Excellent memoir. Life in the music biz in the 60's and 70's from growing up Jewish in NYC, meeting songwriting partner and later, husband, Gerry Goffin, writing hits for the Shirelles and the Drifters, raising kids while the husband drifts off to acidland and moves to LA, eventually following, and writing for the Monkees and the Byrds, to huge singer-songwriter success in the 70's, and beyond. Through the whole trip, it's impossible not to like her. And the writing is quality. Highly recommended. ( )

Excellent memoir. Life in the music biz in the 60's and 70's from growing up Jewish in NYC, meeting songwriting partner and later, husband, Gerry Goffin, writing hits for the Shirelles and the Drifters, raising kids while the husband drifts off to acidland and moves to LA, eventually following, and writing for the Monkees and the Byrds, to huge singer-songwriter success in the 70's, and beyond. Through the whole trip, it's impossible not to like her. And the writing is quality. Highly recommended. ( )

Very comprehensive coverage of all her music and personal life. She comes across as thoroughly decent and genuinely nice person; the personal and public persona the same. She lacked confidence growing up, apart from acting, and playing and arranging music (although later a reluctant public performer). Perhaps why she had so many men in her life, not all of them decent. But she doesn't show any malice, no matter how badly she was treated. Some of the early life is a bit saccharine for a non-American; and the commendable conservation work in the latter part can drag. But fascinating insights into her musical work and collaborations ( I hadn't realised that much of Tapestry wasn't written by Gerry Goffin; Toni Stern wrote It's Too Late, my favourite Carole King song). I was left in awe at how much she crammed into her life; and how she was never afraid to uproot and take on fresh challenges. Perhaps a reflection of her Polish and Russian grandparents. ( )

A Natural Woman, a memoir by Carole King, noted singer/songwriter/musician, was a “must-read” for me as her iconic album, Tapestry, was one that I almost wore the grooves out of in the early 1970’s. This prolific songwriter chronicles her life from her upbringing in Brooklyn during the 1950’s, right up to today. She has been a mainstay of pop music and has worked with the likes of James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and rubbed shoulders with pretty much anyone who has been part of the music scene. Artists such as The Beatles, The Byrds, The Monkees and Rod Stewart have recorded her songs. Throughout all of her ups and downs, romances, divorces, dropping in and dropping out, she never comes across as anything but a nice Jewish girl.

She and her first husband, Gerry Goffin were the songwriters behind many of the 1960 hits such as Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Loco-motion, and of course, she is the author of Aretha Franklin’s hit, Natural Woman. She has dabbled in television, movies and plays as an actor, but is best known for her music. Her song, “Where You Lead” was chosen as the theme for the popular television show The Gilmore Girls and she and her daughter were the ones to do the singing on that track as well.

The book felt much like I was reading a letter from a good friend who was catching me up with what was going on in her life. She went through 4 divorces, was abused by one of her husbands, yet remained upbeat and positive, she always saw herself as a wife and mother first, but thankfully the music was also important to her as well. The book is interesting and descriptive, but she is very careful not to spread any dirt or gossip so this is certainly not a tell-all. Natural Woman, like Carole King herself, is a cheerful, optimistic read with a strong emphasis on the music. ( )

I really enjoyed this. Carole writes easy prose, with an appealing sense of humour (Jewish). Her life is a combination of undoubted songwriting talent, a little luck with planets, places and people aligning, and more than enough troubles, doubts, and wrong directions to make it accessible. For people like me who have enjoyed the music of Carole and her companions for most of our lives, this is a joyous reconnection that fleshes out the person behind the notes. ( )

This is a fascinating memoir letting me into times and places and ways of being different from anything in my own experience. The writing style and pace made this easy to read. ( )

Carol King's memoir spans popular music from the days of the Brill building to today's era of streaming music. She met everyone and was, more or less, a child prodigy. However, this memoir isn't as interesting as it should have been, mainly because she's just too nice & never says anything bad about anyone - even her abusive husband. ( )

An amazing career with numerous accolades is detailed from humble beginnings in Brooklyn onward.
Carole King does her own audio presentation.

The plus would be little snippets that she sings to depict the moment.
The minus would be the fact that hardcover contains numerous photos.

I may need to look at the hard copy photos to complete the experience ( )

I got this book for free when I attended PLA 2012 in Philadelphia.

LOVED this book! I don't know if Ms. King had a ghostwriter or not, but I felt it was incredibly well written. (I'm a stickler for good grammar and spelling, etc.)

I knew Carole King had written many of the songs we hear every day, but a) I didn't realize HOW many it was, and b) I guess I hadn't realized she didn't write the lyrics to all her songs.... I also didn't realize she'd been married four times--wowza!

