Our third installment of interviews by songwriters on songwriting is the amazing Carole King. I love including such a successful female songwriter in this stage of the class. We have a decent sized population of females in our class this year, so challenging the misconception that songwriting is a male-dominated artform makes me very happy.
She has written an amazing amount of hits for such a widely varying list of artists, from Aretha Franklin to the Monkees and Blood Sweat & Tears, James Taylor...the list goes on and on, including her own *multi-platinum album "Tapestry".
Carole King Playlist

As I've said before, now that you have been doing this for 9 months or so...you are all songwriters by experience. My daughter Anastasia is 15, in tenth grade like many of you, and I have witnessed her writing amazing melodies and lyrics, but she often does not like other people to hear them. One day I know she'll appreciate their beauty as I do now.
We've all realized that songwriting puts us in a bit of a Hyper-sensitive state. It's just usually hard for us to see anything but mistakes in our own work while we are so close to it.
PDF version of the interview is HERE for you to read. Responses are due by end of day Wednesday March 21st.
After reading the Carole King interview, respond below with your thoughts on what was said in the interview, what parts matched and/or perhaps challenged or seemed contrary to your own experience as a songwriter so far.
What songwriting tips or inspirations might you take from her in your next couple weeks of songwriting this semester?
These AUDIO interview from NPR are an excellent resource for more about Carol King and her songwriting ideas.
NPR Jan 2013 "For Carol King Songwriting is a Natural Talent"
Carol King - The Fresh Air Interview
Comments (Show all 73)
Adam Nahn said
at 9:12 pm on Mar 18, 2013
I'm amazed my Carole King's dedication to her songs, like when she says that other people would preform her songs better than she might. Her dedication to her songs rather than profit or ego is also obvious when she talks about the longevity of her songs. The way she composes her songs for the future instead of just writing something that would be popular right now is inspiring, and I think it is part of the reason she is such an influential songwriter, and that our songs standing the test of time is something that all songwriters should aspire to.
Eva Gianelli said
at 10:38 pm on Mar 18, 2013
Carole King goes by whats on her mind and how she's feeling at that moment. Spur of the moment feelings are the most true and whole hearted and there is something to be learned from that. Her style is unique and form fitting which i think is why her works flows so nicely together. She established the fact that she may not be the best person to play her songs which shows what the music really means to her. She doesn't need the recognition and fame to feel anything. She writes music for pure enjoyment just for herself. The love and dedication she has towards music is expressed through her creations and her actions. This laid back attitude and confidence draws people to her music.
Andrew Gannon said
at 1:35 pm on Mar 21, 2013
with listening to "will you still love me tomorrow" it also like the john hiatt song gave me that feeling of expression and that would help with song writting
Nstreit2013 said
at 6:28 pm on Mar 21, 2013
I thought that Carole's relaxed approach to writing music was interesting. She stresses not forcing anything and taking your time because otherwise the quality will go down. Her style of songwriting is similar to John Hiatt.
nilstuvlind@hotmail.com said
at 9:19 pm on Mar 25, 2013
The part I found most interesting was when the reporter asked the question: Do you find that your hands go to old familiar patterns at the piano?
How do you avoid repeating yourself? She answered that it does not really matter, its more about what you are feeling at the moment, not really focusing if it sounds similair to something else. Then once you creation stage is over, then she might change parts to make it sound less similair if necessary.
menglish said
at 10:42 am on Mar 26, 2013
Carol King had obvious similarities as well as differences with the other songwriters I've read about so far. Something that stands out to me in each interview is how all the writers talk about their music coming from somewhere else beyond them. I liked how how King talked about writer's block, relating it to this type of writing. She says writers block for her isn't really being blocked but instead, when the channel isn't open enough to let something through. Her care-free approach to solving this seems smart because focusing too much on it seems like it would just intensify it.
Lucia Voges said
at 8:34 am on Apr 12, 2016
King's mention of "write's block" in her interview was very helpful. I have always thought that when I can't think of any ideas to put down that are worth putting down, I should just keep thinking. When King says she recommends leaving your pen and paper and doing something else, it inspires me to take song writing seriously. I will often think of lyrics while in everyday life and tell myself that I'll remember them and write them down later. Now, I have an urge to always record in some way what I am thinking. King speaking about playing others' music inspires me to seek inspiration through other artists as well as my own mind.
