Who wrote will you still love me tomorrow

Scene Notes

Posted on 10/30/2019

The story of Carole King, one of the most celebrated and iconic women in music history, is coming to State Theatre New Jersey this fall. Broadway’s Beautiful—The Carole King Musical highlights Carole King’s career from songwriter to performer and features beloved chart-topping hits. These include “You’ve Got a Friend,” “One Fine Day,” “Up on the Roof,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” and “Natural Woman.”

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King’s successful 1961 hit “Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow?,” written by her and her late husband Gerry Goffin, tells the story of vulnerable women who struggle with their confidence and their insecurities. Performed by The Shirelles, this song was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks straight. Discovered by Florence Greenberg—owner of both Tiara and Scepter Records—The Shirelles, a girl band out of New Jersey, produced several hits including “Tonight’s the Night” and “Mama Said.”  King’s piece, however, helped to mark two momentous occasions—it was the first song in history to hit #1 by an all-girl group and it was the first major success for the King and Goffin writing duo. 

In 1971, 10 years after the release of “Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow?,” King created her own album, Tapestry. She soon realized the 1961 hit would be a good addition to her work. In an effort to evolve the song further, King slowed the tempo and added backup vocals—provided by Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. These developments extended the rawness within the song that portrays the desperation of a woman who has been hurt before. Tapestry, embodying everything she had worked her entire life toward, solidified King’s spot as an icon in both songwriting and performing. She won the Grammys® for Album of the Year and for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1972 thanks to this album. Plus, it was on Billboard’s 200 as the #1 song for 15 straight weeks in 1971.

Today, there stands close to 300 cover songs based on King’s and Goffin’s “Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow?.”  Some of the most famous covers include The Four Seasons (1965), Bryan Ferry (1993), The Bee Gees (1995), Amy Winehouse (2004), and Leslie Grace (2012). Get ready for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at State Theatre New Jersey on Friday, November 8 at 8pm, Saturday, November 9 at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday, November 10 at 2pm.

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"Will You Love Me Tomorrow", also known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and originally recorded by The Shirelles. It has been recorded by many artists and was ranked among Rolling Stone 's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #126. The song is notable for being the first song by an all-girl group to reach #1 in the United States. The song is in AABA form.[1]

Contents[]

 [hide] *1 The Shirelles' version

• 2 Answer songs
• 3 Other versions
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 External links

The Shirelles' version[edit][]

In 1960, The Shirelles released their version as Scepter single 1211, with "Boys" on the B-side. The single's first pressing was labelled simply "Tomorrow", then lengthened later. When first presented with the song, lead singer Shirley Owens (later known as Shirley Alston-Reeves) did not want to record it, because she thought it was "too country." She relented after a string arrangement was added. In 1961, the song went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. However, Owens recalled on Jim Parsons' syndicated oldies radio program, Shake Rattle Showtime, that some radio stations had banned the record because they had felt the lyrics were too sexually charged.

This version of the song, with session musician Gary Chester on drums, is currently ranked as the 110th greatest song of all time, as well as the best song of 1960, by Acclaimed Music.[2]

The song appeared on the soundtrack of Michael Apted's Stardust.

Answer songs[edit][]

Bertell Dache, a black demo singer for the Brill Building songwriters, recorded an answer song entitled "Not just Tomorrow, But Always".[3] It has been erroneously claimed by some historians that Dache was a pseudonym for Epic recording artist Tony Orlando. However, an ad for United Artists Records which appeared in Billboard during 1961 featured a photo of the singer which conclusively proved this to be false.

The Satintones, an early Motown group, also recorded an answer song called "Tomorrow and Always," which used the same melody as the original but initially neglected to credit King and Goffin. Following a threat of litigation, later pressings of the record included proper credit. The Satintones' versions are included in the box set "The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 1: 1959-1961."

Other versions[edit][]

