Why John Lennon and Paul McCartney Wanted to Be Like Carole King
Carole King inspired The Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney a long time before she became a household name.
Music
The Beatles' John Lennon and Paul McCartney initially wanted to be like Carole King. Another rock star changed John's approach to music.
by Matthew Trzcinski
Published on February 12, 2025
The Beatlesâ John Lennon and Paul McCartney initially wanted to be like Carole King. Then another rock star changed Johnâs approach to music. The âGive Peace a Chanceâ singerâs comments on King seem like backhanded compliments.
Firstly, some background. King did not initially become notable for being a pop star. She became notable for being one of the biggest pop songwriters of the 1960s. She and her husband, Gerry Goffin, were behind a long string of hits.
Together, they penned Little Evaâs âThe Loco-Motion,â The Shirellesâ âWill You Love Me Tomorrow,â Aretha Franklinâs â(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,â and The Monkeesâ âPleasant Valley Sunday.â They were also behind great tunes that were not hits, such as the Prefab Fourâs âPorpoise Songâ and The Crystalâs âHe Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss).â King did not become a household name until she released her 1971 album Tapestry.
During a 1971 interview in the book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, the âNobody Told Meâ singer discussed the onset of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership. âIn the early days, Paul and I, we wanted to be the [Gerry] Goffin and [Carole] King of England, you know,â he said. âGoffin and King were very big in those days, and we used to want to be Buddy Holly and Goffin/King, etc. And so we wrote pop songs with the kind of mind that thatâs a pop song, like bubblegum, and thatâs real life.â During the early years of The Beatles, John channeled his avant-garde side into his books In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works, but not his music.
Johnâs words make a lot of sense in the context of The Beatlesâ career. The popular songs King wrote for other artists were generally sensitive ballads or upbeat pop songs. During their early days, most of The Beatlesâ music fell into one of those two categories. It wasnât until later that they started to get experimental.Â
John revealed that his approach to songwriting changed when he heard Bob Dylanâs music. Afterward, he was less interested in writing bubblegum and started caring more about his lyrics. Dylan made John decide that The Beatlesâ words should matter just as much as their music.
Johnâs comments about King and Dylan illuminate his evolution as a songwriter. Despite this, he underestimated King. While she gave us âThe Loco-Motion,â one of the best bubblegum pop songs ever, other early King hits had more depth.
The Shirellesâ âWill You Love Me Tomorrowâ and Franklinâs â(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Womanâ are both sensitive ballads, while The Monkeesâ âPleasant Valley Sundayâ is a piece of social commentary about the suburbs. John probably didnât hear The Crystalâs âHe Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss),â but itâs just as edgy today as it was in the 1960s â if not moreso. King is many things, but sheâs not a bubblegum pop musician.
John wanted to be like King â but he didnât fully appreciate her early work.