In both the US and the UK, Carole King, an American singer, songwriter, and composer, is regarded as the best female songwriter of the second half of the 20th century. She was born and reared in New York City, began studying the piano as a young child, and by the time she was ten, she was already a well-known pianist. In her teen years, she began to write songs. Together with her first husband and co-songwriter Gerry Goffin, she started creating music professionally in the 1960s. She began performing as a solo artist in the 1970s and took part in a number of concerts and live performances, where she also demonstrated her piano abilities. She has 25 solo albums to her credit and four “Grammy” honors to her name. She is also a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. More than 400 songs she has composed have been performed by more than 1000 musicians. The semi-biographical movie “Grace of my Heart,” released in 1996, was allegedly largely based on King’s life and recounted the tale of a teenage musician who made other singers famous.
Early Childhood & Life
On February 9, 1942, Carole King was born Carol Joan Klein into a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City. Her mother was a teacher, while her father was a firefighter. After Carole was born, the family quickly relocated to Brooklyn and acquired a reasonably priced two-story duplex.
Eugenia, Carole’s mother, was an accomplished pianist, therefore music played a significant role in the home. Carole was drawn closer to music by Eugenia’s preference for it. Since she was three years old, Carole had been practicing the piano and had found that she had a natural talent for it.
Carole was born with a highly unique talent—she could hear “absolute pitch” at the tender age of four. Soon after Eugenia began teaching Carole piano, Carole was playing at the same level as her mother by the time she was ten. Carole performed the tunes she heard on the radio while also routinely practicing to improve her piano skills.
Carole excelled in school and advanced from kindergarten to second grade right away. She originally learned about the craft of songwriting while attending “James Madison High School” as a child. She changed her name to “Carole King” while still in school and formed her own band called “Co-Sines.”
She enrolled in “Queens College” after graduating from high school, where she first met Gerry Goffin. When she was 17, she wed Goffin. The two began working together because he was also an aspiring songwriter.
After completing her education, Carole began working as a secretary and co-writing music with her husband. They wrote the song “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” which went on to become a huge hit in 1960. Their initial significant achievement was this. They gave up their day jobs to focus solely on their songwriting professions.
Career of Carole King
The couple’s remarkable career as songwriters began in the early 1960s. They put out songs like “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “You Make Me Feel Like,” and “Goin’ Back.” Songs conveying a woman’s perspective were uncommon at the time due to the male-dominated nature of the music industry. Gerry saw his wife had a special skill, so the two of them continued to work together.
Even though they experienced tremendous professional success together, their personal relationship started to suffer about the mid-60s. Carole was greatly impacted by Gerry’s extramarital affairs, and they separated in 1968. Carole used her song “The Road to Nowhere” to chronicle her heartbreak. They parted ways following the divorce, marking the start of Carole’s solo musical career.
She relocated to Los Angeles in 1968 where she worked with Toni Stern, another writer. They co-wrote “It’s Too Late,” one of her most commercially successful songs of all time. She joined forces with Danny Kortchmar and Charles Larkey, her second husband, to form the band “The City” in the late 1960s. Only one record by the group, titled “Now That Everything’s Been Said,” was made available. Carole had terrible stage fright, and several tours were postponed as a result. When ‘The City’ inevitably fell apart, Carole made the decision to start writing and singing her own songs.
Her second album, “Tapestry,” completely changed the game despite the fact that her debut, “Writer,” was a dismal failure. After being released in 1971, the album spent a total of 15 weeks at the top of the “Billboard” charts. It set a record by spending six years on the Billboard charts. The only song to surpass this significant record was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in 1982.
She wrote some of the popular songs from the albums, like “It’s Too Late” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” and sang them herself. Although her third album, “Music,” was a huge hit as well, it fell short of “Tapestry’s” standard. The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) awarded it “gold” certification (RIAA).
She recorded numerous albums in the years that followed, including “Wrap Around Joy,” “Fantasy,” “Thoroughbred,” and “Rhymes and Reasons.” For “Thoroughbred,” she worked alongside her ex-husband, Gerry Goffin. Her records frequently received the “gold” designation, and she continued to have success as a performer, singer, and songwriter.
Carole didn’t just work on her music; she also engaged in other pursuits. She became involved with social problems as her music career began to falter in the 1980s and 1990s. She fought to have the “Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act” passed. She publicly expressed her allegiance to the “Democratic Party” and got interested in electoral politics.
She was prepared to return to music by the late 1990s. The Reason, written by King, was covered by Canadian singer Celine Dion in 1997. Carole released a live album in 2004 called “The Living Room Tour,” and in 2007 she went on a successful tour with the up-and-coming artists Fergie and Mary J. Blige. She worked with James Taylor to create the successful live CD “Live at the Troubadour” in 2010.
Carole was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and four Grammy Awards over the years. She has composed more than 400 songs, and more than 1000 artists have used them, earning her an enormous reputation as a songwriter.
Individual Life of Carole King
Carole King has been married four times thus far. She wed Gerry Goffin, her undergraduate sweetheart, in 1959, and then Charles Larkey, another musician, in 1970. After a few years, both of her marriages ended in divorce.
Then she wed Rick Evers, who she later accused of viciously assaulting her and of being a cocaine addict. A couple of days after their divorce in 1978, Rick passed away from a cocaine overdose. Later, she wed Rick Sorenson. Carole collaborated on numerous projects over the course of her partnership with guitarist James Taylor.
She has four kids, including the artist Molly Larkey and musicians Louise Goffin and Sherry Goffin Kondor.
Carole King’s Net Worth
American lyricist and singer-songwriter Carole King has a $100 million dollar fortune. One of the most commercially successful female songwriters in history is Carole King. Her album “Tapestry,” which spent nearly six years on the US charts, gave her her big break in 1971. King has more than 20 solo albums to his credit and has been honored twice with induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She has also received other notable honors, including several Grammys.