Teenage pop music, with songs of various qualities, was extremely popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Yet, it was generally acknowledged that Carole King and Gerry Goffin, who just passed away at the age of 75, were responsible for some of the best songs, as well as many of the songs with the largest sales.
For timeless hits like “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Up on the Roof,” and “Goin’ Back,” Goffin penned the words to King’s music.
Gerry Goffin Bio
Goffin was born in Brooklyn, New York, but following his parents’ divorce, he and his mother moved to the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens.
While he was a youngster, he worked for his Russian-Jewish grandpa, a furrier, and listened to popular music on the radio by Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Eddie Fisher.
After Brooklyn Tech, Goffin attended Queens College to study chemistry. He penned songs for a musical he was developing in his free time.
He met Carole King, a 17-year-old freshman who loved rock and roll and had classical piano training, in his third year of college. Gerry started writing lyrics for Carole’s pop melodies, while she started making music for his unproduced musical.
Gerry Goffin Albums
Two albums in his name: “Back Room Blood” in 1996 under Genes Records with the catalog number GCD 4132 and “It Ain’t Exactly Entertainment” in 1973 under Adelphi Records Inc. with the catalog number AD4102, which is a double vinyl album. Both albums may be purchased through AllMusic, which also provides further details about Gerry Goffin’s musical career, including his discography and songs.
Gerry Goffin Age
Gerry Goffin aged 75
Gerry Goffin Height
He stands 163 cm tall
Gerry Goffin Family
Jacob and Anita Goffin gave birth to Gerry Goffin. In addition to Carole King, with whom he co-wrote several well-known songs, he was previously married to a private individual. He later wed Barbara Beth Behling.
Jesse Dean Goffin and two unnamed children were among his three offspring. American lyricist Gerry Goffin worked with Carole King to co-write the lyrics to numerous global smash singles in the music business.
Gerry Goffin Songwriting Partners
These more Gerry Goffin’s songwriting partners and others:
- Kanye West
- Carole King
- Whitney Houston
- Barry Mann
- Michael Masser
- The Notorious B.I.G.
- Jerry Wexler
- Sean Combs
- Rick Ross
- Barry White
- Phil Spector
- Charles Aznavour
- TobyMac
- Mike Dean
- Albert Hammond
- Alannah Myles
- Deric Angelettie
- Robin Trower
- Ross Bagdasarian
- Russ Ballard
- Dave Lee
- Sadat X
- David Hidalgo
- Billy Griffin
- Malik Yusef
- Don Black
- Jim Jacobs
- Robert Gall
- Cesar Rosas
- Wes Farrell
- Beth Hirsch
Gerry Goffin Health
Gerry Goffin battled mental health issues, which were exacerbated by his usage of hallucinogenic drugs. According to Carole King’s memoir, Goffin suffered from mental illness after taking LSD and eventually sought treatment.
Goffin’s excessive drug usage exacerbated his already precarious mental health, resulting in hospitalization and a diagnosis of manic depression.
Gerry Goffin Death
Goffin died on June 19, 2014, at the age of 75, in Los Angeles, California. Michele, his wife, announced his demise. There was no mention of a cause.