Will You Love Me Tomorrow

It was recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was the first by an African-American all-girl group to reach number one in the United States. It has since been recorded by many other artists, including a version by co-writer King released on her 1971 album Tapestry.

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow"
Single by the Shirelles
from the album Tonight's the Night
B-side	"Boys"
Released	November 1960 (US) 1961 (UK)
Recorded	1960
Studio	Bell Sound (New York City)
Genre	Brill Building doo-wop pop soul
Length	2:41
Label	Scepter
Songwriter(s)	Gerry Goffin Carole King
Producer(s)	Luther Dixon
The Shirelles singles chronology
"Tonight's the Night" (1960) "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (00000004) "Mama Said" (1961)

Background

In 1960, the American girl group the Shirelles released the first version of the song as Scepter single 1211, with "Boys" on the B-side. The single's first pressing was labeled simply "Tomorrow", then lengthened later. When first presented with the song, lead singer Shirley Owens (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's syndicated classic 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.

Reception

In addition to reaching No. 1 in the United States, the song reached No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 4 in the UK. It reached No. 3 in New Zealand. This version of the song, with session musicians Paul Griffin on piano and Gary Chester on drums, was ranked at No. 126 among Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Billboard named the song No. 3 on its list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Chart history

Answer songs

Bertell Dache recorded an answer song entitled "Not Now Tomorrow, But Always" on United Artists label in 1960, arranged by Carole King giving King and Goffin the proper credit.

The Satintones, an early Motown group, also recorded an answer song called "Tomorrow and Always" (in two different versions), 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 Eventually, it was withdrawn and replaced by the song "Angel" with the same "b" side. The Satintones' versions are included in the box set The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 1: 1959–1961.

Background

In 1971, Carole King, who composed the music of the song, recorded a version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for her second studio album Tapestry, with Joni Mitchell and James Taylor 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 of 2010.

In the 2013 Broadway musical 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 – drums
• Charles "Charlie" Larkey – bass guitar
• Joni Mitchell – background vocals
• James Taylor – acoustic guitar, backing vocals

• The Four Seasons hit number 15 in Cash Box and number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song in 1968.
• Linda Ronstadt released a version on her 1970 album Silk Purse. It reached number 98 in Cash Box and (Bubbled Under to) number 111 in Billboard.
• Roberta Flack's version hit number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow".
• Smokey Robinson recorded a cover of the song on his debut 1973 album "Smokey", which was later sampled in the multi-platinum certified and critically acclaimed track "Devil in a New Dress" by Kanye West.
• Melanie Safka reached number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973 and reached the top 40 in the United Kingdom in 1974.
• Dana Valery recorded a dance version that hit number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976.
• Dave Mason recorded the song in 1978, and had a number 39 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with his remake. It was his final top 40 hit on that chart.
• Ram & Tam had a hit on the UK reggae chart, reaching no. 25 with their version in late 1979.
• Dionne Warwick recorded her version for her 1983 album How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye, which featured the original Shirelles on guest vocals.
• Amy Winehouse sang a version for the 2004 film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, which was included on the European edition of the soundtrack album. The song also appeared on Winehouse's posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures in 2011. Kelly Clarkson was inspired by Winehouse's style to perform the song herself on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
• Leslie Grace 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 chart, becoming the youngest female artist to do so. She also released a dance version for her self-titled album, Leslie Grace.
• Taylor Swift performed the song at the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, in which Carole King was inducted.

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1961 (U.S.)
• List of Billboard number-one Latin songs of 2012