"Will You Love Me Tomorrow", sometimes known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song with words by

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the List of Billboard number-one ...

and music composed by

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

. It was recorded in 1960 by

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadd ...

Bell Sound Studios Bell Sound Studios was an independent recording studio in New York City from 1950 to 1976. At its height, the studio was the largest independent recording studio in the United States, and the site of recording sessions that produced seminal hits by ...

in New York City, and hit number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot 100 chart. The song was the first by a black all-

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

to reach number one in the United States. It has since been recorded by many other artists including a 1971 version by co-writer Carole King.

The Shirelles' version

Background

In 1960, the American girl group

released the first version of the song as Scepter single 1211, with "

Boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

" on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. The single's first pressing was labeled simply "Tomorrow", then lengthened later. When first presented with the song, lead singer

Shirley Owens Shirley Alston Reeves (born June 10, 1941), born Shirley Owens, is an American soul singer who was the main lead singer of the hit girl group the Shirelles. In addition to Owens, the Shirelles consisted of classmates of hers from Passaic High S ...

(later known as Shirley Alston-Reeves) did not want to record it, because she thought it was "too country". She relented after a string arrangement was added. However, Owens recalled on

Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, he played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead ...

's syndicated oldies radio program, ''Shake Rattle Showtime'', that some radio stations had banned the record because they had felt the lyrics were too sexually charged. The song is in

AABA form The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

Reception

In addition to reaching No. 1 in the United States, the song also reached No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 4 in the UK. It reached No. 3 in New Zealand.Flavour of New Zealand, 6 April 1961
/ref> This version of the song, with session musicians Paul Griffin on piano and

Gary Chester Gary Chester (born Cesario Gurciullo; October 27, 1924 – August 17, 1987) was an American studio drummer, author, and teacher. Beginning in the 1960s, he played on hundreds of records for bands such as The Coasters, The Monkees, and The Lovin ...

on drums, as of 2009 was ranked as the 162nd greatest song of all time, as well as the best song of 1960, by

Acclaimed Music Acclaimed Music is a website created by Henrik Franzon, a statistician from Stockholm, Sweden in September 2001. Franzon has statistically aggregated hundreds of published lists that rank songs and albums into aggregated rankings by year, deca ...

. It was ranked at No. 126 among ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''s list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

. ''Billboard'' named the song No. 3 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Answer songs

The Satintones The Satintones were an American R&B group who recorded together in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They are notable as the first group ever to record for the Motown label. The original members were Charles "Chico" Leverett, Sonny Sanders, James E ...

, an early

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

group, also recorded an answer song called "Tomorrow and Always," which used the same melody as the original but initially neglected to credit King and Goffin. Following a threat of litigation, later pressings of the record included proper credit. Eventually, it was withdrawn and replaced with a different song. The Satintones' versions are included in the box set ''The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 1: 1959–1961''.

Carole King version

Background

In 1971,

, who composed the music of the song, recorded a version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for her second studio album ''

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

'', with

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

and

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

performing background vocals on separate audio channels. King's version of the song was taken at a considerably slower tempo. David Hepworth analyzed it as "less like the pleas for gentleness on the part of a trembling virgin and more like a mature woman requiring parity in a relationship." It gained considerable album-oriented rock airplay due to the large-scale commercial success of the album. The song became a feature of King's live shows. Taylor recreated his part during their joint arena-based

Troubadour Reunion Tour The Troubadour Reunion Tour was a 2010 international concert tour by Carole King and James Taylor. It celebrated the 40th anniversary of their first performance together at The Troubadour in November 1970, and was a continuation of their reunio ...

of 2010. In the 2013 Broadway '' Beautiful: The Carole King Musical'', the song is featured in part four times: once during its writing, once during King recording a demo of it, then with the Shirelles performing it, and then King singing and playing it later during an especially bad time in her marriage with Goffin. No other song is featured as frequently in the musical.

Personnel

*Carole King – piano, vocals * Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – acoustic guitar *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Da ...

– drums * Charles "Charlie" Larkey – bass guitar *

– background vocals *

– acoustic guitar, backing vocals

Notable cover versions

* The Four Seasons hit number 15 in ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' and number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with the song in 1968. *

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

released a version on her

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

album, '' Silk Purse''. It reached number 98 in ''

'' and (Bubbled Under to) number 111 in ''

''. *

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

's version hit number 76 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1972 as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow". *

Melanie Safka Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for the 1971–72 global hit "Brand New Key", her cover of " Ruby Tuesday", her compositi ...

reached number 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1973 and reached the top 40 in the United Kingdom in 1974. * Morningside Drive released a dance version of the song in 1975, which reached number 33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. *

Dana Valery Dana Valery Catalano (born Fausta Dana Galli; July 15, 1944, Codogno) is an Italian-born South African-reared singer, actress, and television performer who started her career in the entertainment industry at the age of 16 in Johannesburg, South ...

recorded a dance version that hit number 95 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

. *

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

had a number 39 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

with his remake. It was his final top 40 hit on that chart. *

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

recorded her version for her 1983 album, '' How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye'', which featured the original Shirelles on guest vocals. *

Leslie Grace Leslie Grace Martínez (born January 7, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. For her work as a singer she has received three Latin Grammy Award nominations. She starred as Nina Rosario in Jon M. Chu's film adaptation ''In the He ...

released a bachata version in 2012 which became her debut single. Her version peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Tropical Songs chart and number one on the

Latin Airplay Latin Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It was established on October 20, 2012. This chart lists the 50 most-played songs on Spanish-language radio stations across the country as monitored by Niel ...

chart, becoming the youngest female artist to do so. She also released a dance version for her self-titled album, ''

''. *

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

performed the song at the 2021

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

Induction Ceremony. *

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

released a version on her album Lioness: Hidden Treasures in 2011

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1960 songs 1961 singles 1968 singles Carole King songs The Shirelles songs Linda Ronstadt songs Amy Winehouse songs Melanie (singer) songs Smokey Robinson songs Bee Gees songs Joe Walsh songs The Zombies songs Dave Mason songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs with lyrics by Gerry Goffin Songs written by Carole King Bachata songs Lobo (musician) songs Scepter Records singles 1960 singles 2012 debut singles Leslie Grace songs Pop standards Top Stop Music singles Song recordings produced by Bill Szymczyk

The Shirelles' version

Background

Reception

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Answer songs

Carole King version

Background

Personnel

Notable cover versions

See also

References

External links