Most of Carole King’s later career has been in writing and performing her own work, but as seen in BEAUTIFUL, her career in songwriting extends far beyond her solo albums. Carole King began her career as a songwriter, partnering with her first husband Gerry Goffin as her lyricist. Goffin and King were prolific writers, and King’s most successful songs in her early career were ones she wrote for other groups during the 1960s. In preparation for Beautiful The Carole King Musical, we wanted to highlight some of the popular singers of the 1960s and the songs they helped make famous for Carole King and Gerry Goffin's music careers.
Meet the Shirelles
Image credit
The four members of the Shirelles (Shirley Alston Reeves, Beverly Lee, Doris Coley, and Addie "Micki" Harris) wrote their first song "I Met Him on a Sunday" in Beverly's apartment for a school talent show at Passaic High School in New Jersey. Later that year, record producer/label owner Florence Greenberg of what was then Tiara Records gave them a recording contract and released "I Met Him on a Sunday" as a single, where it charted at #49 in 1958. Under Greenberg's new independent label, Scepter Records, the Shirelles began gaining popularity by singing backup to more famous singers like Etta James and Little Richard and releasing new singles.
The group’s success grew exponentially at the end of 1960 with the release of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." Carole King and Gerry Goffin were eager to write a tune for the Shirelles, as were Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, but it was the music and lyrics Goffin and King wrote for “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” that Don Kirshner selected to send to Florence Greenberg. King arranged and produced the strings for the record, hoping to create a sound that would compliment the vocals from The Shirelles. It was this orchestral arrangement that sold The Shirelles on the song: when King first played the song for them, they thought it sounded too much like country music. They were eventually convinced to record it and fell in love with the lush orchestral sound in the studio. Their performance, coupled with the writing from Goffin and King, led the song to be both the group’s and Goffin and King’s first number-one song, cementing all of their success in the industry.
The Shirelles' popularity continued throughout the next few years, and they used this popularity as part of the "Salute to Freedom" event in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963, which had the goal of raising money for the March on Washington and was the first integrated show in Alabama.
Following the British Invasion and increasing competition from many other girl groups, the group's popularity slowly decreased. Their last single to chart was 1967's "Last Minute Miracle,” but their previous achievements paved the way for future girl groups, most notably The Supremes, to have success in the 1970s and beyond.
Meet the Drifters
Image credit
Goffin and King wrote multiple songs for The Drifters throughout the 1960s, including "At the Club," "Some Kind of Wonderful," and "Up on the Roof." Hitting number 5 on the US Pop Singles chart and number 4 on the US R&B Singles chart, "Up on the Roof" was the most popular of these. Goffin has said that "Up on the Roof" has his favorite lyrics he ever wrote.
The Drifters themselves have a complex history. The name "The Drifters" belongs to multiple groups, as different members came and left, and the copyright of the name, as well as management, changed hands on multiple occasions. The original Drifters started in 1953 and were led by lead singer Clyde McPhatter, who put the members together.
The version of The Drifters that sang the Goffin and King hits was put together by new manager George Treadwell in 1958 when he made a deal with the manager of a group known as The Five Crowns for them to become the new Drifters. Led by Ben E. King (known for his solo hit "Stand By Me"), the group hit a golden age with major hits such as "There Goes My Baby," "This Magic Moment," and "Save the Last Dance for Me." After King left the group and began his solo career, Rudy Lewis was hired and sang lead for the group on the Goffin and King hits. Under Lewis’ vocals and with Goffin and King songs, the group hit their second golden age and continued their success throughout the first half of the 1960s.
Meet Little Eva
Image credit
Eva Boyd served as Carole King and Gerry Goffin's babysitter before making it big professionally. The songwriting duo knew that Boyd could sing when they hired her, and they frequently had her sing on their demos.
Goffin and King's song "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for singer Dee Dee Sharp, and they had Boyd sing on the demo. After hearing Boyd’s performance (and Sharp had passed on the song), producer Don Kirshner wanted Boyd to be the one to sing the song for the record, and she took on the stage name Little Eva.
"The Loco-Motion'' was the first song released under Don Kirshner's new label, Dimension Records, and after quickly reaching the number-one spot, it stayed there for seven weeks. Following this hit, Little Eva had several popular songs throughout the rest of the 1960s, including "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" (also written by Goffin and King) as well as "Let's Turkey Trot."
To hear these songs live onstage, come see Beautiful The Carole King Musical at Olney Theatre Center July 6 through August 25. Click here to purchase tickets.
