For those of us of a certain generation, Carole King provided the soundscape of our lives. I grew up in the 60s and 70s and her album Tapestry was on replay and I knew all the songs by heart. I was 13 when she made the audacious move and released this classic as a solo artist. Her songs were narratives from her own life. At their best, songwriters are consummate storytellers. She has long been one of the best and most prolific and she has the awards to show for it. From numerous Grammys, to the Kennedy Center Honors and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she is a shining star. She has written mega hits that others went on to perform and record, some with her former husband Gerry Goffin. These include The Locomotion, One Fine Day, and It’s Too Late. I was tickled to learn that she had also penned a song that the Monkees recorded, Another Pleasant Valley Sunday. Many of their/her songs landed on the Billboard Top 100 and remained for numerous weeks. They have a playful and friendly competition with other singer-songwriters Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann and they see-saw back and forth with songs on the Billboard chart.
When I saw that a musical which focuses on pivotal moments in King’s life was in its waning days at The Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, I mused with my bestie Barb about it. She wasn’t about to let me keep it at wish level, so she looked up available dates and times and got the tickets.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical begins in the Brooklyn apartment that she shared with her mother after her father left. 16 year old Carol Klein was excited about a song she had written, called It Might As Well Rain Until September. She planned to bring it to music producer, Don Kirschner but her mother wanted her to keep her dreams smaller and encouraged her to choose a safe career as a teacher. Precocious Carol was enrolled in college at 16, having skipped two grades. She made a deal with her mother that if her song was better than one she heard on the tv or radio and if Don Kirschner wanted it, she would pursue her musical passion. She had the chutzpah and teenage enthusiasm to show up unannounced. He was delighted with her and the song and brought her on board. She chose the stage name Carole King, anglicizing her given name as many Jewish performers chose to do. While in school, King meets charming Gerry Goffin. She is surprised that he not only saw them as a songwriting team but wanted a romantic partnership as well. He was tall and handsome and King felt plain by comparison. It is a feeling that remained with her throughout their roller coaster ride of a marriage. As I observed his behavior, my psychotherapist instincts kicked in and I thought, “He has Bipolar Disorder.” My intuition was validated as he experiences what back then was called a ‘nervous breakdown,’ and faithful King sits at his hospital bedside telling him that he can come home and they can start again. Sadly, he, himself, was not faithful and King decided that she deserved better. Despite leaving the 10 year marriage, they remained on friendly terms as co-parents of their daughters Louise and Sherry, both talented performers themselves. At the end of the musical, Goffin shows up in her dressing room to wish King good luck as she is about to grace the Carnegie Hall stage for the performance of a lifetime. Goffin died in 2014.
At 82, King is still rocking the stage and seems to be in love with life as it is now. She survived the heartbreak of roller coaster ride with Goffin, as well as an abusive marriage with Rick Evers which ended when he died of a heroin overdose.
As I sat in the theater, I sang along in my head, playing Name That Tune, as I guessed the songs within a note or two. A rousing standing ovation and an encouragement of audience participation arrived with the finale I Feel the Earth Move. If you can, go see this beyond beautiful musical.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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Featured image credit: Angela George on Wikimedia under CC License
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