Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Fifty years ago today-June 19, 1971-the greatest album by a female artist hit the #1 spot in the country where it would stay for 15 consecutive weeks. Carole King’s exquisite opus, Tapestry, climbed to the top of the chart four months after its release in February 1971.

Today’s song has been a favorite of mine forever but it was only in the last year that I discovered King did not write the lyrics for this track. They were written by poet Toni Stern who also wrote the lyrics for another Tapestry song, “Where You Lead”. That tune went on to become the theme song for “The Gilmore Girls” TV show. Stern also co-wrote “Sweet Seasons” for King’s second 1971 album, Music.

This revelation does not take anything away from King’s brilliance, however. But I do love the girl power that helped make Tapestry the absolute diamond it remains to this day. And I am certain it always will be. It is just that remarkable.

“There’ll be good times again for me and you
But we just can’t stay together, don’t you feel it, too
Still I’m glad for what we had and how I once loved you”.

Top: Toni Stern (L) and Carole King circa 1982. Bottom: Stern and King circa 2020. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Carole King: “It’s Too Late” (1971, written by Carole King and Toni Stern).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.