The artist Carole King was always “under the influence” of
There’s no conceivable way of trying to improve on what Carole King did throughout her career.
She never claimed to be the coolest rockstar in the world by any stretch, but judging by the countless classics that she has under her belt, it was much better for her to write something from the heart than try to fit into whatever kind of trend was going on at the time. She could often dip in and out of the public consciousness, but whenever she put together a song, she paid attention to the fellow voices that were making their own share of classics.
But before King was even making waves as a solo artist, there was hardly anyone who could compete with her track record with Gerry Goffin. They were practically a hit machine back in the day, and considering how many times John Lennon and Paul McCartney wanted to become the British equivalent of them, it’s not like they were being underappreciated by their contemporaries, either.
If you look at the way that King used to work, though, it’s a lot different from how you would expect from most other singer-songwriters. The biggest names in music were far more used to making music that came from those magic moments when they’re at a piano or have a guitar strapped on, but what King was doing was practically a nine-to-five gig. She walked into her office and came up with one classic after another before going home, but there was a lot more to her than that.
She wasn’t meant to be cooped up at a desk trying to give her best songs away. Admittedly, there was no way for her vocal to compete with someone like Aretha Franklin when she gave her songs like ‘You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman’, but when she saw the singer-songwriters of the day like James Taylor, that at least felt a little bit more possible than becoming a belter.
Because Taylor was far from anyone’s first choice for what a superstar looked like. He was a soft-spoken folk singer who fingerpicked his way through some of the most heartbreaking songs anyone had ever heard, and while King did eventually give him a few tunes like ‘You’ve Got A Friend’, all she needed was a small push from him if she wanted to take that next leap on Tapestry.
People like Toni Stern and Goffin may have helped set her up for being a solo act, but it wasn’t until Taylor that she truly felt like she could make it on her own, saying, “Toni was wonderful help with the transition from writing with Gerry to writing songs on my own. I didn’t have the courage initially. James inspired me a lot. I write heavily under the influence of James Taylor.” And judging by her tone of voice, it’s not like her and Taylor are all that different.
From the many times that they would perform together to the songs that they would share across their albums, something about the way that Taylor played guitar was practically made for King whenever she sang. Neither of their voices needed to have a ton of power behind them, but when looking at tunes like ‘It’s Too Late’, all you really need is that little push in the music to get your point across, rather than belting.
And judging by the amount of people who have seen themselves in the songs on Tapestry, it’s not like she ever needed to belt, either. Many people have experienced the stories in her songs firsthand, so it was better to have someone to relate to as a performer rather than one that was going out of their way to impress their audience.
