Carole King

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 City[?], Carole 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 Eva[?]), "One Fine Day" (The Chiffons[?]), "Pleasant Valley Sunday" (The Monkees), "Up on the Roof" (The Drifters), "Chains" (The Cookies[?]; later The Beatles), "(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin) and "He Hit Me (and It Felt Like a Kiss)[?]" (The Crystals).

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.