibly talented.
The first time I heard a Carole king song was by a cover band in Florida at Disney. They did such a great job I just knew I had to hear more by the original artist. Amazing singer/ songwriter.
Lou Adler is the guy who sits next to Jack Nicholson at some Lakers’ game. He directed the music-related movie “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains” with a young Diane Lane playing a punk rocker.
That was a great album...
Carole was/is great. I think I was most surprised to realize she’d written “Don’t Bring Me Down” by the Animals. It’s just such a unique tune with a killer organ and doesn’t sound like anything else she’s done.
Which Motown tunes?
I thought everybody knew, “Locomotion,” was by her and Little Eva was her babysitter.
I was surprised by 2.
If you get a chance watch the documentary about the ‘Funky Bunch’. The Bunch was the heart of the Motown Sound.
Or perhaps the production values and my AM listening habits.
I'll blame Casey Kasem for ruining her for me. I was 12, maybe 13 at the time of "Tapestry".
Wow! You know about David Gates?
The song was originally recorded (but not released) by the Everly Brothers.
Chains was originally a hit for the Cookies, a girl group not to be confused with another group called the Cookies who recorded King of Hearts in 1957.
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