Carole King

Carole King was born in New York, in the Manhattan neighborhood, in 1942. From a young age she was interested in music, and by the age of four she was already taking lessons. Her mother took her to rehearsals, and although the piano was a bit too high for her, she managed to reach the keys with a telephone directory. She learned to read sheet music, to play and to sing. In high school, she was part of a vocal quartet called The Co-Sines, and began recording demos with her friend Paul Simon. Some of those sessions cost her 25 dollars, but it was what she did to keep learning.

At seventeen she married Gerry Goffin, a fellow student who later became her main collaborator. They married in a Jewish ceremony in Long Island, and not long after they had their first daughter, Louise. Between studies and work, they wrote songs together. Goff, worked as a chemistry assistant, and she as a secretary. At night, they sat down to compose, and from there came some of the most famous songs in history.