| Gerry Goffin | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Gerald Goffin |
| Born | February 11, 1939 |
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York |
| Associated acts | Carole King |
Gerry Goffin (born Gerald Goffin, February 11, 1939, Brooklyn, New York[1]) is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King.[1] As of 2008[update] he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.
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Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School. After spending a year at the U.S. Naval Academy, he resigned from the Navy to study chemistry at Queens College.
He married Carole King in September 1960, and the husband-wife team pursued a successful songwriting career, notably as part of the famous Brill Building songwriting collective. Their breakthrough hit was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", which was recorded by The Shirelles and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1961. Although they divorced in 1968, the two continued to work together for some years afterward. They are the parents of singer-songwriter Louise Goffin and Sherry Goffin Kondor.
In addition to King, Goffin also collaborated with other songwriters, notably Barry Mann, Russ Titelman, Barry Goldberg and Michael Masser. Works produced by these collaborations include:
More recent works attributed to Goffin are:
In 1995, Goffin remarried. He was one of the first people to take notice of Kelly Clarkson's talent and had hired her to do demo work prior to her auditioning for American Idol in 2001.
Today, Goffin lives and works in Los Angeles, California.