Preliminary Research Proposal

Benjaminson, Peter. The story of Motown. New York : Grove Press : distributed by Random House, 1979. HON ML429.G67 B4.

This book outlines the history of motown music and how it came to be. It also talks about how it developed and profiles the individuals who helped to create this movement, such as Berry Gordy. It is important to know the history of Motown in general to undestand how Carole King fit into it.

Carole King- I Feel the Earth Move. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoHuxpa4h48.

This song demonstrates Carole performing live, and presents one of her top hits.

Carole King Interview: Singer Songwriter Extraordinaire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZjSIu55sBs

A video of an interview of C. King helps us to better understand her personally and professionally.

Carole King- It’s Too Late. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPeVbEg1DHE.

This song also demonstrates Carole performing live, and presents another one of her top hits.

Early, Gerald Lyn. One nation under a groove : Motown and American culture. Hopewell: Ecco Press, 1995. HON ML3477 .E2 1995.

Music is itself a part of what defines a culture. As new genres pop up within music, such as motown, they are influenced by the present culture. This book will help to explain how culture influences new music genres, which will help us to understand how Carole King’s lyrics, for example, were influenced by the culture of the time.

Havranek, Carrie. Women icons of popular music : the rebels, rockers, and renegades. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2009. HON ML82 .H39 2009.

This book provides an in-depth look at twenty four different women (including carole King) who are legendary in the music industry. Not only does it provide piographical informations, but it also provides a larger context -social, musical, political, and personal- for their success and legacy (Amazon).

Mariah Carey- If it’s Over (live). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEkBcU7YZvg

This is a performance put on by Mariah, of one of the songs that she co-wrote with Carole King.

Perone, James E. The words and music of Carole King. Westport: Praeger, 2006. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.

This book focuses on the point in King’s career when she released her album Tapestry. It was largely seen as a feminist statement as King was not only singing all the songs on her album, but was in control of the production of the whole thing.

Rohlfing, Mary E. “Don't say nothin' bad about my baby: A re-evaluation of women's roles in the Brill Building era of early rock 'n' roll.” Critical studies in mass communication, 13(2) 93-114. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.

This article examines how women songwriters such as Carole King broke into the Brill Building era of rock ‘n’ roll, and paved the way for female musicians to come.

Smith, Suzanne E. Dancing in the street : Motown and the cultural politics of Detroit. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999. HON ML3792 .S65 1999.

Motown, a music genre that Carole King wrote numerous songs for, was started in Detroit. It was certainly influenced by the politics of the city at the time, and this influence stuck with the genre as it spread across the country. This book will help identify how/if politics shaped Carole King’s career as a songwriter.

Szatmary, David P. Rockin' in time: a social history of rock-and-roll. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2010. HON ML3534 .S94 2010.

Just as it is productive to investigate how motown was influenced by the culture of the time and the American society, so it is useful to look at the genre of Rock ‘n’ roll (which Carole King also wrote songs for) and how it was influenced by society.

Tawa, Nicholas E. American composers and their public: a critical look. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1995. HON ML3795 .T25 1995.

This book takes a look at the influence that the public plays on composers and songwriters in America. This will be helpful in examining Carole King’s lyrics and career decisions and making sense of them.

Warwick, Jacqueline C. Girl groups, girl culture : popular music and identity in the 1960s. New York: Routledge, 2007. HON ML3534 .W35 2007.

In this book, Warwick examines the role that Carole King played in the music industry as a singer, songwriter, and composer. She is also compared to Ellie Greenwich, who also composed, and wrote songs in the sixties, and also found great success.

Weller, Sheila. Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon- the journey of a generation. New York: Atria Books, 2008. HON ML 400 .W35 2008.

This book provides a detailed biography of these three women. It explains how they broke the traditional mold of women in the mid twentieth century.

Windeler, Robert. The sound of autobiography: Singer-songwriters, Carole King. Originally published, 'Carole King: 'You can get to know me through my music'' Stereo review (May 1973): 76-77. RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.

This article explores what C. King meant when she said, “you can get to know me through my songs.”

Zollo, Paul. Songwriters on songwriting. New York : Da Capo Press, 2003. HON ML3477 .Z64 2003.

This book is a collection of interviews, previously published in Song Talk magazine, of songwriters. They are asked about songwriting as a profession as well as their peer songwriters.

For my term research paper, I will focus on Carole King. Carole King is a legendary singer, songwriter, and pianist. She was inducted into both the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At the beginning of her career King only wrote songs for other performers. She wrote hits such as “Will You Love me Tomorrow” performed by the Shirelles, “Chains” which was recorded by the Beatles, “The Locomotion” recorded by Kylie Minogue and Tina Turner, “I’m into Something Good” recorded by Herman’s Hermits, “You Make me Feel (Like a natural Woman)” by Aretha Franklin, and “If It’s Over” by Mariah Carey.

Eventually, King struck out on her own as a singer and performer. She found great success with her album “Tapestry” which sold about twenty two million copies worldwide. She has performed with many superstars such as Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estefan, and Shania Twain.

Although she had only been known as “C. King” to many before she began performing on her own, it was as a songwriter that Carole began to pave the way for women in the music industry. She was putting in the final stomps on the idea of the “piano girl.” She was further proving that women certainly had a place in this business or aspect of culture. Alongside Ellie Greenwich, she helped women to break out of the male-dominated Brill Building sound of rock and roll.

In my term paper I plan to further investigate how King helped to pave the way for women in the music industry. I plan to examine more closely the difference between her career as simply a songwriter and her career as a performer. I also plan to investigate what had an impact on King’s lyrics, and what made her decide that she wanted to begin performing as well as songwriting.