The story behind Carole King and James Taylor's biggest hits

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(CNN)Legendary singer-songwriters James Taylor and Carole King, friends and collaborators for much than 50 years, are 2 of the astir palmy musicians successful American philharmonic history.

Taylor's confessional lyrics, soulful dependable and delicate guitar-playing resonated with audiences. King started arsenic a songwriter, making a agelong database of chart-toppers for different artists that became instant classics. She broke retired with her ain benignant successful her 1971 medium "Tapestry," which became a worldwide success, selling much than 25 cardinal copies.

Here are immoderate of the duo's biggest hits and the communicative down them.

    "You've Got a Friend"

      King composed "You've Got a Friend," which she said was a opus that rapidly wrote itself. Taylor heard it the adjacent time and knew the tune was going to beryllium a hit.

      "As soon arsenic I heard it, I was conscionable like, man, that's conscionable it. That's a great, large song," recalled Taylor.

      At the time, King was signaling her ain album, but she allowed Taylor to person the archetypal ace astatine it and helium released the opus arsenic a azygous connected his ain album.

      "It was extraordinary," Taylor said of King's generous enactment of friendship.

      "Hearing [Taylor's] rendition of it for the archetypal time, it was similar ohio my God. It's perfect," said King.

      Taylor recorded it and won a Grammy for champion popular vocal show successful 1971. The opus changeable to the No. 1 spot connected the Billboard 100.

      During their Troubadour Reunion Tour successful 2010, Taylor and King played the opus together, King connected the soft and Taylor connected the guitar.

      "After I play 'You've Got a Friend,' tears are streaming down their faces, and past for that 5 minutes and 12 seconds everybody is getting along," said King.

      "Carolina successful My Mind"

      While connected a travel to an land disconnected the seashore of Spain, Taylor was missing his location authorities of North Carolina. At the time, Taylor was signaling his debut medium successful London connected The Beatles' grounds label, Apple Records.

      "I was homesick astatine the time. I didn't person a home, but that doesn't support you from being homesick sometimes," he joked successful 1970.

      Taylor wrote the tune astir confederate sunshine, moonshine and aged friends. He besides mentions a pistillate named Karen, who was with him connected the travel to the Spanish land of Formentera.

      After the opus was written, the situation was getting the opus recorded.

      "The Beatles took a break. The workplace that they were utilizing ... erstwhile they weren't there, I was there. I would benignant of scamper successful determination and enactment down a fewer of my small tracks and wide retired earlier they came back," Taylor told Seth Meyers successful 2020.

      Taylor knew astatine that infinitesimal that "Carolina successful My Mind" was going to beryllium a hit.

      "I knew it was bonzer and exceptional," Taylor said. The opus was connected his 1968 album, "James Taylor."

      Taylor told Parade, it's his favourite opus to play. "My assemblage responds good to it, and due to the fact that it wears well, I similar 'Carolina In My Mind.' I play it astir each clip I perform, and I haven't bushed of it," said Taylor.

      "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"

      At the opening of her vocation successful the aboriginal 1960s, King composed melodies connected the soft and her songwriting partner, Gerry Goffin, wrote the lyrics. They produced immoderate of the catchiest tunes of the epoch that were recorded by fashionable performers, including the Drifters ("Up connected the Roof"), the Chiffons ("One Fine Day"), the Monkees ("Pleasant Valley Sunday"), the Beatles ("Chains") and Linda Ronstadt ("Oh No, Not My Baby").

      One of these breakout hits was "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." King and Goffin created the opus and turned it implicit to powerhouse Aretha Franklin.

      King says she and Goffin had been walking down the thoroughfare successful New York 1 time erstwhile euphony shaper Jerry Wexler, a apical enforcement astatine Atlantic Records, pulled up successful a limo, rolled down the model and said, "I'm looking for a truly large deed for Aretha. How astir penning a opus called 'A Natural Woman?'" The songwriting couple, who were besides joined astatine the time, went location that nighttime and came up with the euphony and lyrics.

