Composer-lyricist, born in New York City, New York, USA. Inspired by 1950s rock, she began writing songs in high school. Working with husband-lyricist Gerry Goffin, she wrote some of the biggest hits of the pre-Beatles era including Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (1960) and Up On The Roof (1962). In 1970 she began performing her own songs and went on to make several gold albums, including Tapestry (1971), winner of four Grammy Awards, and Carole KingHer Greatest Hits (1978).
While attending Queens College, King befriended Paul Simon and Gerry Goffin.Goffin and King soon formed a songwriting partnership, eventually marrying. it was later covered by Dusty Springfield, Laura Branigan, Little Eva, Roberta Flack, and King herself. Further hits written by the pair include "Take Good Care of My Baby" (Bobby Vee and later Dion, Bobby Vinton, Stephen Collins, and Smokie) "The Loco-Motion" (Little Eva, and later Grand Funk Railroad, Tina Turner, Kylie Minogue, and Dwight Yoakam), "One Fine Day" (The Chiffons and later Aaron Neville, Rita Coolidge, and Natalie Merchant as well as King herself, in 1980), "Pleasant Valley Sunday" (The Monkees), "Some Kind of Wonderful" (The Drifters version is not the same song as the Grand Funk Rairoad version), "Up on the Roof" (The Drifters, Laura Nyro, Billy Joe Royal, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, Peter Cincotti, and later King herself), "Chains" (The Cookies, and later The Beatles), "Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Baby" (Cookies), "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin, and later Mary J. Blige, Laura Nyro, Patti LaBelle, Celine Dion, and King herself), "Don't Bring Me Down" (The Animals),"Hi De Ho" (Blood, Sweat and Tears), "Wasn't Born to Follow" (The Byrds), "Hey Girl" (Freddie Scott, and Donny Osmond), "I'm into Something Good" (Ethel "Earl-Jean" McCrea of The Cookies, and then Herman's Hermits), "Go Away Little Girl" (Steve Lawrence, and then Donny Osmond), and "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)" (The Crystals). In 1965, Goffin and King wrote a spec theme to Sidney Sheldon's new television series, I Dream of Jeannie, but the song was rejected in favor of an instrumental theme by Hugo Montenegro.
King also wrote the song "It's Going to Take Some Time This Time" (recorded by the Carpenters.)
After failing several times at launching a solo career, King eventually helped pioneer 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. Undaunted, the following year King gave thoughtful, folk-flavored reinterpretations of some of her early pop hits as a songwriter, placing them on an album alongside new compositions.
Her best-received album, Tapestry was instantly recognized as one of the landmark albums of the singer-songwriter genre of the early 1970s.
In 1973, Carole King performed a free concert in New York City's Central Park and broke all previous records for such a concert with over 100,000 people attending.
Goffin and King reunited to write Thoroughbred (1975) with David Crosby, Graham Nash and James Taylor, a long-time friend of King's. Also in 1975, King scored a number of songs for the animated TV production of Maurice Sendak's work, Really Rosie.
After releasing a collection called Speeding Time in 1983, King took a hiatus in Idaho, where she became an environmental activist. In 1990, Carole King was inducted, along with Goffin, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category for her songwriting achievements. Mirroring King's life, the film follows her from her first break, through the pain of rejection from the recording industry and a bad marriage, to her final triumph in realizing her dream to record her own hit album.
King is very politically active in the United States Democratic Party.
King also supported the Los Angeles Children's Museum.
King's "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" is the theme song to the TV series Gilmore Girls. King herself — who has appeared sporadically in acting roles — has guest starred three times on the show (in its second, fifth, and sixth seasons) as Sophie, the owner of the Stars Hollow music store.
King launched her "Living Room Tour" (in a nod to her appearances in private homes during the Democratic primaries) on July 15, 2004, at the Auditorium Theatre (Chicago, Illinois).
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