• Françoise Hardy recorded her own version on her 1969 album En Anglais (album known in the U.S. and Canada as Loving).
• Linda Ronstadt released a version on her 1970 album Silk Purse.
• Bruce Springsteen's "Dr. Zoom and the Sonic Boom" recorded a live version in 1971, which can be heard on YouTube.
• Carole King, the co-writer of the song, included a version on her 1971 album Tapestry, with Joni Mitchell and James Taylor on background vocals.
• Roberta Flack's version hit number seventy-six on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow".
• Smokey Robinson included the song on his first solo album in 1973.
• Melanie Safka reached 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973 and reached the Top 40 in the United Kingdom in 1974.
• Jody Miller made the country charts with a remake of the song in 1975.
• Morningside Drive released a dance version of the song in 1975, which reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Dana Valery recorded a dance version that hit number ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976.
• The Michael Stanley Band recorded a version at the Cleveland Agora for their 1977 double live album, "Stage Pass".
• Graham Bonnet recorded this song for inclusion on his first, eponymous, solo album in 1977.
• Dave Mason had a #39 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 with his remake. It was his final top forty hit on that chart.
• Brotherhood of Man released their version as a single in 1980.
• Rainbow played a cover of this song during the 1980 dates of their Down to Earth tour, including whilst headlining the 1980 Monsters of Rock festival atDonington Park.
• Maureen Tucker of The Velvet Underground recorded it as the B-side on the single "Around and Around" in 1981.
• Dionne Warwick recorded the song with The Shirelles on her 1983 album, How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye.
• Laura Branigan remade it for her 1984 album Self Control.
• Elton John sang it at the Prince's Trust benefit concert in 1987. It was the first song he performed publicly after having undergone vocal cord surgery at the beginning of that same year. Elton John's version of the song has not officially been released.
• Millie Jackson recorded a cover for the 1989 album Back to the Shit.
• Angus Tung wrote a version of the song with Mandarin lyrics in 1989, which was subsequently translated as a Cantonese duet for Shirley Kwan and Alan Tam.
• The Afghan Whigs released a cover of the song on their 1991 7" Ornament. The version featured Marcy Mays of the band Scrawl on vocals with The Afghan Whigs lead singer Greg Dulli on background vocals.
• Joe Walsh recorded a version which was featured on his 1992 album Songs for a Dying Planet.
• Patti LaBelle and Loretta Devine sung a ballad version of the song on LaBelle's short-lived sitcom Out All Night in 1992.
• Björn Again recorded a dance version on their 1993 album Flashback!
• Bryan Ferry had a hit in the United Kingdom with his version in 1993.
• Neil Diamond included this song on his 1993 album, Up on the Roof: Songs from the Brill Building.
• The Nylons, a Canadian a cappella group, released a cover of the song on their 1994 album Because....
• Laura Nyro covered the song on her final album Angel in the Dark which was recorded in 1994-95 but only released in 2001 after her death.
• Debbie Gibson recorded a cover of this song for her 1995 album Think With Your Heart. (This version is mistakenly attributed to Carly Simon on p2p networks quite a bit).
• The Bee Gees recorded what Carole King called "the definitive version" for a Carole King tribute album entitled Tapestry Revisited in 1995.
• Dianne Reeves recorded a smooth jazz version on her 1997 album That Day.
• Lorrie Morgan recorded a country version of the song in 1997 for her Gold album Shakin' Things Up.
• Jennifer Peña recorded a Spanish version on her album Jennifer y los Jetz entitled "Cuando Despierte Mañana" in 1997.
• Shawn Colvin covered the song for the closing credits of the series finale of The Larry Sanders Show in 1998.
• Frances Black recorded the song on her "Don't Get Me Wrong" album in 1998.
• Minnie Driver's character sings the song in the film Beautiful.
• Me First and the Gimme Gimmes remade the song on their 2001 album Blow in the Wind.
• Mest uses the hook in the refrain of their song "Reason" on Destination Unknown released in 2001.
• Touch Acoustra, a Washington DC based jazz ensemble, recorded the song with Norah Jones as featured vocalist on their 2002 CD, When It Comes Upon You.
• Lauryn Hill performed a version during her 2006 tour. The versions have not been officially released.
• John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers frequently played a live version of the song featuring only guitar and vocals during the band's 2006-07 Stadium Arcadium tour.
• Joni Mitchell references this song in her song "Chinese Café/Unchained Melody" with the line "You give your love so sweetly".
• The French Kicks recorded a version on their 2009 EP Covers.
• Lykke Li recorded a version in July 2009, which is featured on the trailer for the Carrie 2013 remake
• Kanye West sampled the song in his "Devil in a New Dress", featuring Rick Ross, on his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010).
• The Like, an all-girl alternative band, covered the song in 2010.
• American Idol (season 10) contestant James Durbin performed the song during Carole King week in April 2011.
• Joseph Leo Bwarie recorded a jazz version the song, which is on his 2011 album "Nothin' But Love"
• U2 played a snippet of the song in Denver at their U2 360 Tour concert on May 21, 2011, in Winnipeg at their 360 concert on May 29, 2011, in Montreal at their 360 concert on July 8, 2011, in Seattle, Washington on June 4, 2011, and in Miami, Florida at their 360 concert on June 29, 2011. The song led into U2's live favorite "Where The Streets Have No Name".
• Sweet Talk Radio performs a version that was played in the Haven episode Audrey Parker's Day Off on August 19, 2011.
• Amy Winehouse recorded it for the 2004 film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, slowing down the tempo and using a jazz arrangement. Another version is included in posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures as Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow 2011.
• Leslie Grace released a bachata version which became her debut single. Her version peaked at #1 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart and #1 on the Latin Airplay chart, becoming the youngest female artist to do so.[5]