What is Carole King’s highest charting single?
Some of the biggest musical legends usually don’t see themselves that way, especially if they’re women. Take Carole King, for instance—if you ask her, she would likely say she is considerably indebted to James Taylor. However, many endorsements across the board have pointed to the opposite, suggesting King is as much a maestro on her own as any of her contemporaries.
Breaking from Gerry Goffin marked a pivotal moment in King’s career, but still, she wasn’t sure if she had what it took to make it. She might have received support and praise from those around her, enough for her to realise she did have the potential to go the whole nine yards, but everything she did was her own doing. As Taylor once told her: “All you have to do is go out there, be yourself, sing your songs, and everything will be fine.”
Then, everything changed when the singer released Tapestry. Her debut, Writer, enjoyed modest success, but Tapestry is what earned her comparisons like being the epitome of the singer-songwriter movement, demonstrating her as a multi-talented musician whose songs not only inspired countless others but had the potential to withstand the test of time—and that they did.
Many songs on the album solidified King as a force, including ‘You’ve Got A Friend’, ‘Where You Lead’, ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow?’ and the title track. ‘You’ve Got A Friend’, in particular, was not just a hit but a song King held close, mainly because of how organically it came together. She reflected, “The song was as close to pure inspiration as I’ve ever experienced. The song wrote itself. It was written by something outside myself, through me.”
‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow?’ reached number one, but despite its success, King’s first highest-charting single released and written by herself was ‘It’s Too Late’, which topped the Billboard charts in 1971. Alongside staying at the top of the charts for five consecutive weeks, it also won ‘Record of the Year’ at the Grammy Awards that year, making it her most successful song, even if it was inspired by the heartbreaking prospect of a breakup.
But how many hits did Carole King write?
Whether as the primary songwriter or singer, King has penned and released multiple hits for herself and other artists. Ultimately, King’s charting success is one of the most impressive achievements of any artist, with a total of 118 songs entering the top 100. Some of these include her own classics, including ‘You’ve Got a Friend’, ‘A Natural Woman’, ‘Where You Lead’, and more.
Meanwhile, others include several hits written for others, including ‘The Locomotion’, ‘One Fine Day’, ‘Chains’, ‘Take Good Care of My Baby’, and more. Although her own hits weren’t as prolific, King’s influence cannot ever be understated, especially as it’s likely that she would have still been hailed as the forerunner of the singer-songwriter movement even if she hadn’t gained mainstream appeal.
Moreover, while King’s chart success amounts to over 100 songs, the number of songs she has written or co-written is well over 400, each collecting hundreds of millions of sales worldwide. Although not always an obvious presence in today’s industry, her impact continues to thrive, not just in the many samples still carrying her work but between the lines, with countless artists drawing on her distinctive lyrical style and emotive storytelling.
