Carole King Wrote The First Girl Group Song To Top The Billboard Hot 100

Each week, the Billboard charts spell out the latest ranking of everyone’s favorite music in the United States and around the globe. Since its inception, there have been dozens of firsts, and Carole King is responsible for the first girl group song topping the Billboard Hot 100.

82-year old King is regarded as one of the most successful, celebrated songwriters of the latter half of the 20th century. She has composed or co-wrote 118 tracks that made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 and 61 hits that charted in the U.K. Her song, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” as performed by the Shirelles, marked the first time an all-girl group and an all-girl African American group reached No. 1.

Carole King composed the first song in history by an all-girl group to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart

The Shirelles, (Shirley Owens, Beverly Lee, Addie 'Micki' Harris, Doris Coley) — The Shirelles, (Shirley Owens, Beverly Lee, Addie ‘Micki’ Harris, Doris Coley), ca. 1960 / Everett Collection

King composed the music while Gerry Goffin wrote the lyrics to “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” The Shirelles performed it in 1960 over at Bell Sound Studio in the Big Apple. Upon release, the track rocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

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The Shirelles were led by Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Addie “Micki” Harris, and Beverly Lee. When initially presented with “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” Owens was not keen on recording it, deeming it “too country.” In response, a strong instrument was added, which helped warm Owens up to the song.

Even so, some radio stations find the track too explicit and sensual to play. Despite these hangups, the song still broke boundaries and made history.

Carole King disagreed with the radio stations about the lyrics

Carole King composed the music for "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," which was the first time an all-girl group song topped the Billboard Hot 100 — Carole King composed the music for “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” which was the first time an all-girl group song topped the Billboard Hot 100 / Everett Collection

The radio stations were weary of the lyrics but King wasn’t. Even though she herself did not write the lyrics, she had nothing but high praise for Goffin and his work. “And what made him so extraordinary as a lyricist was his ability to say in really simple words big ideas, big feelings, big thoughts,” she once praised.

King went on, “And the thing — for example, ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow,’ you just listen to the lyric of the first verse — ‘Tonight you’re mine completely. You give your love so sweetly. Tonight the light of love is in your eyes, but will you love me tomorrow?'”

“Is that not what every teenage girl is thinking?” King mused. “You know, it’s — he — and he had the ability, he’s, you know, he’s a straight man, and he had the ability to get inside a woman’s head and say the things women were thinking.”