Mega Music Talent

Until November 1969, Carole King was known only as a songwriter. She wrote 22 Top 40 hits for artists such as Aretha Franklin and The Monkees. She penned music to classics such as “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” a #1 hit sung by the Shirelles, and The Drifters’ “Up on the Roof.” Since that time, King has gone on to achieve huge success as a solo recording artist. She has sold multi-platinum albums, won several Grammy® Awards, and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Over 1,000 artists have recorded her 400 compositions, resulting in 100 hit singles, many of which have reached the #1 spot on the charts. King is still regarded as the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music.

King became interested in music at the age of four, when she started playing the piano. She started her first band the Co-sines while in high school. She was known well enough at the time that Neil Sedaka had a hit song dedicated to her entitled “Oh! Carol.” King went on to co-write songs with her first husband Gerry Goffin. Their collaboration yielded hits like “Don’t Bring Me Down” sung by The Animals and “I’m Into Something Good” sung by Herman’s Hermits. In 1962, their song “Loco-Motion” went to #1.

Tomorrow Records was the name of King and Goffin’s first label. King went on to form a band called the City in 1968. The band included Danny Kortchmer who was formerly of Flying Machine, a group that featured James Taylor as its vocalist. The City recorded one album entitled Now That Everything’s Been Said. Some of the songs on this album were successfully re-recorded by other artists, including “You’ve Got a Friend” which was covered by Taylor.

King then resumed writing and recording her own lyrics in a solo format, which yielded 1970′s Writer. Kortchmer and several others played in the backup band. In 1971, King released her second album called Tapestry. This album contained the hit singles “It’s Too Late” and “So Far Away” and earned her a Diamond Award from the Recording Industry Association of America. Only artists selling more than 10 million albums in the U.S. receive this prestigious award. Tapestry remained on the charts for nearly six years.

Based on the success of Tapestry, in 1972 King became the first female artist to win four Grammy Awards in one year. Time Magazine featured King on their cover in 1973. King received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1988. In 2004, King received the Grammy® Trustees’ Award from The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Not only can she pen songs and sing, but Carole King is also an actor and activist. In 1994, she debuted on Broadway when she took over Petula Clark’s role in Bloodbrothers. Since the 1980s, King has also served as an environmental activist. To date, King has 25 solo albums to her name. The double-live CD entitled The Living Room is her most recent release on her own recording label, Rockingale Records.

Carole King is currently touring with long-time friend James Taylor. King and Taylor first played together at the Troubadour in November 1969. In 2007, they reunited with their original band from their early Troubadour shows, comprised of Danny Kortchmer, Lee Sklar, and Russ Kunkel. This 2010 Troubadour Reunion tour is scheduled to run through late July 2010. Some venues are already sold out, so buy your tickets soon as the other stops on this worldwide tour are sure to sell out quickly.

Author Bio: By Jake Kohler, sponsored by TicketSeating.com. TicketSeating.com sells Carole King Tickets, Concert Tickets and more to just about any events in your area.