Women's History Month: Carole King

Born Carol Klein (she added the "e" to her first name) in 1942 to a Jewish family, Carol King grew up in Brooklyn. She learned the piano, then began singing with a vocal quartet called the Co-Sines at James Madison High School. She attended Queens College, where she was a classmate (and girlfriend) of Neil Sedaka and inspired Sedaka's first hit, "Oh! Carol." She responded with "Oh! Neil." At Queens College, she befriended Paul Simon and Gerry Goffin. She later married Goffin and they had two daughters.

Goffin and King formed a songwriting partnership for Aldon Music in New York. Their first success was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," recorded by The Shirelles. It topped the American charts in 1961, becoming the first No. 1 hit by a girl group.

While dating Goffin in high school, King became pregnant at the age of 17. Upon coming to her parents with the news of her pregnancy, they decided it was best for King and Goffin to get married as soon as possible. They married in a Jewish ceremony on Long Island. King gave birth to Louise shortly afterwards and would eventually go on to have another child, Sherry.

Goffin and King's 1967 song, "Pleasant Valley Sunday," a No. 3 for The Monkees, was inspired by their move to suburban West Orange, New Jersey.

Goffin and King divorced in 1968 but Carole consulted Goffin on music she was writing. King lost touch with Goffin because of his declining mental health and the effect it had on their children.

King sang backup vocals on Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion" which she also co-wrote. She had had a modest hit in 1962 singing one of her own songs, "It Might As Well Rain Until September," but after that it took King eight years to reach the Hot 100 singles chart again as a performer.

King followed her first solo album (a commercial disappointment) with Tapestry, featuring new folk-flavored compositions, as well as reinterpretations of two of her songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Tapestry was an instant success. With numerous hit singles – including a Billboard No.1 with "It's Too Late" – Tapestry held the no.1 spot for 15 consecutive weeks, remained on the charts for nearly six years, sold 10 million copies in the U.S., and 25 million worldwide. The album garnered four Grammy Awards including Song of the Year, King being the first woman to win the award ("You've Got a Friend").

In 1973, King performed a free concert in New York City's Central Park with 100,000 attending.

After relocating to Idaho in 1977, King became involved in environmental issues. Since 1990, she has been working with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and other groups towards passage of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_King