Fun Facts from Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Beautiful The Carole King Musical is coming to Hershey Theatre February 20-25. You have grown up to her music or have family members who sing it constantly, but we want to share some fun facts you might not know. See how many you know below:
- At James Madison High School, Carol Klein changed her name to Carole King and made demo records with her then friend Paul Simon, the future half of Simon and Garfunkel.
- At Queens College, King met Gerry Goffin, who became her song writing partner. Their hits included
- Take Good Care of My Baby for Bobby Vee
Chains, covered by the Beatles
Pleasant Valley Sunday for the Monkees
The Loco-Motion for Little Eva
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman for Aretha Franklin
- King recorded It Might As Well Rain Until September herself. This was her only hit during the 1960s.
- King collaborated with James Taylor on You’ve Got a Friend, a #1 when Taylor performed it.
- In 1971 King released Tapestry. The album was #1 on the Billboard Charts for 15 weeks and remained on the list for more than six years.
- Later in her career, King collaborated with music legends such as Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Branford Marsalis.
- In 1997 King co-wrote The Reason, a hit for Celine Dion.
- On NPR King told Fresh Air’s Terry Gross that she was often seen as “cute” and “music became a way of identifying [a] particular niche.”
- King is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
- Often King is asked if she wrote the song You’ve Got a Friend about her collaborator James Taylor. She explained “I wasn’t writing for him... but his voice was in my brain, and he had such a profound influence on my writing.”
Many people don't realize Carole King was behind so many popular songs. Here are some of our favorites:
Be sure to get your tickets to one of the shows coming to Hershey Theatre now before they are gone.
Hershey Theatre opened in September 1933. It has established itself as the area’s premier performing arts center, presenting the finest in touring Broadway shows, classical music and world-renowned entertainers.