Carole King's Real Name: Carol Joan Klein

Quick answer: Carole King's documented birth name is Carol Joan Klein. Biography.com lists that as her full name and dates her birth to February 9, 1942, in Manhattan, New York, saying she was raised in Brooklyn. A PBS American Masters timeline independently uses Carol Joan Klein and says she was born February 9, 1942, in Manhattan and grew up in Brooklyn (Biography; PBS American Masters).

Real name and early life

She is known professionally as Carole King. Both sources use Carol Joan Klein, February 9, 1942, Manhattan, and a Brooklyn upbringing. Biography.com's fact box also says New York, New York, which is compatible with the Manhattan wording in its narrative. PBS names her parents as Eugenia Klein, née Cammer, and Sidney Klein, and says she entered the High School of Performing Arts in 1955, James Madison High School in 1957, and Queens College in 1958, where she met Gerry Goffin. It dates her marriage to Goffin in Queens to 1959 and her first song recorded as Carole King, "The Right Girl," to 1958.

Career highlights

Both sources highlight songs written with Goffin, including "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for the Shirelles and "You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)" for Aretha Franklin; PBS also lists "Up On the Roof" for the Drifters and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" for the Monkees, and says "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was their first No. 1 and the first girl-group song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart. Biography.com dates her second solo album, Tapestry, to 1971 and says it stayed at No. 1 for 15 weeks and remained on the charts in some form for six years. PBS independently records those 15 weeks, four Grammy Awards, and worldwide sales of 25 million copies, and a place on a Rolling Stone list of top albums. Biography.com names Tapestry songs including "It's Too Late," "I Feel the Earth Move," "So Far Away," and "You've Got a Friend," and follow-up albums including Writer, Music (1971), and Thoroughbred. PBS notes her headlining debut at Carnegie Hall.

Name notes for searchers

Carol Joan Klein is the documented birth name in both Biography.com and PBS; the professional name is Carole King. Searchers looking for Tapestry or for Goffin-King songs such as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" are usually aiming at the same person.