55 Years Ago, Carole King's 'Tapestry' Album Reached No. 1 on Billboard Charts

In the 1960s, Carole King and her then-husband Gerry Goffin established themselves as premier songwriters, penning hits such as Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion," the Everly Brothers' "Crying in the Rain" and the Monkees' "Pleasant Valley Sunday."

By 1970, King was divorced and pursuing her own singing career. She released her debut album, Writer, in May of that year and saw it reach No. 84 on the Billboard 200. In February 1971, King followed that up with Tapestry, her breakthrough project and what is still regarded as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time.

On June 17, 1971, 55 years ago today, Tapestry reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, where it would remain for 15 weeks. The album would remain on the chart for several years.

Tapestry track listing

Side One:

1. "I Feel the Earth Move"
2. "So Far Away"
3. "It's Too Late"
4. "Home Again"
5. "Beautiful"
6. "Way Over Yonder"

Side Two:

1. "You've Got a Friend"
2. "Where You Lead"
3. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"
4. "Smackwater Jack"
5. "Tapestry
6. "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"

Tapestry was certified 14x Platinum and won four Grammy Awards in 1972, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 and was one of the first 50 titles to be added to the National Recording Registry in 2003.

An all-time musical work

Over the years, Tapestry has regularly appeared on publications' lists of the greatest albums ever.

Rolling Stone named Tapestry one of the 40 most groundbreaking albums ever and also slotted it at No. 25 in its most recent ranking of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. According to Rolling Stone, King admitted when discussing Tapestry that she "wasn't in the same league vocally with Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Barbara Streisand" but knew "how to convey the mood and emotion of a song with honest, straight-from-the-heart interpretation."

"The resulting collection of songs saw King remake herself as an artist and became one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, creating the reigning model for the 1970s female singer-songwriter," the outlet said.

Additionally, in 2013, NMEranked Tapestry 82nd on its own list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, while Paste put it at No. 33 on its ranking of the 300 best albums ever in 2024.

"Tapestry is arguably the definitive singer-songwriter album of the early ‘70s and worthy of its own chapter in any update of the 'Great American Songbook,'" wrote Paste's Matt Melis.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 3:56 AM.