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

Ellen from Endwell

, creator of Rock’n’Roll With Me!

Ellen from Endwell doing the Tune Tag Shuffle…even back then!

Ellen from Endwell

writes Rock‘n’Roll with Me, and has also written a series of fun novels about a British hard rock band doing a stadium tour of the U.S. in 1984, under the pen name of E.Z. Prine (available by clicking here). Of course, some of the characters come from Endwell.

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,

Ryan Egan

of organizing an accident on Substack:

Tune Tag #45 with Ryan Egan of organizing an accident: Michael Jackson, NRBQ, Matthew Sweet, Stevie Wonder, Lush Life, Caetano Veloso, Ryan Egan

Next week, make reservations to join

Jared the Curator

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).

Carole, 1970, with Sherry (top) and Louise.📸Jim McCrary, A&M Records staff photographer

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:

Carole King: The Creator Series #2

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:

Schwartz Stories #4: Stephen Michael Schwartz and the Great Hollywood Rock Star BBQ of 1975

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:

Stephen Michael Schwartz, Off the Clef #2: The Late '70s Collab Sessions, "I've Just About Given Up Hope" w/Toni Stern SONG DEMO

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!

As if on cue, Chicago’s 7-man The Mob, from 1995!👇

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)