Carole King Klein
(Born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942)
is an American
singer-songwriter
and musician
renowned for her
extensive contributions
to popular music.
She wrote or co-wrote
118 songs that
charted on the
Billboard Hot 100
during the latter half
of the
20th century
and 61 songs
that reached
the UK charts,
establishing her as
the most successful
female songwriter
on the UK
singles charts
from
1962 to 2005.
In the 1960s,
King and her first husband,
Gerry Goffin,
composed over
two dozen hit songs
for various artists,
many of which
remain standards.
She transitioned to a
solo performing career
in the 1970s,
following her
debut album
Writer
(1970)
with the
critically acclaimed
Tapestry
(1971),
which topped the
U.S. album chart
for 15 weeks
and stayed on
the charts for
over six years.
King has released
25 solo albums,
with
Tapestry
being her most successful,
and has sold over
75 million
records worldwide.
Her honors include
four Grammy Awards,
inductions into
the Songwriters Hall of Fame
and twice
into the
Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
(as a performer and songwriter),
the 2013
Library of Congress
Gershwin Prize
for Popular Song
(as its first female recipient),
and the
2015
Kennedy Center Honors.
