Legend, Superstar, One of A Kind - descriptions that apply to the ubiquitous Carole King. A hit maker for half a century, King is a trail blazer in so many ways. Her 'Tapestry' album did more for women in pop than any artist before her, and some would say since! Her collaborations with former husband Gerry Goffin have yielded more than 120 hits over the course of her career! By 1977, Carole had changed labels, and her hitmaking days were slowing down, but the 'Simple Things' album and the chart smash 'Hard Rock Cafe' kept her profile high at a time when Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Olivia Newton John and others were dominating the pop scene. 'Hard Rock Cafe' was released in Australia in August of 1977, and surprisingly was a bigger hit here than in America where it only reached #30 in September. In OZ the song climbed to #10 and spent 18 weeks in the chart. It is one of my all time favourite songs! The lively and joyous arrangement, the Latin rhythms in the orchestration and the kick ass ending make it a track that I simply never tire of hearing - 35years later! An anecdote, albeit a second hand one about Ms King: A colleague of mine was producing a profile on her and James Taylor when they toured Australia a few years back, and unfortunately he had been burgled that day and was running late for the TV shoot. When he arrived, and the crew and reporter were already there, much to the Producer's surprise and delight, Ms King asked him if he was ok and did he lose anything of value in the robbery!!! There was no diva grandstanding as he was late, there was no attitude - but a generosity of spirit and humanity that surprised me and him also! It spoke volumes about the character of this legendary singer/songwriter! Enjoy the visit to the Hard Rock Cafe!