A cadre of stars — from Pink to Steven Tyler to Lady Gaga — gathered to honor Carole King Saturday night at MusiCares’ annual gala.
Tonight (January 26), the acclaimed singer-songwriter takes the stage at the 56th Grammy Awards to perform with Sara Bareilles — that platform becoming just one of many stages that King’s songs have graced over the course of her career.
As she stands under the spotlight this Grammys — more than 40 years after she collected her first award — MTV News counts down nine need-to-know facts about the woman whose work is woven into the very “Tapestry” of music history:
She Was The First Woman To Win ‘Song Of The Year’
There are a lot of ladies that could nab “Song Of The Year” tonight and effectively follow in King’s footsteps; she was the first woman to score that award in 1972 for “You’ve Got A Friend,” a jam that she performed with James Taylor (she also won basically all of the other awards that year).
If our psychic is right, Lorde will be the most recent woman to sit pretty on the throne.
She Has Written More Than 100 Pop Hits
She may not have lent her voice to all of them, but King has written or co-written more hits than we can count on our fingers and toes for the likes of Aretha Franklin (“(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”), The Drifters (“Up On The Roof”) and Herman’s Hermits (“I’m Into Something Good”).
She also wrote “The Loco-Motion,” the bane of middle school dances around the globe.
She Had Her First #1 Hit At 18
Sure, Lorde may have beat her by a few years with “Royals,” but Carole King co-wrote “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” for The Shirelles when you were still struggling over what to major in in college.
She’s Political
Not only has she worked to protect the environment with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, King also supported John Kerry and Hillary Clinton with their respective presidential campaigns.
She Once Had A Cat Named Telemachus
The kitty appears in a place of high esteem — on the cover of King’s 1971 smash-hit record Tapestry. Her most famous recording to date, it sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
We’re guessing sales had more to do with stirring hits like “I Feel The Earth Move” than with the feline in question, however.
She Didn’t Always Have A Way With Words
King told The Telegraph that words didn’t always come as easily when she was a teen, calling herself “lyrically challenged.”
She said that the true magic started happening when she met lyricist and future ex-husband Gerry Goffin at college in New York.
She Was A ‘Gilmore Girl’
Not only did King co-pen the theme song for the early ’00s show, “Where You Lead (I Will Follow)” — sung by daughter Louise — she also appeared on “Gilmore Girls” as the cranky owner of a Stars Hollow music store.
She Just Hit Broadway
“Beautiful,” the story of young Carole King (nee Carol Klein) just opened on Broadway, bringing all of the singer-songwriter’s trials and triumphs to the stage.
She’s An Inspiration
MTV News spoke with some respected songwriters about Carole King’s contributions to the musical canon. Here’s what they had to say:
Sam Hollander, who has worked with One Direction, Train and King herself said: “Growing up, Tapestry was the Sunday morning soundtrack in my house. It was the one record in my parents’ collection that I stole. Collaborating with Carole King was pretty much the zenith of my career. It’s been all downhill since.”
Jared Cotter, American Idol star and songwriter said: “Carole King has influenced every songwriter across all genres whether they know it not. She has the uncanny ability to lyrically connect to everyone.”
Gregg Wattenberg, Grammy Award-nominated songwriter, music producer and musician said: “Carole King’s Tapestry is one of the all-time great pure songwriting records. I listened to it side by side with the Beatles as a kid and those songs are still as magical as they were then.”
Stick with us for up-to-the-minute info on the Grammys from our Grammys Red Carpet live stream, full fashion coverage, performance highlights and the complete Grammy winners list.
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