9 Hit Songs You Didn't Know Were Written By Carole King

Long before her name adorned legendary albums and shone on marquee lights, Carole King was topping the charts; you just had to read the fine print to see it. 

As a songwriter and musician, she tallied an astonishing list of number ones. Several songs she created were performed by other artists who turned her melodies into radio staples (years before she even released her first album), reserving her originals as hidden gems for curious listeners to uncover. 

Partnering with her then-husband, Gerry Goffin, King became one half of a songwriting duo that helped define '60s pop. By the time she stepped into the spotlight herself (a 28-year-old mother of two and already one of the most successful songwriters in the music industry), her soft rock style felt like a continuation of the same intimate, honest approach on a song she'd crafted for others, only now in her own voice. 

Certain tunes debuted with King as the vocalist before gaining fame through covers, while others were tailor-made for particular artists.

Here are nine hit songs you probably didn’t know were composed by the illustrious Carole King.

1. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" The Shirelles (1960)
2. "Up On The Roof" the Drifters (1962)
3. "The Loco-Motion" Little Eva (1962)
4. "Chains" The Beatles (1963)
5. "One Fine Day" The Chiffons (1963)
6. "I'm Into Something Good" Herman’s Hermits (1964)
7. "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" Aretha Franklin (1967)
8. "You've Got A Friend" James Taylor (1971)
9. "If It’s Over" Mariah Carey (1991)

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" The Shirelles (1960)

King and Goffin married in 1959 and, a year later, wrote "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for The Shirelles, a song that captured the uncertainty of new love. The track became a sensation, marking the first-ever No. 1 hit by a girl group, The Shirelles’ first chart-topper, and the first of many hits for the Goffin-King team.

King loved the song so much that she reimagined it for 1971's Tapestry, slowing the melody and revisiting the lyrics with help from her friends James Taylor and Joni Mitchell.

"Up On The Roof" the Drifters (1962)

King (a 20-year-old with two young children and a full-time songwriting job) got the idea for "Up On the Roof" while stuck in city traffic. She and Goffin wrote the song together, and she played it for The Drifters, who were instantly impressed and added it to their growing collection of hits.

King was so attached to the tune that she recorded it eight years later as part of her debut solo album, Writer, released in 1970. 

Listen to King's version.

"The Loco-Motion" Little Eva (1962)

At just 17 years old, Eva Boyd, known globally as "Little Eva," relocated to New York City in the early 1960s to pursue a career as a singer. After auditioning for The Cookies and landing the role of "alternate Cookie," she was introduced to Goffin and King, who hired her to babysit their children. Eventually, Eva shared that she was a singer herself, and the songwriting duo quickly grew fond of her voice.

So Goffin and King got to writing and, inspired by Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time," came up with "The Loco-Motion," perfectly embodying the "dance-craze" of the era. They'd planned to give it to Sharp, but the demo Little Eva recorded was so incredible that Dimension Records released it as her first (and most famous) single! 

This marked King’s third number-one hit before she ever released an album of her own. Notable covers followed, including versions by Grand Funk Railroad in 1974 and Kylie Minogue in 1988. The icon also recorded her own version as part of Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King, released in 1980. 

Listen to King's version.

"Chains" The Beatles (1963)

The Cookies actually had more success with Goffin and King's tune "Chains" than The Beatles did. The Cookies released the song as a single in 1962, reaching No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Beatles, meanwhile, were so compelled by the track that they included their own version on their debut album, Please Please Me, in 1963, with George Harrison on lead vocals. 

The Fab Four’s version did not chart. King recorded the tune herself years later for Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King. 

Listen to King's version.

"One Fine Day" The Chiffons (1963)

Goffin and King's creativity was on full display in the early 1960s, as exemplified by a string of pop hits including "One Fine Day." They originally wrote the song for Little Eva, their babysitter and the voice behind "The Loco-Motion." But when her vocals didn't quite match their vision, they passed the song to The Chiffons, who had just scored with "He's So Fine."

The Chiffons took the tune and ran with it, all the way to the top of the charts in March 1963. King released a version included in Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King, and it peaked at No. 12 nearly 17 years after its initial release. 

Listen to King's version.

"I'm Into Something Good" Herman’s Hermits (1964)

As is the case with many songs penned by Goffin and King, "I'm Into Something Good" was not originally written for Herman's Hermits. The track was created for The Cookies' vocalist Earl-Jean "Jeanie" McCrea, who was pregnant with Goffin's love child at the time. Still married to Goffin and caring for their children, there has been much speculation about how King felt when the song didn’t top the charts. McCrea, too, was married at the time of the affair.

Later that year, the song was revived as the debut track for British group Herman's Hermits. Their version topped charts in the U.K and peaked at No. 20 in the U.S.

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" Aretha Franklin (1967)

A handful of tunes composed by Goffin (typically the lyricist) and King (typically the melody aficionado) were conceived with a particular artist in mind, such was the case with "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." The songwriting duo wrote this track specifically for Aretha Franklin in 1967, who took the emotional ballad to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song resonated with King, who recorded it three years later for one of her most beloved albums, 1971's Tapestry.

More than 40 years later, she revived the title for her 2012 memoir (and New York Times bestseller) A Natural Woman. Celine Dion also released a popular cover of the track in 1995 as a tribute to King.

Listen to King's version.

"You've Got A Friend" James Taylor (1971)

James Taylor and Carole King were more than musical colleagues; they were very close friends. They toured side by side, inspired each other’s albums, and often shared the stage.

During a performance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles in the early ’70s, King began playing a song on the piano that moved Taylor so much he reportedly dashed offstage to grab his guitar and join in. That song was "You've Got a Friend," which King wrote in response to a line in Taylor's "Fire and Rain," released a year earlier.

In a 2026 interview with Stephen Colbert, Taylor revealed that he recorded "You've Got a Friend" before King had even released it on Tapestry. When he told King he’d included the song, one he called the “best song written by a human being,” on his upcoming Sweet Baby James album, she didn’t hesitate or object. Instead, she simply told him it was “great.”

Listen to King's version.

"If It’s Over" Mariah Carey (1991)

Mariah Carey was recording her second album, Emotions, in 1991, when she received a call from none other than Carole King, asking her to record "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman," a song she and Goffin composed for Aretha Franklin a few decades prior. Carey was intimidated to cover the celebrated ballad, so King flew to New York City, and they wrote a song together, just for Carey. 

The result was "If It's Over," a powerful gospel ballad released in 1991 that Carey later performed at the 1992 Grammy Awards.

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