“Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (The Shirelles/Carole King)

Today’s classic song of the day is one of the top songs of the modern era, period. It’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” written by Carole King (music) and Gerry Goffin (words). It was a hit in 1960 for the girl group the Shirelles, reaching #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100. It was also a major part of Ms. King’s legendary 1971 album, Tapestry. Both versions demonstrate just how good—and how versatile—this song is.

King and Goffin wrote this one back in 1960 when they were a young (King was just 18) married songwriting team writing for Aldon Music out of 1650 Broadway in New York City, just across the street from the famed Brill Building. It was a daring song for the time, written from the viewpoint of a vulnerable and perhaps somewhat naive young woman who’s spent the night with her young man and is now wondering if it was true love or just a moment’s pleasure. It’s all there in Gerry Goffin’s tender yet questioning lyrics:

Tonight you’re mine completely
You give your love so sweetly
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes
But will you love me tomorrow

Is this a lasting treasure
Or just a moment’s pleasure
Can I believe the magic of your sigh
Will you still love me tomorrow

Tonight with words unspoken
You say that I’m the only one
But will my heart be broken
When the night meets the morning sun

I’d like to know that your love
Is love I can be sure of
So tell me now and I won’t ask again
Will you still love me tomorrow

As for the music, it’s classic Carole King. The chords play with a pattern of tension and release with a I – IV – IV/V progression. It’s that IV/V chord that’s the prototype of the later iim7/V “Carole King chord” that does the heavy lifting serving as a dominant without really being a dominant chord. In the chorus, she sets up the tension and release not in the chords but in the melody; the first syllable of the word “broken” starts on the sixth note of the scale against a iii chord before resolving down to the fifth scale tone, or the third of the underlying chord. Perfect.

“Will You Love Me Tomorrow” was the first hit song for the soon-to-be-legendary songwriting team. Don Kirschner, the “Don” in Aldon Music, reportedly thought so much of the song that on first hearing a demo of it, he gave a $10,000 advance to each of the songwriters—a major lifeline for the financially struggling young couple.

The Shirelles were the most popular girl group of the day and King and Goffin considered themselves fortunate for that group to record their song. The song ended up being fortunate for the Shirelles, as well, giving them their first number-one hit and the first number-one single by a Black all-girl group. It had that kind of impact.

A decade later, King and Goffin had split and Ms. King had moved to the west coast to try to make it on her own as a solo performer. Her first solo album, 1970’s Writer, was terrific but didn’t gain much traction. Her second album, however, was a massive worldwide hit. Tapestry helped to launch and define the singer-songwriter movement of the ’70s with its mix of new tunes (such as “It’s Too Late” and “You’ve Got a Friend’) and a few of her older songs reimagined. It was an album that was on everyone’s turntable for most of the decade, and rightfully so.

One of those old songs on Tapestry was “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” now told from the perspective not of a naive young girl but from an older, more experienced adult woman. The lyrics gain more relevance, coming at the end of the sexual revolution and from a woman whose heart has been broken before. It’s one of highlights of an album full of highlights, with Ms. King’s plaintive performance ably assisted by friends James Taylor and Joni Mitchell (billed as “The Mitchell/Taylor Boy-and-Girl Choir) singing background vocals. They added the perfect touch to bring a perfect song to the next level.

I consider “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” to be one of Goffin and King’s top three songs, the others being “Up On the Roof” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Don’t ask me which is the best; it all depends on the day and my mood, because they are all brilliant pieces of songwriting.

And here’s your extra special bonus of the day, Carole King performing “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” live on the BBC in February of 1971. Damn, it’s like she wrote that song just for herself; who could sing it better?