My mother, 1938 From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
Age 4 rowing From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
Age 4 at the piano From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
Family portrait, age 5 From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
Age 8 onstage From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
With mother and brother Richard, age 9 From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
With my parents, age 15 From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
Age 15 at James Madison High School From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
Age 17 writing From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
With Gerry From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
Studio, 1957 Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Wedding, 1959 From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
With Gerry, Louise, and baby Sherry From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
With Little Eva, 1961 From the Carole King Family Archives
Gerry, 1961 From the Carole King Family Archives
Louise and Gerry in Brooklyn, New York, 1961 From the Carole King Family Archives
My dad after a fire, 1962 From the Collection of Eugenia Gingold
With Don Kirshner, Al Nevins, Little Eva, and Gerry, 1962 Frank Driggs Collection/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Studio with Paul Simon and Gerry Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
With Gerry in New Jersey, 1965 From the Carole King Family Archives
Sherry and Louise in Laurel Canyon, California, 1969 From the Carole King Family Archives
With Lou Adler and Hank Cicalo at A&M Studios, 1970 From the Collection of Lou Adler. Photo by Jim McCrary
Recording Tapestry with Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, Charles Larkey, and Ralph Schuckett Jim McCrary/Redferns/Getty Images
Working on “the” tapestry, 1971 From the Collection of Lou Adler. Photo by Jim McCrary
With James Taylor and Joni Mitchell recording “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” at A&M Studios, 1971 From the Collection of Lou Adler. Photo by Jim McCrary
Grammys, 1972 From the Collection of Lou Adler. Photo by Jim McCrary
Recording Fantasy album with David Campbell and baby Molly, 1973 From the Collection of Lou Adler. Photo by Jim McCrary
Rick Evers, 1977 From the Carole King Family Archives
With Rick Evers at Kirkham Hot Springs, Idaho, 1977 From the Collection of Roy and Mon’nette Reynolds
Molly and Levi at Welcome Home, 1977 From the Carole King Family Archives
Milking a goat, 1978 From the Carole King Family Archives
Spring skiing, Burgdorf, Idaho, 1978 From the Carole King Family Archives
Homeschooling Levi, 1978 From the Carole King Family Archives
With dad visiting Idaho, 1978 From the Carole King Family Archives
Skiing with Molly and Levi in Burgdorf, 1980 From the Carole King Family Archives
Splitting wood, 1981 From the Carole King Family Archives
Idaho garden harvest, 1981 From the Carole King Family Archives
Rick Sorensen, 1981 From the Carole King Family Archives
Wedding, 1982 From the Carole King Family Archives
Testifying in DC for Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA) MCT/McClatchy-Tribune/Getty Images
The Living Room Tour, 2004 Photo by Elissa Kline
* Joel subsequently achieved success in TV, theater, and film as the director of Laverne and Shirley, George Gershwin Alone, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
* Reefer Madness was intended to alert young people and their parents to the deadly dangers of smoking “marihuana.” Among the unintended consequences were the laughter of audiences in succeeding decades and the inclusion of the film’s later title (it was originally called Tell Your Children) in the lexicon of the twentieth century as a synonym for greatly exaggerated antidrug propaganda.
* Renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in December 1963.
* Upon accepting his Grammy in 1972 for the Biggest Domestic Cat Ever to Appear on an Album Cover, Telemachus was so overcome with emotion that he could only say, “Meow.” What he meant to say was, “I want to thank my tom, my tabby, and all the fat cats who oversaw the investment of my kitty. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
* James wrote, “Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground” two years later in his song “Fire and Rain.”
* The name “Apple Corps” was created by the Beatles, thereby proving that I’m not the only songwriter unable to resist the appeal of a truly bad pun.
* Lee Sklar did not play on Sweet Baby James.
† Randy Meisner was a founding member of Eagles. N.B.: Many people say “the Eagles,” but their friend Steve Martin reports that Glenn Frey has always insisted that the band’s name is Eagles without “the.” Official Eagles material released by the band supports Martin’s story.
* Sel-Sync (Selective Synchronous) recording was developed at Ampex in the mid-fifties primarily by Ross Snyder, Mort Fujii, and Les Paul. Les Paul brought the concept of multilayered sound-on-sound performances to public popularity in 1951 with the voice of his wife, Mary Ford, on “How High the Moon” and “The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise.”
* Auratone speakers were used in the seventies by many studios for what is now called “nearfield monitoring.” In the eighties, Yamaha NS10s replaced Auratones as the industry standard for nearfield monitoring. Yamaha has since discontinued the NS10s, reportedly because they can’t get that kind of wood any more.
* David Campbell and Bibbe Hansen are the parents of the composer, recording artist, and performer Beck.
* The “yo’mama” ritual originated with black male slaves. Because they weren’t allowed to engage in physical violence, they traded verbal insults: “Yo’mama so ugly she…” “Yeah? Well, yo’mama so dumb she…” And so on.
† A starring role in 1974–75 at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood as Janet in The Rocky Horror Show would add show tunes to Abigale’s list of genres.
* Abigale sang and Charlie, Joel, and Ralph played in my set and Jo Mama’s. I played in James’s and my sets. Lee and Russ played in James’s set. Danny played in all three. After the 1971 tour, Craig Doerge would replace me in playing keyboards for James. Danny, Lee, Russ, and Craig would become known as the Section—so named because everyone wanted to use them as their rhythm section.
* Nudie Cohn’s clothing store in North Hollywood was the place to go if you were a country singer, a cowboy, or a rock star wanting country credibility with pizzazz. Customers clothed by the “Rodeo Tailor” included Roy Rogers, Porter Wagoner, Gene Autry, and Elvis Presley. When I lived in California I often saw Nudie driving around in one of his “Nudie-mobiles”—big convertibles customized with western paraphernalia such as silver coins, horseshoes, pistols (presumably unloaded), and longhorns from an actual steer. Nudie died in 1984.
* “Whiskey” was released in 1979 as the B side of the single “Move Lightly” from my album Touch The Sky. “Whiskey” did not appear on that album.
* Founders Peter Morton and Isaac Tigrett reportedly named the Hard Rock Café in London after that same bar in downtown Los Angeles. That bar also appears in a Henry Diltz photo on the Doors’ 1970 album, Morrison Hotel.
* Population numbers are approximate for 1981.
* Paul’s band in Tokyo comprised Hamish Stuart on guitar and vocals, Robbie McIntosh on guitar, Chris Whitten on drums, percussion, and vocals, Paul Wickens on keyboards, and Linda McCartney on keyboards and vocals.
* Carole King: Going Home was subsequently released as a DVD.
* I recorded two songs with Brian Wilson in 2006: Gerry’s and my song “I’m Into Something Good” and a composition of Brian’s called “Good Kind of Love.”
* Some people drink. I make bad puns and leave them in warm paragraphs to ferment.
* Carole King—In Concert was subsequently released as a DVD.
* There were three subway lines when I was growing up: BMT, for Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit; IRT, for Interborough Rapid Transit; and IND, short for the Independent Subway.
* Michael Bublé, Michael Jackson, Michael McDonald; Kenny Rogers, Kenny Loggins, and Kenny G.
† Alejandro Sanz and Alejandro Lerner.
* Other Hole in the Wall Gang Camp locations can be found at http://www.teamholeinthewall.org/.
* Monkey thoughts race through my mind in a lot less time than it takes to write or read.
* (http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/01/1995973/eugenia-gold-carole-kings-mother.html)
* (http://www.caroleking.com/rudy/rudy.html)