Tag Archives: Carole King

Song of the Week – Brother Brother, Carole King

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Ignored             Obscured              Restored

If there’s a quintessential Carole King moment, it might be “Brother Brother.” The track, from her 1971 album Music — an album often overshadowed by the iconic Tapestry — isn’t just a song; it’s an unraveling of personal tragedy, a chilling elegy that gives voice to the unspoken anguish of familial estrangement and mental health despair.  It goes way beyond being a simple response to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” released earlier the same year, as it has often been interpreted.

The song was written about her younger brother Richard who was born deaf and suffered from severe mental infirmity.  So severe was his disability, that his parents felt incapable of raising him on their own and had him institutionalized.  She wrote “Brother, Brother” to convey the feelings she recalled from visits to him at the mental hospital.

It’s hard not to hear “Brother Brother” as a lament, a plaintive cry that echoes through the silence of institutional walls.  The song’s somber chord progression serves as the perfect vehicle for King’s exploration of loss. Yet, the real heartbreak lies in its lyrical content. King’s verse —

You have always been so good to me
And though you didn’t always talk to me
There wasn’t much my lovin’ eyes could not see
And I don’t believe you need all your misery

— isn’t just a lyric; it’s a window into a soul grappling with the constraints imposed by society on mental health and family. The distance, physical and emotional, reflects an era’s inadequate understanding of mental illness, but also the isolation that personal tragedy can bring.

In the end, King’s “Brother Brother” is more than a song; it’s a profound exploration of familial love and institutional despair, a piece of music that bridges personal suffering and public awareness. Through its melancholy melodies and poignant lyrics, it captures the essence of a moment when the personal was beginning to be recognized as inherently political. And in this recognition, it speaks to us still, echoing through the decades with a voice that remains as relevant as ever.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – That Old Sweet Roll, The City; Smack Water Jack, Jo Mama; Ain’t Gonna Worry My Life Anymore, B.B. King

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Ignored            Obscured             Restored

Carole King had two phases of mega-success.  The first was as a Brill Building songwriter with her partner and then-husband, Gerry Goffin.  The hits they penned as teens in the early ‘60s include “Up on the Roof”, “One Fine Day”, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”, and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, among others.

The second phase was as a singer-songwriter and performer.  The pinnacle of her fame during this period was the now 50-year-old album Tapestry.  It’s a classic that is in just about everyone’s record collection (if you have a record collection!).

But there was a period in between when King was doing other things.  In 1968 she was in a band called The City.  That band, which included old friend and colleague Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar (guitar), future husband Charles Larkey (bass), and Domino (as in Layla) Jim Gordon (drums).  They released one Lou Adler produced album – Now That Everything’s Been Said (1968).  One song on the record was called “That Old Sweet Roll” and was later made a hit by Blood, Sweat & Tears as renamed “Hi-De-Ho.”

By 1970, Kootch and Larkey had moved on to their next project, Jo Mama.  Their sophomore effort, J Is for Jump (1971), was a fine collection of blue-eyed-soul.  Though King didn’t play on the album, she let them release a version of “Smackwater Jack” that would also appear on Tapestry.

In 1970 King went to work for King, as in B.B. King.  Really!  B.B.’s album Indianola Mississippi Seeds was produced by Bill Szymczyk in a successful bid for crossover success from the blues market into Rock.  Carole played piano and electric piano on “Ain’t Gonna Worry My Life Anymore.”  The interplay between the two Kings sparkles.

So as you can see, King remained quite busy and prolific during her “middle” period.

Enjoy… until next week.