Published 12:51 PM EST, Fri December 17, 2021
Legendary singer-songwriter Carole King is one of the most successful artists in American music history. The four-time Grammy Award-winner's career spanned more than six decades.
King was born in Brooklyn in 1942 -- the daughter of an actress and a firefighter. At the age of four, she learned to play the piano and by her teen years, she was composing music while attending Queens College. That's where she met her first husband, songwriter Gerry Goffin.
The pair wrote a long list of chart-toppers for other artists. King composed melodies on the piano, and Goffin wrote the lyrics. Some of their biggest hits were Aretha Franklin's "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman," the Beatles' "Chains," and Linda Ronstadt's "Oh No, Not My Baby."
"As a songwriter, I feel that I've been given a gift to convey ideas and feelings that people feel," King told CNN in 2010. "When I wrote, 'You've Got a Friend' I felt more like I was an instrument."
King launched her own solo career with her 1971 album "Tapestry," which sold more than 25 million copies. The album hit diamond status in 1995 and was certified 13 times multiplatinum.
King's life and timeless songs have been immortalized in the Broadway musical, "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical."
In 2021, King became the third female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, according to Rolling Stone magazine, joining Stevie Nicks and Tina Turner. King was inducted by Taylor Swift.
