Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She was born in 1942 in Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish household. Carole Klein (her real name) started out playing the piano and then moved on to singing, forming a vocal quartet called the Co-Sines at James Madison High School. She was most active as a singer during the first half of the 1970s, though she was a successful songwriter for considerably longer both before and after this period. King has won four Grammy Awards and has been inducted into both the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her songwriting, along with long-time partner Gerry Goffin.