The cover that made Carole King say “OK, I can die now”
There’s something ethereal that ebbs from Carole King through every inch of her artistry – how just one woman can harness such musical power both in her own right and also pass it on to others, by penning some of the greatest hits of all time. Whether in her own songs like ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ or The Shirelles’ 1960 chart topping smash, ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’, as a musician she is laced with a golden touch that shimmers in each note.
Of course, it goes without saying that among all of these is perhaps her most illustrious effort of all, the now classic standard ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’, made famous by Aretha Franklin on her 1967 album Lady Soul. Indeed, the Queen of Soul’s version of the song prompted King herself to lend her voice to the music she had written on her 1971 album Tapestry, but not before the track had already taken the world by storm as a celebration of feminine beauty.
Beginning in a place of utter desolation and depletion, Franklin’s rousing vocal launched the tune into the stratosphere with King’s melodies also providing the backdrop for an anthem that charts the complete journey of personal agony to ecstasy in the space of just a few short minutes. It’s a remarkable feat of song that you’d think the writer would be more aware of, but it took Franklin’s sonic soul for her to realise its full power.
King told BBC Radio 2 in 2017 that: “The first time I heard her [Franklin] performing it on record, I was like, ‘OK, I can die now’ – but I’m rather glad I didn’t,” she joked. Scoring a top ten hit at the time in the US, but failing to chart very highly anywhere else, it wasn’t until later that the full glory of the song enlightened itself to the world, and in doing so cemented Franklin as an icon of the airwaves in an unmatched calibre.
To that end, it surprisingly wasn’t until 2015 that Franklin committed perhaps her most famous performance of the song – and indeed of her career. King was being presented an award at the Kennedy Centre Honours when the Queen of Soul unexpectedly rocked on to stage in tribute to her friend, and sang their most precious shared song.
Recalling that experience, King continued: “When she [came] out on stage, that was lovely. But when she sat down at the piano, I turned to Sheri [King’s daughter] and I said, ‘She’s playing!’. I can’t tell you hoe exciting and thrilling that was for me.” Thus, an iconic moment was born – but it was only down to the power of two blazing women who lit the firework of a worldwide anthem.
Since Franklin’s tragic passing in 2018, it only brings into even sharper focus what musical genius that both she and Carole King heralded in order to create, quite simply, one of the best songs of all time. It didn’t need flashy production or some hugely contrived message – just a universal truth, and an absolutely killer vocal to go along with it.