David Orians said
at 8:00 pm on Apr 12, 2016
One thing I noticed she mentions many times was that she didn't worry about what she was writing. This is something I can incorporate into my writing because I often feel stress when I struggle to write or get things to the way I want them. I know that when you are first learning how to write, you may want to get it perfect the first time (this happens to me all the time) but, you can always go back and edit your work. This style of thinking is defiantly the mindset you should have when you go to write a song. The thought that you should wait for inspiration to come to you instead of actively trying to find it is interesting.
fmoisand2019 said
at 10:20 am on Apr 13, 2016
I thin k it is very interesting how King approaches songwriting. Her take on song form is definitely of note, how she doesn't feel the need to necessarily be bound by it if she doesn't want to. I think this is something very important to consider when writing, as it would prevent one from feeling too boxed in by the song form and thus unable to be able to create effectively. Another thing of note from this interview is how she approaches writer's block. Rather than concerning herself with sitting there trying to unblock herself, she merely lets go of the worries of creating the song, and either goes to do something else or listens to/plays songs that she likes. This is a very interesting method, and is certainly something I would want to consider when creating my own songs.
felix ansell said
at 10:23 am on Apr 13, 2016
Carol King did not care about trends so she really followed her own path and found a lot of success. James Taylor helped her get over her fear of performing live on stage. She worked with some of her friends from college to create great albums such as tapestry.
John DiTomaso said
at 10:36 am on Apr 28, 2016
What did you get from her story and music that would be most useful to us in our songwriting efforts?
Juliette said
at 10:31 am on Apr 13, 2016
I believe that not worrying about writers block is a great piece of advice, if you worry about it you focus on worrying, not finding a muse, and that makes things worse. I think her positive view of challenges translates into her positive, upbeat sings. All of us should incorporate some of this care-free writing into our work, the more fun it is to write the more fun it is to listen.
Eleonora Leto said
at 10:32 am on Apr 13, 2016
I really like the fact that she always tried to be unpredictable with her songs. She always tried to do different things with her songs, and I think that's great. I also really like that even though she can be unpredictable with all her songs, she still often uses the "Carole King chord." She also says to not worry about what you are writing, which is something that Paul Simon said too. They just write and think about it later, and I think that that is actually very helpful, especially since they are both great artists.
John DiTomaso said
at 10:42 am on Apr 28, 2016
Well said. This topic is so important, not waiting for inspiration or being stuck on what worked last time...just write.
Harjot Singh said
at 8:52 pm on Apr 13, 2016
I think it is great how dedicated Carole King was. It said the when she first went into songwriting and playing instruments, she was four years old. She started learning from her mother and many local people. Some big famous songwriters, piano or guitar players and even singers started out young but with a lot of money and good lessons. This is what made Carole King unique because she was not as privileged as some others. One more thing that I find interesting is that she was not following many "trends" of the time. This made her music interesting and different from many of the other artists of that time. She added diversity to music and made it great because her music was not full and boring. By boring I mean that it wasn't the same as all the other music. This is what made her such a great artist and a great musician.
John DiTomaso said
at 10:26 am on Apr 28, 2016
Looking for more that would help us with the songwriting process.
Arminder More said
at 9:04 pm on Apr 13, 2016
I really like how the article mentioned that Carole King wrote at least 150 "bad songs". I see how the first never comes out perfect and we all learn from trial and error. King also said that when she cam across writers block she would take break and come later. She doesn't see music as a technical equation, but writing lyrics should be something that you have fun doing and it should come naturally. Her music is also very simple and straight forward, anyone can understand what she is trying to compelling to the listener. King also was very reluctant to sing her own so gs because she had neved done it before but in the end she liked singing what she created. I would also like to come out of my comfort zone a bit through my own music. Through this I want to make music that people can relate to and from now on, I am not going to huge high expectations for my first song because I know that I will be able to achieve my goal but it will just take some time.
