Gerry Goffin

Gerald "Gerry" Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist renowned for his songwriting partnership with composer Carole King, his first wife, which produced a series of chart-topping pop hits during the early 1960s Brill Building era. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Goffin graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, served briefly in the U.S. Marines, and met King while studying chemistry at Queens College, where they began collaborating on lyrics and melodies that captured youthful romance and emotional depth. Among their most enduring works are "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," recorded by Aretha Franklin; "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," the first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single by an all-female group, The Shirelles; "The Loco-Motion," a hit for Little Eva later covered successfully by others; and "Take Good Care of My Baby," popularized by Bobby Vee. Goffin's lyrics often explored themes of longing and vulnerability, contributing to over a dozen Top 10 hits in the early 1960s alone, and he continued writing independently after his 1968 divorce from King, including Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love for You." Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 alongside King, Goffin's output shaped the sound of American pop music, though his later years were marked by struggles with mental illness.

Gerry Goffin met Carole King at Queens College in 1958, where both were students; their relationship quickly progressed, leading to King's pregnancy and their marriage on August 30, 1959, in a Jewish ceremony on Long Island when she was 17 and he was 20. After the wedding, the couple moved into a basement apartment in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where Goffin took a day job in chemicals while they pursued songwriting.