Taylor Swift honours Carole King at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony
Taylor Swift gave a touching tribute to songwriting legend Carole King at the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday.
Kicking off the night with a performance of the 79-year-old's hit Will You Still Love Me Tomorrrow?, the Grammy winner later inducted King into the Hall of Fame, describing her work as "precious heirlooms".
"Her songs speak to the true and honest feelings that everyone has felt, is currently feeling, or hopes to feel one day," Swift said. "So it is only right for them to be passed down like precious heirlooms from parents to children, from older siblings to younger, and from lovers to each other."
Swift added that King's songs "come to you from somewhere else - a loved one, a friend, the radio. And then, suddenly, they are partly yours."
The induction marked the singer-songwriter's second time being honoured at the award ceremony. In 1990, the You've Got a Friend hitmaker was inducted as a non-performer with her former husband and songwriting partner Gerry Goffin. She's the third female musician to be inducted twice, after Stevie Nicks and Tina Turner.
This isn't the first time the two have crossed paths at an awards show. In 2019, King presented the Evermore hitmaker with the Artist of the Decade Award at the American Music Awards. During her speech, she praised Swift's artistic "versatility".
"Over the years, I have known some great songwriters and I have also known some great singers and performers," she said. "It's rare to see all those talents in one person. Taylor Swift. She is one of the only modern pop artists whose name appears as the sole songwriter in her song credits. Her lyrics resonate across all generations, her songs touch everyone and her impact around the world is extraordinary."
