Admirers sing Carole King's praises, songs at MusiCares
- More than 2%2C000 industry movers and shakers packed the Los Angeles Convention Center to honor King
- Host Jimmy Kimmel marveled at King%27s 50-year career
- Alicia Keys wowed the crowd with a soaring %27%28You Make Me Feel Like A%29 Natural Woman%27
LOS ANGELES — When Carole King took the stage after 11 p.m. to sing Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, the question was purely rhetorical.
At Friday night's MusiCares gala, scores of admirers paid tribute to the singer and her songbook, many in the kind of inspired pairings and dazzling ensembles that the Grammy Awards would envy.
More than 2,000 industry movers and shakers packed the Los Angeles Convention Center to honor King, the MusiCares 2014 Person of the Year. Past honorees Bonnie Raitt, Gloria Estefan and David Crosby were there, along with Yoko Ono, Ciara, Diane Warren, Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
Host Jimmy Kimmel marveled at King's 50-year-plus career and the 1971 landmark album that launched her to pop stardom.
"That cat from the Tapestry album must be dead, right?" he quipped.
The evening got off to a sizzling start with LeAnn Rimes and Steven Tyler in a sensual, rousing rendition of Hi-De-Ho, popularized by Blood, Sweat & Tears. Other impressive matchups included Mexican brother/sister duo Jesse & Joy on a sassy Where You Lead, Miguel and Kacey Musgraves teaming for a sumptuous Crying in the Rain (originally recorded by the Everly Brothers) and Jakob Dylan and Louise Goffin (King's daughter) on the plaintive Goin' Back. The only twosome that fell flat was rapper will.i.am and his protégé, British singer Leah McFall, who turned Love Makes the World into a showy display of trills.
Jason Mraz, Zac Brown, Sara Bareilles and the Raining Jane band imbued Beautiful with gorgeous harmonies. Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill and Darlene Love, singers featured in the documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, took Way Over Yonder to church with a roof-raising gospel fervor. And Amy Grant, Jennifer Nettles, Martina McBride and Miranda Lambert formed a country girl group, presenting a medley of Been to Canaan, I'm Into Something Good, It Might As Well Rain Until September and One Fine Day.
Solo performers held their own. Pink turned in a strapping So Far Away, Estefan sang an understated It's Too Late, and Alicia Keys wowed the crowd with a soaring (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman. She dubbed King "the most magnificent songwriter and composer on earth."
Lady Gaga, sporting a platinum wig, caped white gown and steampunk sunglasses that repeatedly slipped down her nose, accompanied herself on piano for a dramatic You've Got a Friend.
"It is my absolute privilege to be honoring such an incredible woman, a true musical genius," Gaga said, explaining that as a teen she often played the song in her father's room. "I would crank this so high. I really believed so much, Carole, that you were my friend. Thank you for inspiring us female songwriters every day."
King, seated close to the stage, beamed with each performance and often sang along. When Train played I Feel the Earth Move, singer Pat Monahan sauntered to her table and encouraged her to sing along.
James Taylor, one of King's earliest collaborators, sang Up on the Roof.
Addressing the audience after the string of performances, King said, "As a songwriter, my dream was always and still is to hear great singers perform my songs. It does not get any better than this, folks."
The event raised more than $5.5 million and that was before the live auction that brought in another $120,000 for King's handwritten Tapestry lyrics and $70,000 for a customized Acura (Zac Brown placed the winning bid). Funds provide support for musicians in need of financial, medical and personal aid.