Carnegie Hall Concert: June 18, 1971

Performer: Carole King
Artist: James Taylor
Engineer: Hank Cicalo
Producer: Lou Adler
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel includes: Carole King (vocals, piano); James Taylor (vocals, acoustic guitar); Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar (guitar); Charles Larkey (bass). Recorded live at Carnegie Hall, New York, New York on June 18, 1971. Includes liner notes by Stephen K. Peeples. From the late '50s through the '60s, Carole King was one-half of arguably the best of the Brill Building songwriting teams. (Mann-Weil and Barry-Greenwich provided stiff competition for Goffin-King.) Striking out as a performer in 1968, she didn't find much in the way of success until 1971, when her brilliant album TAPESTRY came out of seemingly nowhere to become, until SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, the best-selling album of all time. THE CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT 1971, then, captures King at her height, both commercially and artistically. Recorded the week that "It's Too Late" hit #1, this 17-track set shows that fame was still a new thing for the shy Brooklynite. Her voice audibly cracks at a few points, and she rushes and stutters through her few brief song introductions. The soulful solo piano performances are uniformly excellent, though, and the surprise guest appearance of James Taylor on a sweet duet performance of "You've Got A Friend" is a highlight. TAPESTRY fans will enjoy this no end.

In the 1960s, Carole King (along with husband and collaborator Gerry Goffin) wrote more classic pop and rock songs than anybody this side of Lennon and McCartney. Working as part of the now-legendary Brill Building songwriters stable, she penned gems for the Monkees, the Byrds, Dusty Springfield, and scores of others. In the early '70s, she pioneered the confessional singer-songwriter genre with her landmark solo album TAPESTRY, in the process inspiring several generations of troubadours.

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