February 10, 1971: Carole King Releases "Tapestry"

February 10, 1971: Carole King releases her album Tapestry. It caps a career that had already seen her write some all-time classics.

Carol Joan Klein was born on February 9, 1942 in Brooklyn. A piano prodigy, she made demos for fellow New Yorkers Neil Sedaka and Paul Simon while she was at James Madison High School. At 17, having changed her name to Carole King, she met Gerry Goffin. They married, and became one of the top songwriting teams in America. Gerry wrote the lyrics, Carole the music.

Their hits included "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," Number 1 for The Shirelles in 1961; "Take Good Care of My Baby," Number 1 for Bobby Vee in 1961; "The Loco-Motion," Number 1 for Little Eva in 1962, Number 1 again for Grand Funk Railroad in 1974, and Number 3 for Kylie Minogue in 1988; "Chains" for the Cookies in 1962; and "Go Away, Little Girl," Number 1 for Steve Lawrence in 1963. All that, and she had just turned 21.

The hits kept on coming: "Up On the Roof" for The Drifters in 1963; "Hey Girl" for Freddie Scott in 1963; "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits in 1964; "Just Once In My Life" by the Righteous Brothers in 1965; "Don't Bring Me Down" by The Animals in 1966; "Pleasant Valley Sunday" by The Monkees in 1967; and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" for Aretha Franklin in 1967. All that happened before her 26th birthday.

Carole and Gerry divorced in 1968, and she moved to Los Angeles. In 1970, she met James Taylor, and wrote "You've Got a Friend" for him. That year, they each recorded an album with the song on it. James' version hit Number 1, her 1st chart-topper without Gerry Goffin.

She released her album Tapestry, and it included her own versions of "You've Got a Friend," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Natural Woman." The double-sided hit "It's Too Late" and "I Feel the Earth Move" hit Number 1.

Carole King is a dual inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: In 1990, into the Songwriters' category with Gerry Goffin; and in 2021, into the Performers' category.

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February 10, 1971 was a Wednesday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 3 games played in the NBA

* The New York Knicks lost to the Buffalo Braves, 106-99 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Boston Celtics, 114-102 at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum (now the McCamish Pavilion) in Atlanta.

* And the San Francisco Warriors beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 133-122 at the Cow Palace outside San Francisco in Daly City, California.

There were 4 games played in the American Basketball Association:

* The Miami Floridians beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 115-104 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Texas Chaparrals, 115-104 at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis.

* The Memphis Pros beat the Denver Rockets, 123-106 at the Denver Auditorium Arena.

* And the Utah Stars beat the Kentucky Colonels, 149-127 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. Merv Jackson scored 40 points.

And there were 5 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-3 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 3-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the California Golden Seals beat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-1 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.