Carole King
February 9, 1942- ?
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Early Childhood
1942~1955
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Born in New York City on February 9, 1942
Her parents (Sidney and Eugenia Klein) name
her Carol Joan Klein.
Carole excelled at the piano and her father
would show her skills off to his friends. She
learned at this early age that she did not enjoy
being the center of attention.
Started making up her own songs at the age of
three.
She started pre-school at the age of four, but
was quickly moved up two grades.
Her brother, Richard Klein was born December
4, 1948.
Carole had her first audition in 1950.
In 1951 Richard was diagnosed as “profoundly
deaf” and “severely retarded.” He was then
“placed in a facility suitable for his needs.”
(King 28)
Richards problems and the misunderstandings
of autism at the time caused a chasm in her
parents relationship.
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1955~1958
• After applying twice Carole is
accepted to the High School of
Performing Arts in New York City.
• She did not fully enjoy school
there, and transferred to James
Madison High School her
sophomore year to be with her
friends again.
• At James Madison Carole and
some friends started an a cappella
group that pushed Carole to start
composing music again.
• Carole received a deal with
Paramount and released a few
singles in 1958.
• Carol Klein became Carole King.
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1958-1966
• Carole’s parents move to a suburb
outside of Queens, “forcing”
Carole to attend Queens College.
• Carole meets Gerry Goffin and
they are married in the summer
of 1959.
• Carole and Gerry are the perfect
writing team and during this time
together they release hits like:
“Will You Love Me Tomorrow”
sung by the Shirrelles and “The
Locomotion” sung by their
babysitter Little Eva.
• Carole and Gerry have their first
little girl in 1960, and their second
daughter in 1962.
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1966-1970
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The “British Invasion” was happening,
and so Carole’s producer, Donnie
Kirshner, came up with the idea for
the group and television show “The
Monkees”.
In 1967 Gerry and Carole wrote
“Natural Woman” for Aretha Franklin.
Gerry started doing drugs to “open his
mind”.
In 1967, Gerry leaves Carole and their
children for Los Angeles.
In March 1968, Carole follows Gerry to
L.A. so that their girls won’t be too far
from their father.
Without Gerry to write the words for
her songs, Carole gets back into
writing lyrics.
1970~1977
• Carole marries Charlie
Larkey on September 6,
1970.
• In 1971 Carole released
her album “Tapestry”.
• Carole and Charlie have
two children together,
but divorce in 1976.
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1977-1982
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• In 1977 Carole is married for a
third time to Rick Evers.
• Rick and Carole collaborated on
the album “Simple Things”
which was a success.
• Rick inspired Carole to move
out of L.A., and with his help
she discovered her love of
Idaho.
• Rick was controlling and
abusive of Carole, and died of a
heroin overdose only one year
after being married.
1982-1986
• While living in Idaho Carole meets Rick
Sorenson and they are married on May 3,
1982.
• In 1983 Carole released “Speeding Time”
which “was not warmly received.” (King 357)
• After “Speeding Time” Carole took a five year
break from touring or releasing another
album.
1986-Present
• Carole started to travel back and
forth between L.A. and Idaho
starting in 1986. This hurt her and
Rick’s marriage and they divorced
June 1990.
• Carole is widely known, and still
writing music. Her recent hits
include “The Reason” sung by
Celine Dion, and the “Live at the
Troubador” album which she
wrote with her long-time friend
James Taylor in 2010.
• Carole is now 71 years old, an avid
supporter of environmental and
wilderness preservation, actively
involved in politics, and still
(happily) single.
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“The Locomotion”
• Written in 1962 by Gerry and Carole
• Was written because dance-themed songs
were popular at the time.
• Was origionaly meant for Dee Dee Sharp to
sing, but when her group declined, their
producer Donnie Kirshner, chose Little Eva to
sing it.
• Stayed at number one for seven weeks.
Click for
YouTube
video.
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“A Natural Woman”
• Written by Gerry and Carole in 1967, it only took
them one night to write it.
• Aretha Franklin’s producer asked them to write a
song with this title.
• Even though it only reached number eight on the
music billboards, it was a huge hit.
• Carole has said about Aretha’s voice: “Hearing
that instrument sing a song I had participated in
creating touched me more than any recording of
any song I had ever written.” (King 123)
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Click for
YouTube video.
“Pleasant Valley Sunday”
• Written by Gerry and Carole specifically for
the Monkees.
• Gerry’s words show his disdain for living in the
suburbs.
• Was released as a single and reached number
three on the billboards.
Click for
YouTube
video.
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“I Feel the Earth Move”
• Written by Carole King for her “Tapestry”
album. Released in 1971.
• This is one of Carole’s most requested songs.
• Carole performs this song differently than it
was recorded.
Click for
YouTube
video
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“So Far Away”
• Written by Carole King for her “Tapestry”
album. Released in 1971.
• Carole wrote this song while on tour with
James Taylor. She was missing Charlie and her
daughters.
• James Taylor was also part of the inspiration
for this song.
Click for
YouTube
video
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Works Cited
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King, Carole. A Natural Woman. New York, NY: Eugenius LLC, 2012. E-book.
Images 1-6 and image 8. King, Carole. “Carole King.” CK Art Media Inc., 2013. Web.
11 July 2013 <http://www.caroleking.com/gallery>
Image 7. “FabOverFifty.” Forever Fab LLC, 2013. Web. 14 July 2013
<http://www.faboverfifty.com/bookblog/2012/05/giveaway-carole-king-gotmarried-at-17/>
Image 9. “Dimesion Album Discography.” Last update: March 21, 2013. Web. 11
July 2013 <http://www.bsnpubs.com/nyc/dimension/dimension.html>
Image 10. “Artist Direct.” Rogue Digital, LLC, 2013. Web. 14 July 2013
<http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,3208222,00.html>
Image 11. “Wikipedia.” Last modified on 7 July 2013. Web. 11 July 2013
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasant_Valley_Sunday>
Image 12. “Wikipedia.” Last modified on 21 July 2013. Web. 11 July 2013
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Feel_the_Earth_Move>
Image 13. Stack, Dave. “MusicStack.” Web. 11 July 2013.
<http://www.musicstack.com/album/carole+king/so+far+away>
“YouTube.” YouTube, LLC, 2013. Web. 11 July 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/>