By Kinney O'Rourke

LACONIA -- Carole King, famous for her 1971 "Tapestry" record that is usually found pretty high up on any list of the greatest albums of the rock era, came to Laconia yesterday. It was her first stop on the second of a three day stump tour of New Hampshire on behalf of Senator Barack Obama's campaign for president.

Billed as an effort to reach out to women and families on behalf of the presumptive Democratic candidate for president, King acknowledged her support during the primaries for Sen. Hillary Clinton. She also mentioned her childrens' support of Obama, recalling that they thought "my support of Hillary was appropriate for my demographic."
Nevertheless, she said, "I am following her lead by doing whatever I can to fulfill the promise the two made at their meeting in Unity, New Hampshire -- that its time for all of us to come together to take on John McCain in the general election."

King was not only wearing an American flag lapel pin on her blouse, she was firm in her statement that she was in New Hampshire because "I love my country, and I want to do my part to reach out to moderate Republicans who have been marginalized by the leaders of their own party. There needs to be meaningful dialogue among all of us, regardless of our party affiliation. I support Obama because he wants to reach across partisan lines to find a common ground."

Focusing on what some have targeted as Obama's lack of experience, King said that for her, "every day is a new experience. We all bring all that we are to each new day. Barack has experience working with people; he has worked on women's issues. He will bring that experience to the White House every day he is president."

She drew more than a few chuckles when she said, "Women's issues are everyone's issues because, as everyone knows, if mama is not happy no one is happy."

The photographs in this gallery were taken by Rep. Beth Arsenault of Laconia who served as Ms. King's escort on Wednesday; Jamie Gemitti, photographer for the Conway Daily Sun; and Kinney O'Rourke, reporter and photographer for the Laconia Daily Sun.  The legendary singer/songwriter campaigned for Senator Obama in several cities and towns throughout New Hampshire this week, July 15 - 18, 2008 and concluded her visit to the Granite State by stumping for Jeanne Shaheen.

While she applauded McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, for all he has accomplished over his lifetime, she cautioned the Laconia audience to remember that "he has voted with President Bush and Vice President Cheney 95-percent of the time."

"The country is headed for a cliff. We just have to change directions. We can do that by giving this man -- Barack Obama -- a chance to show us what we can do, what we can accomplish."

"As a result of Hillary Clinton's candidacy," King said, "there are 18-million cracks in the glass ceiling. For his part, Obama has put millions of cracks in another glass ceiling. Working together, it's possible we can eliminate glass ceilings for everyone, wherever they exist."

The gathering of approximately 50 in the conference room of Woodside at the Taylor Community on Union Avenue, ended when King asked the audience to join her in singing a few lines of "I Feel the Earth Move". Not surprisingly, almost everyone joined in.

Republicans were not feeling the same movement, however. According to Jeff Grappone, New England Coordinator for the McCain for President Campaign, "First Barack Obama called for higher energy taxes, now he's bringing a 70s songwriter to New Hampshire. This is another clear sign that Obama will lead our country back to the Jimmy Carter era."

Born in Brooklyn, King, now 66, befriended pop legends Neil Sedeka and Paul Simon in college and went to work churning out hits for such 60s groups as the Shirelles ("Will you still love me tomorrow") and the Chiffons ("One Fine Day") from the iconic Brill Building. "Tapestry" was her first major songwriting effort using her own voice and it earned her four Grammy Awards, including Album of the the Year. From the album, "You've Got A Friend" was named Song of the Year and "It's Too Late" was recognized as Record of the Year.

Worldwide, 22-million copies of "Tapestry" were sold, a record for a single pop performer that stood until Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in 1982.

In 1990, King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.