Tune Tag #46 with Ellen from Endwell (Rock'n'Roll With Me): Carole King, Gladys Knight, Fleetwood Mac, CSN, Meat Loaf, Three Dog Night
A classic rock showdown between Ellen from Endwell & Brad from Houston! How ever will it turn out? Will things End Well for Ellen or will Mission Control answer with "Brad, you've got a problem"?
Hey, Ellen! TAG! YOU’RE IT!
Tune Tag welcomes , creator of Rock’n’Roll With Me!
She became a rock chick when she saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 at the age of seven, and despite enjoying other music genres, remains true to that calling!
Last week, we wined, dined, and Tagged Tunes with singer/songwriter, of organizing an accident on Substack:
Next week, make reservations to join of The Wax Museum for Tune Tag!
Ellen’s song #1 sent to Brad: Carole King, “It’s Too Late,” 1971
Ellen’s rationale: A song that had a profound impact on me as a teenager was Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” from her second album, Tapestry (recorded in January 1971, and winner of the 1972 Grammy Album of the Year), and to this day I consider it a very affecting song.
Carole’s experience as a songwriter (and a consistent hit-maker) is on display here in the music, which has been described as having elements of rock, pop, jazz, folk, and soul/funk, as well as the brilliant arrangement and the actual recording process (the album was produced by Lou Adler, now 90).
Her kids (Louise would soon turn 11, Sherry was 8) were in the studio (A&M Studios’ B/Hollywood), and people commented on how she was remarkably professional and decisive, and yet made everyone feel relaxed and at home. I also love the musical flourishes when you listen closely.
The lyrics are by the late Toni Stern (who passed away in January 2024 at 79), written in a single day after the break-up of her love affair with James Taylor, according to Sheila Weller in her 2009 book, Girls Like Us.
Combined with the growing conviction in Carole’s voice over the course of the song, I think it tells a gripping story of a relationship that is no longer working. I mean, who can’t relate to regret over the ending of a relationship that seemed so promising at the beginning? But as with all great lyrics, people project their own meanings and hear different versions of the story. And by the way, that’s Telemachus, Carole’s “corpulent kitty” (in her words), on the cover of the album.
I just published my latest article about Carole King, and you can enjoy it here:
Ms. King is a FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE favorite, as well, with her appearance, along with FR&B’s exclusive contributor, singer/songwriter/actor, Stephen Michael Schwartz, at The Great Hollywood Bar-B-Q of 1975, serving as Exhibit A:
Exhibit B: Stephen co-wrote a song with Toni Stern, in the late ‘70s. In his own words, he tells us the story of how it came about, and shares an exclusive demo with us, here:
Brad’s song #1 sent to Ellen: Carole King & Louise Goffin, “Where You Lead”
Ellen’s response: I think Brad has chosen this as it’s the other song on the album Tapestry with lyrics by Toni Stern. The album timing was unfortunate for this particular song, with the rise of the feminist movement and the song being criticized as being anti-feminist. Carole left the song off her concert set-list for years, and it’s good to see that she resurrected the original as well as gave it another life as the theme song for TV’s Gilmore Girls.
I’m glad Brad chose this as it’s also a nice tribute to Toni (above). I also wanted to add, I’m not aware of a cover of Carole’s original by a male singer, but I think that that’s a huge missed opportunity. Those lyrics would be gold with a female audience!
Video (click on this sentence): Louise Goffin talks about working with her mom on the Gilmore Girls theme.
Ellen’s song #2: Three Dog Night, “Mama Told Me Not to Come” (Live, 2008)
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