Rarely Seen Black and White Pictures of a 17 Year Old Carole King Working in Studio B of the RCA Studio in New York City, 1959

On June 9, 1959, a young Carole King made her way to RCA’s Studio B in New York City to record the songs “Short-Mort” and “Queen of the Beach.” She was 17 at the time. She co-wrote those tunes with her partner, Gerry Goffin, who was present at the session, along with publisher Al Nevins and a young “Jerry Landis,” a.k.a. Paul Simon. That’s him on guitar in the checked shirt.

A number of recordings from this era found their way onto 2012’s Legendary Demos, which also features hits like “Natural Woman” and “You’ve Got A Friend.”

(Photos courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Archive)