Carole King Net Worth: How Rich Is American Lyricist Carole King?

Carole King Net Worth

Carole King is an American lyricist and singer-songwriter who has a net worth of $100 million. She is one of the most successful female composers of all time. In 1971, she made her mark with the release of “Tapestry,” which stayed on the US charts for nearly six years.

King has released over 20 solo albums, and has twice been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She has also received several big accolades including multiple Grammys.

King has written or co-authored approximately 400 songs that have been recorded by more than 1,000 musicians, including herself. Most of the top singles, she co-wrote with her former spouse Gerry Goffin during the 1960. They co-wrote King’s first #1 smash record, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” when she was only 18 years old.

Carole King Early Life And Education

Carol Joan Klein was the name given to Carole King when she was born on February 9, 1942 in the borough of Manhattan in the city of New York. Her father was a firefighter named Sidney, and her mother was a teacher named Eugenia.

Both of her parents were Jewish. King’s early exposure to music fostered an early interest in the subject, and she began studying the piano at the age of three. It wasn’t until exactly one year later that it was found out that she had perfect pitch. King went on to get professional music instruction after starting kindergarten earlier than his peers.

She was immediately moved up to the first level of education since she shown a great talent for both language and arithmetic. King went to James Madison High School when she was a teenager. During this period, she started a band known as the Co-Shines and released demo songs with her buddy Paul Simon.

King pursued her academic education at Queens College; however, she did not complete her degree and instead moved on to work as a secretary.

Carole King Career Beginnings

In 1960, King and her husband Gerry Goffin scored a tremendous success with their song “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” which was performed by the Shirelles. The song was written by King and Goffin.

When the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the two of them decided to devote themselves fully to music and quit their respective occupations.

After that, King and Goffin went on to write a plethora of more songs throughout the decade, some of which include “The Loco-Motion,” “It Might as Well Rain Until September,” “Up on the Roof,” and “One Fine Day,” respectively. “Goin’ Back” was also one of their compositions.

After King’s divorce and subsequent loss of touch with Goffin, she relocated to Los Angeles and created the musical trio known as the City. Together with the band, she recorded and published the album “Now That Everything’s Been Said.”

The City ceased to exist not long after that, in 1969. The next year, King issued her first studio album under her own name as a solo artist, which was named “Writer.” The record album reached position number 84 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Carole King Breakthrough With Tapestry

Tapestry, King’s debut album as a solo recording artist, was released in 1971, marking the year she experienced her first major breakthrough. The album was an instant success, and it remained on the charts in the United States for nearly to six years, spending 15 weeks in a row at the top place on the Billboard 200 album chart.

The singles “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” and “It’s Too Late” were among the band’s most successful releases. The album ended up taking home a total of four Grammys, including the award for Album of the Year. Many people believe that the album “Tapestry” is one of the best albums that have ever been recorded.

Carole King Albums In The 70s

After the massive success of “Tapestry,” King went on to have another massive hit later that same year with “Music.” The album entered the Billboard 200 chart at position number eight and reached its highest position of number one on the first day of the new year in 1972.

After that, King published the albums “Rhymes and Reasons” and “Fantasy,” both of which were awarded the Gold certification. In 1974, she released “Wrap Around Joy,” which would go on to become her third album to debut atop the Billboard 200 chart.

After those two years had passed, in 1978, King issued her final studio album for the Ode label, titled “Thoroughbred.” After that, she became a member of the Capitol Records roster and issued the single “Simple Things” the following year. Written by Rick Evers, the record was eventually met with negative reception. King’s subsequent two albums, titled “Welcome Home” and “Touch the Sky,” were also unsuccessful in leaving an impact.

Carole King Later Albums

Atlantic Records distributed “One to One,” King’s twelfth and final solo album, which was released in 1982. This was then followed by “Speeding Time” in the year 1983. In 1989, King made his comeback to Capitol Records after an absence of six years in order to record “City Streets.”

She published “Colour of Your Dreams” and “The Carnegie Hall Concert: June 18, 1971” in the 1990s. The latter was a recording of her very first concert performance, which took place in 1971 at Carnegie Hall. The decade of the 2000s saw the release of many albums by King, including “Love Makes the World,” “The Living Room Tour,” “A Holiday Carole,” and “The Legendary Demos,” a compilation album.

Carole King Other Musical Ventures

King is known for several other important musical contributions, one of which being the song “Care-A-Lot,” which she penned as well as performed for the 1985 animated fantasy film “The Care Bears Movie.” The following year, she composed the score for the romantic comedy “Murphy’s Romance,” in which she also appeared in a cameo role.

King contributed his song “Now and Forever” to the 1992 film “A League of Their Own,” for which he also provided the performance. Later on, she re-recorded her popular song “Where You Lead” in order to create an updated version of it that could be utilised as the theme song for the television show “Gilmore Girls.”

In 2007, King accompanied Fergie and Mary J. Blige on their tour of Japan. After some time had passed, she got back together with James Taylor for the Troubadour Reunion Tour. This tour resulted in the release of the critically acclaimed live CD “Live at the Troubadour.” After this, King said that she would be retiring from the music industry.

Carole King Personal Life And Activism

King has gone through a total of four marriages throughout his life. In 1959, she wed songwriter and business partner Gerry Goffin, and the couple went on to have two daughters called Louise and Sherry before divorcing in 1968.

Louise and Sherry were named after their parents. After that, in 1970, King wed Charles Larkey, with whom she had two children, Molly and Levi, both of whom were named after Charles. In 1976, the pair finally separated after years of marriage.

The year after that, King wed songwriter Rick Evers, with whom she collaborated on the album “Simple Things,” which was also published during that same year. Evers passed away from an overdose of cocaine less than a year after the couple had been married. After that, in 1982, King married Rick Sorenson, and the couple had a child together before separating in 1989.

After moving to Idaho in 1977, King started getting involved in various environmental causes and advocacy.

Notably, she has collaborated on efforts to advocate the adoption of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies as well as other organisations in a similar vein. King has also been active in political engagement, as seen by the fact that he campaigned for John Kerry during the latter’s run for the presidency.

Carole King Legacy

The impact that King has on the field of music is immense and will continue to grow. On the compilation CD “Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King,” which was released in 1995, a stellar cast of musicians paid homage to Carole King.

In addition to this, there have been a multitude of other artists who have covered her songs over the course of her career. Carole King’s story was adapted into a musical and given the title Beautiful: The Carole King Musical in 2013.

The show made its debut in San Francisco in 2013, and it launched officially on Broadway in 2014. Actress Jessie Mueller was awarded the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her portrayal of King, which earned her the award.