<p id=”par-1_36″>The Beatles’ <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/john-lennon/?swcfpc=1″>John Lennon</a> and Paul McCartney initially wanted to <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/carole-king-kind-wishes-nothing-disturbing-song.html/”>be like Carole King</a>. Then another rock star changed John’s approach to music. The “Give Peace a Chance” singer’s comments on King seem like backhanded compliments.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-carole-king-inspired-john-lennon-and-paul-mccartney-before-she-was-a-household-name”>Carole King inspired John Lennon and Paul McCartney before she was a household name</h2>
<p id=”par-2_42″>Firstly, some background. King did not initially become notable for being a pop star. She became notable for being one of the biggest pop songwriters of the 1960s. She and her husband, Gerry Goffin, were behind a long string of hits. </p>
<p id=”par-3_73″>Together, they penned <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/1-major-singer-wrote-little-evas-the-loco-motion.html/”>Little Eva’s “The Loco-Motion,”</a> The Shirelles’ “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-monkees-micky-dolenz-laughed-urban-legend-pleasant-valley-sunday-exclusive.html/”>The Monkees’ “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”</a> They were also behind great tunes that were not hits, such as the Prefab Four’s “Porpoise Song” and The Crystal’s “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss).” King did not become a household name until she released her 1971 album <em>Tapestry</em>.</p>
<p id=”par-4_122″>During a 1971 interview in the book <em><a href=”https://www.everand.com/read/348507863/Lennon-On-Lennon-Conversations-With-John-Lennon#c_search-menu_985400″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon</a></em>, the “Nobody Told Me” singer discussed the onset of <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/mick-jagger-on-why-the-john-lennon-paul-mccartney-partnership-ended.html/”>the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership</a>. “In the early days, Paul and I, we wanted to be the [Gerry] Goffin and [Carole] King of England, you know,” he said. “Goffin and King were very big in those days, and we used to <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-named-favorite-buddy-holly-song.html/”>want to be Buddy Holly</a> and Goffin/King, etc. And so we wrote pop songs with the kind of mind that that’s a pop song, like bubblegum, and that’s real life.” During the early years of The Beatles, John channeled his avant-garde side into <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-lennon-used-title-the-beatles-a-hard-days-night-short-story-writing-song.html/”>his books <em>In His Own Write</em></a> and <em>A Spaniard in the Works</em>, but not his music.</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-bob-dylan-changed-john-lennon-as-an-artist”>Bob Dylan changed John Lennon as an artist</h2>
<p id=”par-5_56″>John’s words make a lot of sense in the context of The Beatles’ career. The popular songs King wrote for other artists were generally sensitive ballads or upbeat pop songs. During their early days, most of The Beatles’ music fell into one of those two categories. It wasn’t until later that they started to get experimental. </p>
<p id=”par-6_45″>John revealed that his approach to songwriting changed when he heard Bob Dylan’s music. Afterward, he was less interested in writing bubblegum and started caring more about his lyrics. Dylan made John decide that The Beatles’ words should matter just as much as their music.</p>
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<iframe title=”He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)” width=”925″ height=”694″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/fdN-rzb3iPo?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/4-monkees-songs-carole-king-wrote.html/”>
4 Monkees Songs Carole King Wrote </a>
</p>
</div>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-the-power-to-the-people-singer-misunderstood-carole-king”>The ‘Power to the People’ singer misunderstood Carole King</h2>
<p id=”par-7_39″>John’s comments about King and Dylan illuminate his evolution as a songwriter. Despite this, he underestimated King. While she gave us “The Loco-Motion,” one of the best bubblegum pop songs ever, other early King hits had more depth. </p>
<p id=”par-8_78″>The Shirelles’ “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” are both sensitive ballads, while The Monkees’ “Pleasant Valley Sunday” is a piece of social commentary about the suburbs. John probably didn’t hear The Crystal’s “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss),” but it’s just as edgy today as it was in the 1960s — if not moreso. King is many things, but she’s not a bubblegum pop musician.</p>
<p id=”par-9_15″>John wanted to be like King — but he didn’t fully appreciate her early work.</p>