Gerry and Carole were born within two days of each other in February 1942. Carole started writing songs in high school and was an accepted figure at the Brill Building before she even graduated. She began dropping in on disk jockey Alan Freed at his shows in New York. In the 1978 film “American Hot Wax”, Laraine Newman plays Teenage Louise, who is based on King. (There is a none too subtle hint in the movie that Teenage Louise and Freed had some sack time together.)
Gerry and Carole met at Queens College, married almost immediately, pumped out a baby girl (Louise), and began writing songs together. Neil Sedaka, who knew Carole from high school and wrote “Oh Carol” for her, got them an audition with Don Kirshner at Aldon Music, and it all began for the couple.
Although Carole had experienced only a little musical training, she had a natural gift for melody, harmony and counterpoint. Gerry was a gifted lyricist. It didn’t take long before Kirshner realized that Gerry and Carole were his most bankable assets.
In 1960, Gerry and Carole took a tune of theirs to Mitch Miller, head of A&R at Columbia Records, and were crestfallen when Miller turned them down flat. Then they dropped in on Flo Greenberg at Scepter Records down the hall, and as a result they got the opportunity to work with producer Luther Dixon. It is rare for novice songwriters to get a song all the way to Number One on their first professional outing, but it happened here.
Note the subject matter, which is rather mature for its era. Having spent the first night together with her boyfriend, she asks whether he will still feel the same in the morning. It’s a beautiful song, both musically and lyrically, and it almost breaks your heart. Note also Luther Dixon’s use of strings in the arrangement, which ices the cake.
The Shirelles: “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”
The value of a song can be measured by how many people record it over the years, and this classic has been recorded by nearly a hundred artists over the past half century. Here is a partial list:
Dusty Springfield in 1964
Cher in 1966
The Four Seasons in 1968
Linda Ronstadt in 1970
Carole King in 1971 (This one is a gem!)
Melanie in 1973
Dave Mason in 1978
Dionne Warwick in 1983
Laura Branigan in 1984
Joe Walsh in 1992 (He rocks it!)
Neil Diamond in 1993
Ahhh...another great story and playbook from the maestro! Thanks for all your hard work! These are GREAT! :)
Ahhh...another great story and playbook from the maestro! Thanks for all your hard work! These are GREAT! :)