I am impressed, not only with all she's been through and has kept an upbeat attitude throughout, but also with what a good mother she is! ( )

(Audio) Not badly written, just rather dry. If the reader really wants to know how one thing led to another and who people were that assisted Carole King's progress in her career, this book will provide the information. I didn't get a sense of her personality, though, and finished the book without the feeling of time well spent. ( )

I heard Carole King give an interview on NPR and was reminded of how much I have enjoyed her music over the decades. She doesn't get the recognition of Lennon-McCartney or Dylan, but really, her songs, written with collaborators like her first husband Gerry Goffin or alone, stand up with the work of those artists. Similarly, this book seems to me as fine a musical memoir as Keith Richards' book. King is fearlessly honest about her life and her relationships, and like Richards, she is also willing to share some of her expertise about writing and producing music. Reading her book has inspired me to listen more to her music and given me a new framework for doing so. ( )

Carole King has led a life unlike many "stars". The memoir is quiet and humble, much as one imagines Carole herself after listening to her narrate the audiobook. Clearly, a woman who struggled with being dominated in unhealthy relationships, she also was content to compose for others until her peers almost dragged her into performance. It was a nice book about a nice woman who was huge in my music world. Glad I read this! ( )

This is a perfect title for the memoir of the iconic Carole King. Throughout the changing times of the Baby Boomer generation, she has always been able to remain true to herself. She is indeed an amazing, natural woman.

In her memoir, Carole tells us of her life from early roots throughout her musical career. From the beginning, her songs have been performed by a variety of musical artists. Her “Tapestry” album was released in February 1971, and remained on the charts for an unprecedented six years.

Carole also recalls her times from her personal life. She shares her childhood and early life. Carole also writes about her marriage to Gerry Goffin, who co-wrote numerous musical hits with her. She discusses in depth her achievements, accomplishments, awards, as well as her involvement in activism. She shares stories of motherhood, as the mother of four. Her memoir is truly an amazing tapestry of her life.

Photographs, many personal, behind the scenes, complete the portrait of this beautifully, natural woman. She is an amazing, gifted songwriter, musician, and singer. She is also a very down to earth, natural woman whom I admire and respect. ( )

Nice to hear in the authors own voice. She would fall into song, which was very cool, and play piano at section intervals. She collaborated on so many songs - I had no idea. Made me start pulling out old albums looking for her name. Reading was stilted to begin with, but she relaxed into the story and it didn't feel like she was reading anymore. Interesting life story. ( )

a seemingly great woman who chooses difficult/wrong men. i can relate! her life like everyone's has been an adventure and none of us will survive the ride but i am always interested in other women's rides. ( )

I loved Carole Kings' Tapestry when it came out and felt it was the best album she had ever done. As a recipient of 4 Grammys and inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is a huge statement to make. My naive knowledge of what it takes to write a song, produces it and anything else that gets it to me, the consumer, was instantly changed and I have a new awareness of that art. Ms. King left nothing out of her memoir, including her search for the perfect man and love, and how she came up short most of the time. Her family was and is a predominant part of h4er life and the love for her children shines through each time she mentions. them..

For any reader who loves music, this is the book to buy. For anyone who has a relative or friend, this is the book to give them. To know the story behind music is a treat, and handled the way Ms. King does, it is an honor to all of us as she respectfully gives, one more tine, to those who love her and her music. She chronicles her life as a shy teenager, writing music at a young age, to the subsequent moves all over the country, including the relationship with many famous musicians of the time.

You don't need a front row ticket to the legend named Carole King; buy her book and delight yourself from page one to the end. ( )

Billed as a memoir, this book is more like a biography of everyone else in music that Carole King worked with, plus her ex-husbands and daughters. Relatively speaking, not nearly as much about her own stuff.

It's straightforwardly chronological. There are some chapters that aren't about her or her family at all - just about people in music, or what was going on in the world.

Not my idea of a memoir. And I didn't bother to finish it. ( )

Even leaving out her entertainment career, Carole King has led a fascinating, full life. In her personable and engaging new book she references the many current events, societal shifts and pervasive memes that have had an effect on her, so besides being the memoir of someone at the heart of the music business, A Natural Woman is an absorbing cultural history of the last 60-some years. I couldn’t put it down.

Carole King has a lot to recount about her long love of music. She began making up songs when she was three and had her first public performance on the Horn and Hardart Children’s Hour television show at eight. As a young adolescent, her ability to compose and sing helped her begin to make the move from nerdy toward cool. Barely out of high school, she and her young husband got jobs writing popular, highly acclaimed songs, many of which are still covered, including Loco-motion and the at the time risqué Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. By the early 1970s her album Tapestry added multiple Grammy winning recording star to her list of accomplishments, and she’s still creating and performing today.

But Carole King’s career in music is only part of what makes her wide ranging story so interesting. She married and had her first children while not much more than a child herself, just before the free-love era of the later 1960s, and there were three other marriages, two more children, and several long term relationships, all of which she writes about in a reasonably candid manner. One husband became a drug addict, another was physically abusive, and she explores the reasons why she stayed with them as long as she did, and offers advice to women in similar situations. Carole grew up in the New York City area, moved with her children to the hip Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles when her first marriage ended, where she jammed with other famous and soon-to-be-famous musicians, and then lived a rugged, off-the-grid, back-to-the-land life in Idaho where she fought a multi-year legal battle to retain property rights to a road through her homestead. Because she had children while she was still young, all her musical and peripatetic adventures had to not compromise what she thought would be best for her offspring, though she admits to making mistakes. Carole’s life and her capacities for engagement and reinvention are remarkable enough to make for captivating reading, but she’s ordinary and everywoman enough to make it feel like she’s one of us. ( )