Classic Pop Icons

Carole King’s smash hit “It’s Too Late” is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons. “It’s Too Late” was released on the album “Tapestry” in February 1971 and then on single two months later.

Carole King had spent the 1960s writing a string of classic pop songs in partnership with her husband Gerry Goffin, including “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Up On the Roof,” “The Locomotion,” “I’m Into Something Good,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”. After a low key start to her solo career with the 1970 album “Carole King – Writer,” King’s real breakthrough came in 1971 with the huge success of the “It’s Too Late”/”I Feel The Earth Move” single and “Tapestry” album.

“Tapestry” featured King’s own recordings of several of her classic compositions, including “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” as well as excellent new material such as “It’s Too Late” which proved that her gift for crafting fine melodies was intact.

“It’s Too Late” was originally released as the B-side to “I Feel the Earth Move,” but with DJs starting to favour the B-side the single was soon given the status of a double A-side.

The song is superbly crafted and simply produced. The atmospheric piano part that opens the song is returned to throughout the song and has a hypnotic effect as King sings about the break down of the relationship. All musicians seem to have a chance to shine on this track, with instrumentals for both electric guitar and saxophone, and the electronic piano adding much to the overall production. Carole King would be the first to acknowledge that there are more technically gifted singers but her approach has an honesty, fragility and warmth that is well suited to a song that is concerned with communicating regret over a break-up, without apportioning blame (“But it’s too late, baby, now it’s too late/Though we really did try to make it”). As noted by rock critic Robert Christgau in his Consumer Guide review of “Tapestry”:

“King has done for the female voice what countless singer-composers achieved years ago for the male: liberated it from technical decorum. She insists on being heard as she is–not raunchy and hot-to-trot or sweet and be-yoo-ti-ful, just human, with all the cracks and imperfections that implies.”

“It’s Too Late” won a Grammy for Record Of The Year in 1972. King also won Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance Grammys for “Tapestry,” and the Song of the Year Grammy for “You’ve Got a Friend”.

“It’s Too Late” is ranked at number 469 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. “Tapestry” was ranked number 36 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

“It’s Too Late” – Carole King

Here’s a live version of “It’s Too Late” from 1971.

“It’s Too Late” (live) – Carole King

Authorship

“It’s Too Late” was written by Carole King (music) and Toni Stern (words). In a 2008 interview with the UK’s Daily Telegraph, King said:

“Toni was wonderful help with the transition from writing with Gerry [Goffin] to writing songs on my own. I didn’t have the courage initially. James inspired me a lot. I write heavily under the influence of James Taylor.”

In 2000, Toni Stern told NPR:

“I was feeling rather blue, looking for love, not being able to find it. And the first line came to me and the rest of the song just flowed. It flowed sequentially. There was hardly a rewrite in it that I can recall.”

Recording date/location

“It’s Too Late” was recorded in January 1971 at A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.

Musicians

The following musicians appeared on “It’s Too Late”:

• Carole King – vocals/piano
• Danny Kootch – electric guitar/congas
• Ralph Schuckett – electric piano
• Charles Larkey – electric bass
• Joel O’Brien – drums
• Curtis Amy – soprano saxophone.

Larkey was King’s second husband.

The “Tapestry” sessions were produced by Lou Adler. In 2000 he told NPR that his objective was to capture the natural quality that he had heard on King’s demos:

“And that was to try to do an album where you could visualize Carole King sitting at a piano, tying the piano to the artist and having Carole do as much of the background vocals as possibly and never getting too complicated with the instrumentation. It’s a fairly simple recording.”

Chart performance

“It’s Too Late” topped the Billboard Hot 100 on June 13, 1971.

The single peaked at number six on the UK singles chart.

“Tapestry” was number one on the Billboard 200 for 15 consecutive weeks, which is a feat that no female solo artist has matched since.

Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” is available on the 2-CD Legacy Edition of “Tapestry,” which includes the original album and a bonus disc of live versions. It’s also on the 2-CD “The Essential Carole King”.

The paperback edition of Carole King’s “A Natural Woman: A Memoir” is out next week.

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Tapestry – Legacy Edition (2 CDs)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now
The Essential Carole King (2 CDs)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now
A Natural Woman: A Memoir (Book)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now