New Carole King Doc to Air on PBS

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Photo of Carole King via PBS.org by Elissa Kline

It’s impossible to measure the impact of Carole King‘s contributions to popular music. But for starters, take a look at the numbers. She’s a four-time Grammy winner, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and the first woman to be awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Over 400 of her compositions have been recorded by more than 1,000 artists, resulting in 100 hit singles. Her classics co-written with Gerry Goffin include “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (The Shirelles), “Up on the Roof” (The Drifters) and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (Aretha Franklin).

PBS is premiering a new documentary about the musician to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the singer-songwriter’s landmark classic rock album Tapestry. The program, part of the American Masters series produced by New York flagship WNET, debuts Friday, February 19th at 9 pm ET (check local listings).

American Masters – Carole King: Natural Woman delves into King’s life via interviews with friends and colleagues. We hear from fellow songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Tapestry producer Lou Adler, drummer Russ Kunkel, guitarist Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar, daughter-manager Sherry Goffin Kondor and more. The doc journeys through her Brooklyn childhood, early success co-writing beloved pop tunes with then-husband Goffin, 1970s solo fame, abusive relationships and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which premiered in late 2013.

American Masters is also celebrating an anniversary. It’s been three decades since the 28x Emmy-winning series first produced biographies of artists, actors and writers who have impacted American pop culture. In its 30th anniversary season, the series will feature new documentaries about B.B. King (February 12th), Fats Domino (February 26th) and Janis Joplin (May 3rd). For more information about American Masters as well as streaming video of select films, outtakes and interviews, click here. (And click here for more info about Janis: Little Girl Blue.)