#25 Carole King, 'Tapestry' (1971)
Previously #36
Even if you’ve never heard of Carole King, you’ve *heard* Carole King. King started her career with her songwriting partner and husband, Gerry Goffin at the famous Brill Building in New York. The pair would write songs like ‘Chains,’ which landed up on The Beatles debut record, ‘The Loco-Motion,’ a #1 hit for Little Eva, and later the breakthrough single for Kylie Minogue, and a little ditty called ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ by Aretha Franklin. The pair would divorce towards the end of the ‘60s, and King moved to Laurel Canyon, where she met James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. King was reluctant to perform live, which stunted her growth as a solo artist. Taylor, who was a major fan of the songs that King wrote, encouraged her to perform her own songs. Her debut album was a commercial failure, but this, her second was an instant success.
King recorded two of her own previous hits, the aforementioned ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ and ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow,’ a hit for The Shirelles, albeit a more serious version than theirs. ‘You’ve Got A Friend’ was written as a response to James Taylor’s heartbreaking song, ‘Fire and Rain, in which he sang “I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.” Taylor covered the song shortly after its release and had a #1 hit with it. Barbra Streisand had a Top 40 hit with ‘Where You Lead,’ Martika had a UK Top 10 hit with ‘I Feel The Earth Move.’ Of course, ‘Beautiful’ would inspire the smash Broadway musical of the same name about her life (highly recommended). King won three Grammys for this record, but she didn’t just win, she was the first woman to win Record Of The Year, as well as Song Of The Year. ‘Tapestry’ held the record for spending most weeks at #1 by a female artist. A record that would hold for 20 years. It remained on the charts for more than six years. With 118 hits in the US and 61 hits in the UK, King is up there amongst the most successful female songwriter of all time, along with Diane Warren.
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