‘Gilmore Girls’: Carole King Had a Private Concert With Members of the ‘AYITL’ Cast
Carole King is woven into the Gilmore Girls universe so much that it’s difficult to note her involvement. The singer not only cameoed, but she also was the voice behind the show’s iconic theme song. King also appeared in A Year in the Life and had a private concert with cast members.
Carole King asked ‘AYITL’ cast not to film their private concert
Gilmore Girls ran from 2000 until it ended in 2007. GG returned nine years after its ending for a special miniseries called Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life and brought back almost every cast member. Although King wasn’t a core cast member, she is still technically a huge part of it, and her appearance in an episode of the miniseries AYITL proves that.
Lauren Graham, who played Lorelai Gilmore in the series, sat down with Sam Pancake to discuss her career. When Pancake asked about Graham’s special moment from the series, the actor said she couldn’t name one single moment as every time she was on set counted as unique.
Pancake, however, said his special moment was when they were all on set, and King had finished filming her scenes and treated the cast to a private concert. “She was like, ‘I’m going to give you a private concert and no phones, no recording,'” Pancake said.
Graham interrupted him, calling King “a force” and “very present.” Graham recalled the cast and crew being done for the day and everybody gathering around a piano on set. The star said she asked King if they could film the performance, but the singer refused, saying, “This is just for us, just for now,” and everybody obliged.
Pancake and Graham said they were grateful to have experienced that moment, with the former saying there was a lot of crying.
Carole King re-recorded the show’s theme song with her daughter
The Gilmore Girls’ theme song “Where You Lead” is King and singer Toni Stern’s classic, which appeared in King’s 1971 album Tapestry. The song’s lyrics took inspiration from the Book of Ruth, where she says, “Where you go, I will go.” The song’s original lyrics suggest that although a woman follows a man, she does so of her own volition.
GG creator Amy Sherman-Palladino told Entertainment Weekly in 2015 that she asked the singer for permission to use the song because, “It was a song about connection and it is a song about where you lead, I’ll follow.”
King was more than willing to let Sherman-Palladino use the song, but on one condition — she would re-do it with her daughter, Louise Goffin, and change up the lyrics. The new song, which viewers hear in the opening credits, reflects the themes of the mother-daughter dynamics that carry GG.
A look at Carole King’s role in ‘Gilmore Girls’
King made her first appearance in GG in its second season, playing the sassy owner of a music shop in Stars Hollow. King’s character, Sophie, although cold at first, allowed Lane to practice the drums in her store, thus kicking off her personal music journey. She returned three years later for a Season 5 episode, then months later in Season 6.
The singer returned for the GG revival appearing in episode 3, dubbed “Summer” as part of the committee planning the Stars Hollow Musical. Since the town can’t play some of the songs they want, King’s character, a former songwriter, offers up her original compositions — and the team hilariously passes on her hit song “I Feel the Earth Move.”
