Classic Albums: Carole King’s Tapestry & Bill Withers’ Still Bill
Join us for another talk in our Classic Albums series exploring some of the most outstanding LP records ever made.
Stephen Barnard takes us back to 1971, when Carole King – once a creator of made-to-order songs for lovestruck teenagers – re-emerged triumphantly with Tapestry. Packed with exquisitely crafted songs about friendship, love and back-to-nature living, this modest, unpretentious album stayed on the chart for six years.
Equally engaging was the following year’s Still Bill from a singer-songwriter with a very different background. Heavy-laden with plaudits following the success of his debut LP, hard-working everyman Bill Withers might have been suffering from difficult-second-album blues but for the arrival of a rhythm section at the top of its game to complement his heartfelt, truthful song writing. And the best way to follow up a genuinely classic song, it turns out, is to write another one. