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You’ve Got A Friend : The Carole King Story

This film tells, in Carole’s own words, of her family and her upbringing in Brooklyn, and the subsequent success that she had as half of husband and wife songwriting team Goffin & King for Aldon Music on Broadway.

It was during this era in the early sixties that they created a string of pop  hits such as ‘Take Good Care of My Baby’ for Bobby Vee, ‘The Locomotion’ for Little Eva, and ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’ for the Shirelles, which became the first number 1 hit by a black American girl group. Not to mention the era-defining ‘Up On the Roof’ for the Drifters, and the magnificent ‘Natural Woman’ for Aretha Franklin.

By 1970 Carole was divorced from songwriting partner Gerry Goffin, and had moved to Los Angeles.  It was here that she created her classic solo album Tapestry, packed with delightful tunes but alsofor the first time her own lyrics, very much sung from the heart. The album included tracks ‘It’s Too Late’, ‘I Feel the Earth Move ‘ and ‘You’ve Got A Friend’, and held the record for the most weeks at number 1 for nearly 20 years. It became a trusted part of everyone’s record collection, and has sold over 25 million copies to date.

“YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND: THE CAROLE KING STORY” features some wonderful unseen material and home movies, and narrates her life as an acclaimed singer-songwriter. To date, more than 400 of her compositions have been recorded by over 1,000 artists, resulting in 100 hit singles

More recently, in 2013, Carole was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by the Library of Congress for her songwriting, whilst in 2014 a Broadway production ‘Beautiful’ (which tells her life story during the Goffin & King era) has received rave reviews.

Nowadays Carole King would see herself as much as an eco-activist as a songwriter. She is to be found constantly lobbying Congress in defence of the wildlife and eco-systems of her beloved Idaho.