Tapestry: Let's Discuss
My daughter Layla knows the words to every song on Tapestry and says things like “Carole King seems so free when she sings.” Layla’s friend Holly, upon seeing a recent picture of Carole and I on Facebook, texted me this:
I wouldn’t say we “hung out,” but it’s ok if that’s what it looks like.
What is it about Tapestry that speaks to generation after generation? And what is it about Carole King that makes her the most enduring female singer-songwriter of all time? Even though my personal spirit muse was Carly Simon, Carole King’s name is the first that comes to mind when I think about the singer-songwriter movement. Ms. King is Queen. She wears the crown.
What’s pretty remarkable is that almost 50 years post Tapestry, (her 1971 solo album recorded after she wrote dozens of hits for other artists) she still seems free when she sings. Her voice is clear, her range wide and her spirit timeless.
How do I know? Well, recently I was part of a gathering in the privacy of a living-room where Carole King was to perform. There was standing room only and I was in the way back. Right before she was introduced a voice in my head said, “Shelly….are you really going to witness this from So Far Away? Don’t you want to Feel The Earth Move?” After all, seeing Carole King perform up close and personal isn’t something that happens everyday…if ever. You’d better make your move before It’s Too Late.
So I slinked my way down the aisle in between 2 sections of chairs to the front where I found a small tapestried (I kid you not) bench at the foot of the baby grand. It had my name on it. Why no one else scoped it out for themselves was beyond me.
A casually dressed Carole appeared, sat herself down at the piano and sang a handful of hits from her iconic record. I had the best seat in the house. Better than front row orchestra on Broadway or the best box at the Hollywood Bowl. Soon I was back in my tiny bedroom, needle on vinyl, savoring every note.
One of my favorite tracks on Tapestry was her reinterpretation of her Shirelles #1 “WiIl You Love Me Tomorrow,”(no “still” by the way) — which felt like it could have been any young woman’s journal entry about someone she just kissed for the first time (and let’s be frank — she probably did a whole lot more). And right before she closes her eyes she’s wondering: was that for real? Was it a dream? And finally, because love can slip away as fast as it comes — a dangerously vulnerable inquiry — will you still love me tomorrow? Obviously, there was someone in her past who didn’t. The words were Gerry Goffin’s but the accompaniment to them was a perfect marriage. Oh and…she was 17 when that song was conceived. JUST STOP!
Another everlasting stand-out for me was (is) “So Far Away” — a song that keeps changing the way it affects me over the passage of time. Before I had any experience with the ache of separation it was merely 3 minutes of ear-pleasing melancholy. But before long it would be a poignant sentiment for relationships gone by, then a mantra for the passing of my mother, and currently the song that breaks my heart when I yearn for the company of my daughter.
The title “So Far Away” couldn’t be more simple. And maybe that was Carol’s gift. Tapestry was simple. Unpretentious. There was no clever word play or vocal gymnastics. Just honest story telling and straightforward emotion. It remains a breath of fresh air in a plethora of overly-processed fare that tries too hard to be heard. Carole wasn’t trying. She just was who she was.
Back in the living room I was the first to approach her after the performance. I figured she was gonna get descended upon quickly. I thanked her on behalf of SONA for signing 2 pieces of sheet music (“You’ve Got A Friend” and “Up On The Roof”) that we auctioned off at our recent summit — the proceeds will support the fight for fair pay and for the survival of a profession that is fading fast: songwriting.
I also told her that because she paved the way for so many like me I was able to write a few hits of my own. I’m not sure she heard me at that point. The descending had begun. But that’s ok. I wasn’t there to brag. I guess I just wanted the opportunity to be that young girl in a tiny bedroom again discovering herself in someone else. The girl who still listens to those immortal songs. As does her daughter. And perhaps her daughter’s daughter will too.
Long live the Queen.