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Welcome back to Hit Parade, a podcast of Pop Chart History from Slate magazine about the hits from

coast to coast.

I'm Chris Malanfi, chart analyst, pop critic, and writer of

Slate's Why Is This Song Number One series on our last episode. It's the 50th anniversary of

1971, which has been called one of the greatest years in music history. On the billboard charts,

pop, rock, and soul legends were scoring both number one singles and number one albums, including, so far, George Harrison,

Janice Choplin, and the Rolling Stones. We're up to the summer of 71, when the year's

biggest hit maker was about to take her turn on top.

As I've said so many times in this podcast, timing is everything when it comes to hitmaking.

Consider this cover of a well-known song, performed by its original songwriter.

When this old world starts getting me down, and people are just too much for me to face.

That's Carol King with Up on the Roof, a song she and lyricist Jerry Goughin originally wrote in 1962.

And this version appeared on Writer, King's largely ignored debut album as a recording artist.

Upon its release in 1970, the writer LP didn't chart,

even though it uses some of the same approaches as the album that would make King a legend

just one year later.

Soulful singing, warm piano, a 60s song reinterpreted for

the 70s. Somehow, the world wasn't quite ready for

recording artist, who was trying to come out from under the shadow of

Carol King songwriter. That Carol King had been very successful.

I climb way up to the top of the stair and all my cares just drift right into space.

...