I watched a documentary about Carole King tonight (BBC4). One of the talking heads remarked that her LP "Tapestry" (a favourite of mine) was a real hit when it was released - heard everywhere.  He could only compare its popularity to Sgt Pepper. I also learnt that she wrote the song Chains - which I also like very much not just because it was covered by The Beatles but because Stranded did a very good version too.