Watch Taylor Swift Cover Carole King At Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductions
Taylor Swift kicked off the 2021 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony by covering Carole King’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?,” a song that was first recorded by the Shirelles and then included on King’s 1971 album Tapestry. King and her first husband/writing partner Gerry Goffin were inducted into the Rock Hall as songwriters in 1990; this time around, King was inducted as a performer in her own right.
In Swift’s speech introducing King, she talked about how one of the “basic truths” her parents taught her was that “Carole King is the greatest songwriter of all time,” and she specifically shouted out King’s #1 hit “It’s Too Late.” “[King] navigated the politics of an era that didn’t make space for a female genius,” Swift said. “Slowly but surely Carole King worked to create one, and it will be hers forever.”
King then took the stage and thanked her collaborators over the years, including Lou Adler and James Taylor, and then introduced Jennifer Hudson to sing the King-penned “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” which was also included on “Tapestry.”
“I keep hearing it, so I’m gonna have to try to own it, that today’s female singers and songwriters stand on my shoulder,” King said before introducing Hudson, who just portrayed Aretha Franklin in the biopic Respect. “Let it not be forgotten they also stand on the shoulders of the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. May she rest in power – Miss Aretha Franklin.”
Watch Swift, Hudson, and King’s performances at the Rock Hall induction below.
A proper filmed version of the Rock Hall inductions will air on HBO on November 20.