Carole King Biography

Carole King, Singer

Birthdate: February 9, 1942

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York

Sign: Aquarius

Carole King was born Carol Klein on February 9, 1942. As a child, King played piano and sang, forming a vocal quartet at her high school. After high school, she went on to Queens College. There she met pop singer Neil Sedaka and inspired his hit, "Oh! Carol!" She returned the favor and later wrote "Oh! Neil!" At Queens, she also met Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Paul Simon and Gerry Goffin.

Goffin, a lyricist, partnered with King to write songs. The two eventually married and had two children, Louise and Sherry. Both girls also became singers. Later, King would divorce Goffin and remarry Charles Larkey, but during their partnership, the two wrote hits during the 1960s for such artists as The Monkees, The Shirelles, Strawberry Alarm Clock, Aretha Franklin, and Dusty Springfield.

Some noteable hits the pair penned include "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." The pair's hits have also been covered by the likes of Marvin Gaye, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Donny Osmond, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and others.

As for King's own singing career, she had a few hits in the early 1960s, but it was in 1971 that her career took a big turn. It was then that she released "Tapestry," which achieved huge success. It was the best-selling pop album of all- time until Michael Jackson's Thriller. It is also No. 36 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of all time. It contained hits like "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "You've Got a Friend."

Her next two albums "Wrap Around Joy" and "Thoroughbred" also achieved enormous success. King continued releasing more albums, even debuting as a co-producer on 1978's "Welcome Home." King was everywhere - she wrote songs for movies like "The Care Bears Movie," and even starred on Broadway in the 1980s and 1990s.

More recently, King's "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" was the theme song to the hit TV show "Gilmore Girls." In this version, King sings with her daughter Louise. The mother-daughter pair also appeared in a TV ad for The Gap in 2001.

King has also been an environmentalist and political activist since the late 1970s. Since 1990 she has worked with several groups, including Alliance for the Wild Rockies, towards passing the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA), which would protect over 24 million acres of land in the Northern Rockies, save taxpayers money, and create jobs. King has testified twice on Capitol Hill on behalf of the NREPA, more recently in 2007. An active democrat, King campaigned for John Kerry in 2003 and 2004. In March 2008, she appeared on The Colbert Report and mentioned that she supports Hillary Clinton.

She released a live album in 2005 based on her "Living Room Tour" (named for her appearances in private homes for political/environmental fundraising). A DVD of the tour was released in 2007. In Nov. 2007, she toured in Japan alongside Mary J. Blige and Fergie (Black Eyed Peas). On July 4, 2008, she performed alongside James Taylor.

King is was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and is a recipient of the Grammy Trustees Award.