8815 Appian Way — Carole King's Laurel Canyon Home Where Tapestry Was Written

In 1970 and into early 1971, Carole King was living in a small house at 8815 Appian Way in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, when she wrote the songs that became Tapestry — the album that spent fifteen consecutive years on the Billboard charts, sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and remained the best-selling album by a solo female artist for a quarter of a century. Songs including 'I Feel the Earth Move,' 'So Far Away,' 'It's Too Late,' 'Way Over Yonder,' and 'You've Got a Friend' were written and refined in this house, with King drawing on the experience of divorce, newfound independence, and the intensely creative singer-songwriter community that had congregated in Laurel Canyon in those years. The album was recorded at A&M Studios in Hollywood with James Taylor and other close friends contributing performances, and released in February 1971 to immediate critical and commercial success.

Carole King had already had an extraordinary career before Tapestry: through the 1960s, working with lyricist Gerry Goffin out of the Brill Building in New York, she had written hits for The Shirelles ('Will You Love Me Tomorrow'), Aretha Franklin ('(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman'), The Chiffons, and dozens of others. Her move to Laurel Canyon following the dissolution of her marriage marked a decisive transition from behind-the-scenes songwriter to performer in her own right. Tapestry was her second solo album but the first to fully realise that transformation — and it went on to win four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year.

The house at 8815 Appian Way is a private residence on a narrow winding street in the hills above West Hollywood and is not open to the public. Visitors should respect the privacy of current occupants. The broader Laurel Canyon neighbourhood — celebrated as the cradle of the California singer-songwriter sound — is worth exploring as a whole: Laurel Canyon Boulevard, the Country Store, and the surrounding hillside streets still carry something of the atmosphere that Tapestry captured so completely.