RIP Gerry Goffin…

I have already written a tribute to Gerry Goffin on Pop Rock Nation, but I feel the need to write something about him here on my personal music blog.  I usually try to dedicate the stuff I write here to fun and silliness from the past, but every once in awhile a more serious topic comes up.  Gerry Goffin's death is sad in that we've lost a wonderful lyricist.  Though I didn't know him personally, I think Goffin must have had a wonderful soul.  He came up with lyrics to songs that so many people could relate to.  His death at age 75 on June 19th was a surprise and shock to me.  I guess 75 no longer seems that old to me.

I mostly know Gerry Goffin's music through listening to songs he wrote with his first wife, Carole King.  King and Goffin wrote many amazing classics.  One of my favorites was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow."  This song was made famous by the Shirelles, but I actually preferred hearing Carole King sing it.

The Shirelles sing "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"…

The song was covered by a lot of different people, including Amy Winehouse…

Amy's rawer version of this classic keeps it real…

I love how Carole King and James Taylor do this song...

  
I recorded my own version of it, though given the limits of not having a band, my version is kind of like Carole's.

My version was recorded months ago, before I got sick with this crud.

I also love "One Fine Day", a song Goffin wrote with Carole King.  It was covered by so many different people, but I actually love Carole King's version from the early 80s, even though it sounds really dated now.  I think I love it because it was the first version I heard.

The Chiffons sing "One Fine Day"…

I love watching Carole King play piano.  She obviously loves to.

Even Karen Carpenter sang it…

Natalie Merchant stripped it down into something a little more wistful…

And finally, there's the song that introduced me to James Taylor's music, "Up On The Roof".

 

Originally sung by The Drifters

An early live version by James…

A duet version with Carole King...

Carole King sang it solo, too…

James even sang it on Sesame Street…

I guess, in a sense, Gerry Goffin will always be with us because he left behind so many wonderful songs.  In my other post about him, I highlighted more recent hits that he wrote with other songwriters.  I had no idea that he had a hand in writing "Nothin's Gonna Change My Love For You" or "Saving All My Love For You".  The man was a genius with lyrics.  Judging from all the songs Carole King has been posting on Facebook in remembrance of him, I'm guessing she's missing him too.