Kate Ray said
at 10:36 am on Apr 14, 2016
I have a new appreciation for carol King after reading this. I grew up hearing her songs with out even knowing it. I think her spirit does really shines through in the interview and comes across as very care-free. I can appreciate the feeling of the songs "coming from something beyond" her, I feel the same way when playing a familiar piece on the piano and watching my fingers do all of the work, seemingly without the help of my conscious mind. I don't quite feel the same way when I write music, though, but that may change as my understanding of music increases. I like how she didn't follow clear patterns in her songs, that's something I'd like to try out as I get more confident in song writing.
Cameron Phillips said
at 12:27 pm on Apr 14, 2016
I have to be honest, before I read this I knew nothing about Carol King. Who she was, what she did, I knew none of it. After reading these interviews, I learned a lot about what she did. I especially liked how she believed in imperfection and using music as something fun to do, not taking it to seriously. I can also relate to her because I too am very reluctant to sing my own songs, especially in public. Over all I found learning about her and listening to her music very interesting. I hope I will find ways to incorporate some of her ideas into my songs and song way of songwriting.
John DiTomaso said
at 10:28 am on Apr 28, 2016
Which ideas would you incorporate into your way of songwriting?
Ayla Hadley said
at 11:54 pm on Apr 14, 2016
Carole King is considered the best pop artist of the 1960s-70s. One thing that was interesting from the article is that she never paid attention to trends. She always composed music the way she wanted to and didn't care about the music standards. She also said to not let writer's block effect anything. Songwriting comes spontaneously and shouldn't be a forced process. King also had many years of songwriting and making music, but she wasn't always content with the outcome. This proves that even the greatest artists/songwriters of all time struggle and it takes a lot of time and practice to get a song that pleases the ear. When we songwrite we can't just sit there and force ourselves to write words and melodies on a pagebut rather this process should be enjoyable and not stressful in anyway. I 100% agree with King and this interview was very relateable and enjoyable to read.
John DiTomaso said
at 10:33 am on Apr 28, 2016
Any useful ideas from her on how to "not let writer's block affect anything"?
Stephen Powers said
at 11:40 am on Apr 25, 2016
I Have not previously heard of Carole King; however, i will not forget her after these interview. The way she speaks is very calm & emotional. She is an inspirational song writers who connects to me because of the way she writes in such an emotional way. She grew up unprivileged which is very motivational.
John DiTomaso said
at 10:46 am on Apr 28, 2016
True, but what exactly did you get that we can use in our songwriting practice?
Colin Nasson said
at 12:07 pm on Apr 25, 2016
I thought it was strange that she talked about how some of these songs came almost completely from inspiration. It's hard to imagine that a song could just come to you from inspiration. I understand that you can be inspired and work with other ideas to make your own song but I've never heard of anything like this. I found it interesting to see her strategy for dealing with writer's block. I feel that sometimes you do need to step away and not force yourself to write, but I also feel that sometimes you need to just keep writing. I also thought that her idea of song form being limitless was fascinating because many people try to write a song in one form instead of writing in a different way. Great music doesn't always have to follow a specific form.
Henry said
at 11:40 am on Apr 26, 2016
To me, it seems as though there was some amount of struggling the happened in her work. Carole seemed to really love her music up until she tried writing her own lyrics. However, when she became part of a duet, her music was turned into big hits. It just goes to show that we all have the potential to do something great. I also find it cool that she eventually met up with Paul Simon during college. It's funny that this happens a loot of the time where different prodigies from many different subjects seem to meet each other. I find that I can connect to Carole because even though I love nearly all types of music, I particularly like the music that came out of the 60's and 70's during the "Hippie Age."
John DiTomaso said
at 10:48 am on Apr 28, 2016
Henry, it seems that maybe you feel collaboration would be something that works well for songwriting, at least under certain conditions,. Can you elaborate a bit and give us something to try in our own songwriting efforts?
noelani schober said
at 11:18 am on Apr 28, 2016
I love Carol King's music. The fact that most of her music came from spontaneous inspiration inspires me because most of the time anything I do is based off of spontaneous inspiration. I love that she can take some random idea and turn it into something people will listen to and enjoy.
