Vinyl of the Week - 8 NOVEMBER 2020

Tapestry, Carole King

I found this week’s post one of the must challenging yet. It’s difficult to do justice to this artist due to the sheer volume of work she has produced in her outstanding career. I only manage to scratch the surface of her achievements so I hope some of you will do your own deep dive into the genius of Carole King. Born in Manhattan in February 1942, Carole was quick to find her love of music and started playing the piano at age 4. She had the amazing ability to name any note she heard and a natural flair for writing. She married her songwriting partner Gerry Goffin when she was only 17, and while the marriage didn’t last, their artistic collaboration did, together writing at least a dozen charting hits in the 1960’s. Carole went on to perform her own songs, accompanied by her beloved piano, throughout the 1970’s and has continued writing for other artists ever since. She is without doubt the world’s most successful female songwriter with 118 songs she wrote or co-wrote charting in the US. A further 61 songs charted in the UK and she kept the title of the most successful female songwriter in the UK until 2005. The list of artists that have had hits from Carole’s work is extraordinary. Too many to list here, a select few are; Neil Sedaka, Bobby Vee, The Drifters, Herman’s Hermits, The Monkeys, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin and the list keeps going. Tapestry is one of the highest selling albums of all time, second only to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide. It stayed in the charts for more than 6 years and when you play this record it becomes obvious why. Every song is brilliant and some have become standards for the aforementioned greats. This album beautifully highlights her descriptive lyrical style as well as her prowess as a composer. The tracks flow so well and it is one of those rare records you can play over and over. Carole King is one of the most important artists of our time but don’t take my word for it, go and listen to Tapestry a few times and you’ll soon agree, I’m certain - DS