Who Inspired Carole King?
February 2, 2023
Countless singer/songwriters owe their fame to the iconic Carole King. Artists like Pat Benatar, Joni Mitchell, Joan Jett, and Cyndi Lauper cite Carole King as their inspiration. But who did Carole look up to? In an interview with The Grammy’s, King says Rock & Roll, and the women who began in the movement, kept her dream of being a songwriter alive. “The coming of Rock & Roll came with the coming of age of me,” said King, “So, suddenly I was feeling the bass in parts of my body that I was just becoming aware of.” Here are a few of the artists Carole lists as her inspiration:
The Andrew Sisters
An American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras, the group consisted of three sisters: LaVerne Sophia, Maxene Angelyn, and Patricia “Patty” Marie. Throughout their long career, the sisters sold well over 75 million records and their 1941 hit, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” can be considered an early example of rhythm and blues. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998 and into the Minnesota Rock/Country Hall of Fame in May of 2006.
The McGuire Sisters
A singing trio in American popular music, the group was composed of three sisters: Christine, Dorothy “Dottie,” and Phyllis. Among their most popular songs are “Sincerely” and “Sugartime,” both number-one hits. They performed for five Presidents of the United States (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush), and for Queen Elizabeth II. They were inducted into the National Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1994.
Patti Page
Unlike most other pop singers, Page blended country music styles into many of her songs. With the rise of Rock and Roll in the 1950s, mainstream popular music record sales began to decline. Page was among the few pop singers who were able to maintain popularity, continuing to have hits well into the ‘60s. In 1997, Patti Page was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. She was posthumously honored with the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2013.