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A review by yeahdeadslow
A Natural Woman: A Memoir by Carole King
4.0
Though I never had any of her albums till this past year, somewhere along the line in the last five years or so, I became a Carole King fan. It's hardly surprising. Being a fan of 60s and 70s music, my music library is littered with songs where Carole has at least part of the songwriting credit.
I've always thought of Carole King as a really kind, down-to-earth lady. I don't know why, she just comes off that way when she performs, and even in the way she sings. I am happy to say this book only confirmed what I had known all along, she really is like that. A "natural woman", if you will.
One of my favourite parts was getting to drool over all the people she got to meet. Though Carole never got into the hardcore hippie culture, she certainly knew (or met, at least) enough people of that crowd. She jammed with Paul Simon at their college; met all the Beatles in 1965; knew Sandy Hurvitz (no, I don't expect that name to mean anything to anyone else) in Laurel Canyon; ran into Yoko Ono in a restroom at a movie theater and then hung out with her and John at their apartment. By the time she was hobnobbing with Paul and Linda McCartney in Tokyo my mouth was agape. I am HUGE fan of Linda, and a HUGE fan of Paul, so my heart was throbbing with envy and happiness. Carole essentially ended up writing a beautiful, moving tribute to the amazing woman Linda was that had me in tears by the end.
Though this was a small part, and probably not worth mentioning, I loved learning how people-watching on the subway helped inspire one of my favourite Carole King songs, 'Beautiful'.
Anyway, definitely a memoir I would recommend, either to Carole King fans or people who are interested in life in the 60s and 70s.
I've always thought of Carole King as a really kind, down-to-earth lady. I don't know why, she just comes off that way when she performs, and even in the way she sings. I am happy to say this book only confirmed what I had known all along, she really is like that. A "natural woman", if you will.
One of my favourite parts was getting to drool over all the people she got to meet. Though Carole never got into the hardcore hippie culture, she certainly knew (or met, at least) enough people of that crowd. She jammed with Paul Simon at their college; met all the Beatles in 1965; knew Sandy Hurvitz (no, I don't expect that name to mean anything to anyone else) in Laurel Canyon; ran into Yoko Ono in a restroom at a movie theater and then hung out with her and John at their apartment. By the time she was hobnobbing with Paul and Linda McCartney in Tokyo my mouth was agape. I am HUGE fan of Linda, and a HUGE fan of Paul, so my heart was throbbing with envy and happiness. Carole essentially ended up writing a beautiful, moving tribute to the amazing woman Linda was that had me in tears by the end.
Though this was a small part, and probably not worth mentioning, I loved learning how people-watching on the subway helped inspire one of my favourite Carole King songs, 'Beautiful'.
Anyway, definitely a memoir I would recommend, either to Carole King fans or people who are interested in life in the 60s and 70s.