In 1967, a chance encounter on a New York City sidewalk changed the course of music history forever.
When legendary producer Jerry Wexler spotted songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin on the street, he didn’t even step out of his car. He simply yelled a single song concept out the window.
That brief conversation sent King rushing back to her piano, where a late-night writing marathon produced “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” before dawn. What neither songwriters realized at the time was that a single night of work would yield a track that defined an entire era of soul music.
In a 2016 New Yorker Magazine interview with King, the songwriter discussed writing “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and its impact on not only her career, but Franklin’s as well. The chance encounter occurred in 1967 when King and Goffin were walking on Broadway in New York City when Wexler pulled up alongside them in a limo.
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He said, “I’m looking for a really big hit for Aretha. How about writing a song called ‘A Natural Woman.’ ”
King and Goffin returned to their New Jersey home, working through the night to create the song. By morning, they were done.
King added, “I hear these things in my head, where they might go, how they might sound. But I don’t have the chops to do it myself. So it was like witnessing a dream realized.”
While King would later record her own intimate, piano-driven version for her record-breaking 1971 album Tapestry, the track had already taken on a life far beyond its creators. Over the decades, it evolved into an undisputed vocal standard, interpreted by powerhouse artists ranging from Mary J. Blige and the late Bonnie Tyler to Adele.
Former United States President Barack Obama shared a statement with The New Yorker about the impact the song had on him personally. The 44th president wrote his remarks via his press secretary.
“American history wells up when Aretha sings. That’s why, when she sits down at a piano and sings ‘A Natural Woman,’ she can move me to tears—the same way that Ray Charles’s version of ‘America the Beautiful’ will always be in my view the most patriotic piece of music ever performed—because it captures the fullness of the American experience, the view from the bottom as well as the top, the good and the bad, and the possibility of synthesis, reconciliation, transcendence.”
Looking back on the summer of 1967, it’s almost unbelievable that a track with so much heart and cultural history started with a quick shout from a Manhattan street corner. What began as a spontaneous challenge from Jerry Wexler to Carole King and Gerry Goffin became a soul masterpiece that defined an era.
Related: 1974 Carole King Hit, Co-Written by a Steely Dan Singer, Was Blocked From No. 1 by a Rock Anthem
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