top of page

Spotlight on Goffin-King (he would've turned 80 on 2/11; she turned 77 on 2/9)

Written by John Simon


An amazing body of work from these two (he was the lyricist, she was the composer)!

Hey Girl - Freddie Scott (Top Ten in 1963; Billy Joel would release a version in 1997) * I'm Into Something Good - Earl-Jean (also a big hit for Herman's Hermits) Up on the Roof - The Drifters (also charted by Cryan Shames, Laura Nyro and James Taylor!) They're Jealous of Me - Connie Stevens (non-charting single from 1964) Run to Him - Bobby Vee (#2 single in 1961) Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - Shirelles (first #1 for an all-black female group) Not Just Tomorrow, But Always - Bertell Dache (listen for Carole King singing back-up) Yours Until Tomorrow - Vivian Reed (also released by Gene Pitney, Cher and Dee Dee Warwick) * Don't Bring Me Down - Animals Goin' Back - The Byrds (Dusty Springfield hit with this one in the UK) * One Fine Day - Chiffons * The Loco-Motion - Little Eva (this #1 record would also hit #1 for Grand Funk ten years later!) Pleasant Valley Sunday - Monkees Chains - The Beatles (Carole & Gerry could've lived off the royalties from this one alone) Up On the Roof - Laura Nyro (the most prolific songwriter of 1968-69 had one charting single. Guess who didn't write it....) You've Got a Friend - James Taylor (#1 single with vocal backing from Joni Mitchell ) Take a Giant Step- Rising Sons (Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder were in a group together before either was famous. Whoa!) What Am I Gonna Do With You - Skeeter Davis (Goffin-Titelman) She Don't Deserve You - Honey Bees (Goffin-Titelman) I Never Dreamed - Cookies (Goffin-Titelman; Gerry Goffin once wrote "I had to think like a 14-15 year old girl" when writing some of these) Just Once In My Life - Righteous Brothers (written by Goffin-King-Spector, at least on the label) Is This What I Get for Loving You - Ronettes (another one where Phil Spector claimed partial credit) Up On the Roof - Ralfi Pagan (non-charting single on the Fania label, ca. 1973) Some Kind of Wonderful - The Drifters The Loco-Motion - Grand Funk (two weeks at #1 in 1974!) Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - Dave Mason (his final Top 40 single, ca. 1978) I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King (her "Tapestry" LP spent 15 weeks at #1 and 302 months on the LP Chart!) The Loco-Motion - Kylie Minogue (two weeks at #3 in 1988!) (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - Aretha Franklin


WVBR is a local commercial radio station broadcasting from Ithaca, New York to the Counties of Tompkins, Tioga, Cortland, Cayuga, Seneca, Schuyler, and Chemung. WVBR is run by the Cornell Media Guild, Inc - a non-profit student organization that is independent and not funded nor managed by Cornell University. Our mission is to preserve local media and act as a training ground for the future generation. All views represented by our contributors solely reflect their own views, and are not necessarily endorsed by WVBR or Cornell Media Guild.

Cornell Media Guild is a registered student organization of Cornell University.

© Cornell Media Guild, Inc. 

All Rights Reserved.

604 E Buffalo St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 273-4000

info@wvbr.com

Designed by Michelle Davies (2022).

bottom of page