Carole King's Tapestry (33 1/3) 153

Carole King s Tapestry is both an anthemic embodiment of second-wave feminism and an apotheosis of the Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter sound and scene. And these two elements of the album s historic significance are closely related insofar as the professional autonomy of the singer-songwriter is an expression of the freedom and independence women of King s generation sought as the turbulent sixties came to a close.

Aligning King s own development from girl to woman with the larger shift in the music industry from teen-oriented singles by girl groups to albums by adult-oriented singer-songwriters, this volume situates Tapestry both within King s original vision as the third in a trilogy (preceded by Now That Everything s Been Said and Writer) and as a watershed in musical and cultural history, challenging the male dominance of the music and entertainment industries and laying the groundwork for female dominated genres such as women s music and Riot Grrrl punk.