In celebration of her 75th birthday, a look at the pop icon's top-charting songs.
Billboard celebrates Carole King's 75th birthday (Feb. 9) by looking back at her biggest hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and her career highlights. Most notably, the legendary singer-songwriter's album Tapestry is among the longest-leading ever on the Billboard 200 chart.
King has notched 15 entries on the Hot 100, with four peaking in the top 10. Most notably, her double-sided single "It's Too Late"/"I Feel the Earth Move" hit No. 1 on the chart dated June 19, 1971, and ruled for five weeks. It also ended 1971 as the year's No. 3 single. "It's Too Late" also topped the Adult Contemporary chart for five weeks in 1971 and went on to win the 1972 Grammy Award for record of the year.
King's most decorated studio album, Tapestry, spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (beginning June 9, 1971) and ended the year as the No. 2 album on the list; to date, it places at No. 10 on the chart's all-time ranking. The LP won King two Grammys in 1972: for album of the year and best pop female performance. Tapestry includes songs written by King but previously recorded by other artists, including "You've Got a Friend," popularized by James Taylor, whose version hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 in July 1971, and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," first made a hit by Aretha Franklin, who had taken it to No. 8 on the Hot 100 in 1967. "Friend" also won the 1972 Grammy for song of the year (awarded to a song's writer).