US library to honor Carole King with music prize

By BRETT ZONGKER
FILE - This June 18, 2010 file photo shows Carole King performing on the NBC "Today" television program in New York. King is the first woman to win the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song for her five decades of songwriting. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Carole King has a friend in the Library of Congress. She's the first woman to win the library's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

In her five decades of songwriting, King's hits have included "You've Got a Friend," ''So Far Away" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." The library said Thursday that King will be the fifth person to receive the prize. Prior recipients include Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney.

Librarian of Congress James Billington says King's work has been recorded by many artists to communicate universal human emotions like love, joy and pain.

King will receive the prize in the spring and says in a statement that she looks forward to performing in Washington. Honorees are typically saluted at the White House.