      What does it mean to beryllium a "natural woman?" The opus was written arsenic a thank-you of sorts from a grateful pistillate to her lover, but Aretha turned it into a broader connection astir the powerfulness of a assured pistillate who is astatine bid with herself. The opus states, "Before the time I met you, beingness was truthful unkind. But your emotion was the cardinal to my bid of mind."

      Franklin's mentation of this opus climbed to No. 8 connected the Billboard Hot 100 successful 1967.

      King made the opus her ain by creating her ain rendition for her solo medium "Tapestry." Her stripped-down mentation has a slower tempo with a much salient soft component.

      It besides was the inspiration for the rubric of her memoir, "Carole King: Natural Woman," which was published successful 2012.

      "Fire and Rain"

      Taylor wrote "Fire and Rain" successful 1968 astir his acquisition coping with a cause addiction and the decease of his puerility friend, Suzanne Schnerr, who died by suicide. He was 20 astatine the time.

      When Schnerr died, Taylor was signaling his debut medium successful London. His friends kept the quality from him due to the fact that they didn't privation to distract him from his large interruption oregon marque him sad, Taylor told NPR successful 2000. He said helium lone learned of her decease months aboriginal

      The song, portion dealing witha dense subject, was speedy and elemental to constitute for Taylor, and helium said the opus was astir therapeutic to produce.

      "That opus relieved a batch of benignant of tension. There were things that I needed to get escaped of oregon astatine slightest get retired of maine oregon get successful beforehand of maine oregon astatine slightest person immoderate different narration than feeling them internally, either by telling idiosyncratic other oregon by conscionable putting them retired successful a signifier successful beforehand of maine truthful that I could say, `There they are,' you know, externalizing it somehow. And that portion was hard, having the feelings that needed to beryllium expressed successful that way. But it was really a relief, similar a laughter oregon a sigh," Taylor told NPR.

      The opus states: "I person seen occurrence and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days I thought they'd ne'er end. I've seen lonely times erstwhile I could not find a friend. But I ever thought I'd spot you again."

      The enactment astir "not uncovering a friend" truly stood retired to King. She said, "You've Got a Friend" was a effect to "Fire and Rain." Rolling Stone reported that King told him, "Here's your friend," aft she wrote her opus astir friendship.

      The idiosyncratic and affectional lyrics connected with the assemblage and became Taylor's archetypal large deed erstwhile it was released/ It roseate to No. 3 connected the Billboard Hot 100.

      "I emotion playing it for people. And astir always, erstwhile I play that song, I get backmost to the place, to the feeling I had erstwhile I wrote it. That's rare, aft playing thing possibly 1,500 times," Taylor told American Songwriter.

      "Beautiful"

      "Beautiful" is an upbeat brushed stone opus that shares a elemental message: emotion yourself and amusement the satellite your love.

      King said the opus came done her spontaneously. She realized portion riding the New York subway that the mode she perceived others reflected however she herself felt.

      The chorus states, "You've got to get up each greeting /With a grin successful your look / And amusement the satellite each the emotion successful your bosom /Then radical gonna dainty you amended / You're gonna find, yes you volition /That you're beauteous arsenic you feel."

      In 2012's "A Natural Woman: A Memoir," King wrote astir the song's quirk.

      Carole King's legendary 'Tapestry' turns 50

      "I was unaware of a nonrecreational item astir the opus until a chap songwriter pointed it out: determination are nary rhymes successful the chorus -- unless you number stretching "will" into "weel" arsenic a mendacious rhyme for "feel."

      She added, "I inactive judge everyone is beauteous successful immoderate way, and by seeing the beauteous successful others, we marque ourselves much beautiful."

      "Beautiful" was the 5th opus connected her medium "Tapestry." It was aboriginal covered by different artists, including Barbara Streisand.

        The opus was the inspiration for the sanction of the Broadway philharmonic astir her life, called "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," which ran connected Broadway from 2014 to 2019. It chronicles King's beginnings arsenic a singer-songwriter and her nonrecreational and idiosyncratic concern with Goffin.

        The amusement received 7 Tony nominations and won two.

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