Luke Mansfield said
at 10:19 am on May 2, 2016
I find Carol Kings music great. I find it cool that she pretty much gets an idea and can turn it into a song. She isn't too picky either, she says that song form is limitless and that you can really sing anything you want as long as you like it.
Nathaniel W said
at 12:09 pm on May 2, 2016
I can certainly relate to Carole King's early beginnings in songwriting. Back when I gave it my first shot, I considered everything I wrote so painfully horrible it made me ashamed that I came up with something like that. What matters is using that to learn from it. Use your failures for your next success. Writer's blacks are always a nuisance as well. You know what you want to write, but you just don't know how to write it.
One of my biggest challenges with writing songs was trying to find inspiration. I honestly wanted the songs to focus less on my life and more of the style of the bands that inspired me, like Green Day, Sum 41, etc. I didn't want to write messages or lessons, I just wanted to write songs that fit the genre that they played. That might have been a problem with me and songwriting.
Like Hiatt, she says that you need a clear mind in order to write. Writing at a rushed pace is never going to get you anywhere and you need it to come to you naturally.
kade b said
at 10:12 am on May 3, 2016
I like how relaxed she is about songwriting. She doesn't take herself too seriously and it really shows in her music.
samuel said
at 10:59 am on May 3, 2016
Carole King is a great singer she inspired me to be a better son writer by listen to her music, when they interview her she talk naturally she speak from the heart. Give people better idea to think about music.
nsaoud-dimeo2018@... said
at 8:39 am on May 4, 2016
The way her music is made and how I'm making mine is completely different, the ways and thoughts she's having while songwriting is much different than what I'm thinking. The music I wanna make is a different genre than what she makes but I think that most of the way it's made is the same. I'm not sure how to interpret how she made this music from the interview but I think that she is making music from her feelings and off of life. And kinda talking about her life
nsaoud-dimeo2018@... said
at 1:18 pm on May 11, 2016
She uses feeling and words to make her music I don't use these things in making my music we arnt simular AT ALL. Her methods and technique is not what I use and I don't make music like this artist
Calvin Robertson said
at 8:09 pm on Jun 1, 2016
I think it is very interesting that it took Carole King so long to use her own music. She formed her first group at age 15 and her talent for songwriting is very apparent when you look at the list of amazing musicians she has written for. I really admire her love for songwriting and her ability to stay out of the lime light by giving her amazing creations to others just to get her ideas out into the world. It is also very cool that she fused her music style with Hip-Hop given the fact that she started writing music in the 50's and the music back then was vastly different from the Hip-Hop scene we know today.
Shaikh Prolay said
at 9:56 am on Jun 14, 2016
I like how that Carol King had so much confidence and most of her music came from her inspiration. She meet Paul Simmon when she was in college. Her interview is very calm and emotional.
Nezar Nokrachi said
at 10:54 am on Jun 14, 2016
I connect with King because she never forced her production or her songwriting. She just plays whatever sounds natural and what feels good to her. She doesn't worry if one of her pieces sounds like a piece she has already done, she just keeps going. I think the best way to make good music is to have it come naturally.
Colin Gilbert said
at 11:38 am on Jun 14, 2016
I like the way she composes herself, she seems calm and collected, like she is careful with her words in her interview, however that changes in her songs. She seems to use her voice as an instrument, leading the melody, instead of following it and flowing with the beat in the background.
Alana Raymond said
at 11:59 am on Jun 14, 2016
I like that even though King ended her relationship, she never gave up the amazing music that she made with Gerry. In fact she continued to use it as inspiration while writing her own music. She never gave up on herself when she thought she couldn't do something and she always managed to pull through and create something wonderful on her own.
Eric McLean said
at 9:29 am on Jun 20, 2016
Carole king is a more hippy type of song writer. She goes of what’s just on her mind not entirely basing it
off memories she has. Carole king was born Feb. 9 th 1942. When she was twenty or so she reminded me
of my mom. She sings more about Standing up for yourself and being able to do what you need to do. I
would say that many people like Carole King but I am not particularly in that category.
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