Music is playing inside my head,
Over and over and over again.
My friend, there鈥檚 no end
To the music.
So wrote Carole King in 鈥淢usic,鈥� a song aptly named for the talent that has always come effortlessly to her. 鈥淚 guess it鈥檚 my native tongue,鈥� says the performer making her Broadway debut as Mrs. Johnstone in Willy Russell鈥檚 Blood Brothers at the Music Box. 鈥淎cting is my second language, and music is my native tongue. It is very definitely a gift, and I鈥檝e tried to use it well. I enjoy the effect it has people.鈥�
An understatement to be sure. Think of 鈥淲ill You Love Me Tomorrow,鈥� 鈥淯p on the Roof,鈥� 鈥淣atural Woman,鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 Too Late鈥� or 鈥淵ou鈥檝e Got a Friend鈥� and you have a song catalog that for over 30 years has not only had an impact but has served as the soundtrack of a generation.
King鈥檚 natural songwriting ability carved out a unique place in a world of rock music in the '60s, as she and former writing partner and husband, Gerry Goffin turned out hit after No. 1 hit that plumbed the depths of the teenage soul- all with a good beat that you could dance to.
Goffin and King perfected their craft as one of the writing teams employed by legendary record producer Don Kirshner. Kirshner kept his writers on their toes. If a group like the Shirelles had a hit, King remembers, he鈥檇 say, 鈥淚 want you to write the follow-up. And so all the teams of writers would go into their little cubicles and each would be writing that hit song upside down, backwards and sideways. And he鈥檇 get three versions of that song. It was a formula that seemed to work.
Another understatement. Their music has been recorded by artists as diverse as the Chiffons and the Beatles, and although she is loathe to pick a favorite version, King admits to having a special feeling when she heard Aretha Franklin鈥檚 rendition of 鈥淣atural Woman鈥�: There are no words . . . I never dreamed that it would be possible for anybody to sing a song i wrote like that.鈥� The writing duo even inspired a young John Lennon to express the hope that the Beatles could be the Goffin and King of England: 鈥淚 guess they were ,鈥� laughs King, 鈥渁nd then some.鈥�
The '70s shot King into the stratosphere with Tapestry, her signature album of 1971. The recording was the first ever to garner a female artist Grammy Awards for Best Song, Record, Album and Female Vocalist, and at 22 million copies sold still holds the record for best-selling female solo album of all time.
Since then, King has recorded numerous albums [the most recent being Carole King: In concert]. She鈥檚 been inducted into the songwriters and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame, toured the world in concert, written for movies [鈥淣ow and Forever鈥� from A League of Their Own] and even took some time to hone that second language of hers, acting in film [I鈥檒l Do Anything], TV [鈥淭he Trials of Rosie O鈥橬eill,鈥� for which she also wrote the theme] and now on Broadway with Blood Brothers.
Not bad for a kid from Brooklyn. But Carol King is an artist constantly seeking
new challenges. Broadway was one of the few mountains she had yet to climb, and music, not so coincidentally, played a part in getting her there: 鈥淏ill Kenwright, the producer, brought me to Blood Brothers,鈥� says King in her dressing room before a performance. 鈥淗e had every confidence that I could do it based on having seen me at the Royal Albert Hall in concert.鈥�
Although she was unfamiliar with the musical at the time, King read the script and the score and came to see the show: 鈥淎fter the first act, I said, 鈥業鈥檓 in.鈥� I used to come to Broadway all the time. My mom used to bring me to shows. But I never dreamed that I would be on the marquee.鈥�
Blood Brothers is the tale of the twin brothers Johnstone, born into poverty in a Liverpool slum and separated at birth by a mother who, deserted by her husband and already overburdened with five mouths to feed, gives one of the boys away to her wealthy employer to assure at least one of them a chance for a better life. The boys meet as children and become lifelong friends, neither suspecting the circumstances of their birth. But those circumstances are inescapable and bring them, finally to a tragic end. A story of class, superstition and perseverance in the face of tragedy, the musical, in its second year on Broadway is a welcome addition to King鈥檚 list of acting credits. It鈥檚 a challenge, says King to 鈥渂e this poor woman who every time she pulls herself up, something knocks her down. But even after the death of her sons, she is still trying to rise above it and find some good in it.
鈥�Blood Brothers is a show about basic human nature,鈥� she continues. 鈥淣ot 别惫别谤测辞苍别鈥檚 been a mother, but 别惫别谤测辞苍别鈥檚 been a kid. And you can relate to everything that the boys go through. People just love it. It鈥檚 touching. It鈥檚 heartwarming. And even though it鈥檚 a tragedy, at the very end Mrs. Johnstone and the entire company are singing 鈥楾ell Me It鈥檚 Not True鈥� in a manner that鈥檚 like reaching out. My last gesture in the show is a physical reaching out to the audience.鈥� And reach them she does, as The New York Times said recently, with 鈥渄isarming directness and simplicity.鈥�
鈥淚 love the show,鈥� says King. 鈥淲illy [Russell], as a writer, is so talented. He鈥檚 so gifted because as soon as you get one place emotionally, he takes you to the new place. And you鈥檙e just swept along. And that is so much fun to do.鈥� And, she continues, paying Russell, who also wrote the score, the ultimate compliment, 鈥淭he melodies are very comfortable for me to sing because they鈥檙e very much like the ones I would write.鈥�
When she鈥檚 not on Broadway or on the road, King spends her time in Idaho, where she moved in 1977. It was there she became passionately involved in the preservation of the wilderness in the Northern Rockies, and she has testified before Congress in support of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ecause industry has already taken way too much of everything all over the world. And everybody than can needs to stand up and say, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got most of it already; here鈥檚 the line.鈥� They鈥檙e still wheeling and dealing and the line won鈥檛 be where I hope it will be, but I鈥檓 gonna fight for every inch of that line until the fight鈥檚 won.鈥�
For now, King鈥檚 work in this area is on hold while she stars in Blood Brothers. 鈥淭his is my life now. It鈥檚 not only my work, it鈥檚 my life. That鈥檚 very challenging.鈥� And when asked where she sees herself in the future, King laughs: 鈥淎live! I hope.鈥� And hopefully for her fans, still making music.
