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Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer and songwriter, most active as a singer during the early to mid 1970s, and active as a successful songwriter considerably longer both before and after her period as a popular singer.Born in 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, Carol Klein (as she was then known) started out playing the piano and then moved on to singing, forming a vocal quartet called the Co-Sines in high school. While attending Queens College, King befriended Paul Simon, Neil Sedaka and Gerry Goffin.
Goffin and King soon formed a songwriting partnership, eventually marrying, working in the famous Brill Building, where chart-topping hits were churned out during the 1950s and early 1960s. The Goffin/King partnership first hit it big with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", which topped the charts when released by the Shirelles in 1961. Future hits written by the pair include: "Take Good Care of My Baby" ( Bobby Vee), "The Locomotion" ( Little EvaLittle Eva ( June 29, 1943 April 10, 2003) was an American singer. Born Eva Narcissus Boyd in Belhaven, North Carolina, Eva was a babysitter for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Amused by Eva's individual dancing style they wrote " The Loco-Motio), "One Fine Day" ( The ChiffonsThe Chiffons was an all girl group originating from the Bronx area of New York in 1960 The group comprised Patricia Bennett, Judy Craig, Barbara Lee and Sylvia Peterson. The group had already recorded a handful of singles when they hit the number one spot), "Pleasant Valley Sunday" ( The MonkeesThe Monkees were a four-person band who appeared in an American television series of the same name, which ran on NBC from 1966 to 1968. History of the series The television show first aired on September 12, 1966 on the American NBC television network and), "Up on the Roof" ( The DriftersAlternate meaning: The Drifters (novel) The Drifters were a long-lived American band, originally formed by Clyde McPhatter (of Billy Ward & the Dominoes) in 1953. Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records approached McPhatter after he left the Dominoes and signed; later James TaylorJames Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, originally from Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his father was a medical professor at the University of North Carolina. His family summered on Mar), "Chains" ( The Cookies ; later The BeatlesThe Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, " I Want To Hold Your Hand". The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era. Initially they affected the post), "(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman" ( Aretha FranklinAretha Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is a gospel, soul and R&B singer born in Memphis, Tennessee. On January 3, 1987 she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As a child, Franklin and her sisters, Carolyn and Erma, sa) and " He Hit Me (and It Felt Like a Kiss) " ( The CrystalsThe Crystals were one of the most successful girl groups of the 1960s. Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas, Delores "Dee Dee" Kennibrew, Myrna Girard and Patricia "Patsy" Wright formed the band in high school under the leadership of Alston's uncle, Benny Wells.). She had a modest hit singing one of her own songs in 1962 with "It Might As Well Rain Until September." The pair had a daughter, Louise Goffin, who is also a singer.
After failing several times at beginning a solo career, King eventually helped found a record label, Tomorrow Records , divorced Goffin and married Charles Larkey (of the Myddle Class ). Moving to the West Coast, Larkey, King and Danny Kortchmar formed a group called the City, which released one album, Now That Everything's Been Said but the album was a commercial failure. King then released Writer ( 1970), another disastrous failure, followed by Tapestry ( 1971), her best known and most well-received album. One of the critical albums of the singer/songwriter genre of the early 1970s, Tapestry remains her most popular album among fans and critics. Music ( 1971), Rhymes and Reasons ( 1972) and Wrap Around Joy ( 1974) followed, each selling respectably.
Goffin and King reunited to write Thoroughbred ( 1975) with David Crosby, Graham Nash and James Taylor, a long-time friend of King's. She married another songwriting partner, Rick Evers , after releasing Simple Things ( 1977); he died of a heroin overdose one year later.
Retiring to Idaho, King became an environmental activist after releasing a collection called Speeding Time in 1983. She returned to music in 1989, recording City Streets , followed by Colour of Your Dreams ( 1993), with a guest appearance by Slash of Guns n' Roses.
King is very politically active in the United States Democratic Party. In 2003 she began campaigning for John Kerry, first in the Democratic primaries and then, after he won those, in the general election. On July 29, 2004, she made a short speech and sang at the Democratic National Convention, about two hours before Kerry made his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for President.
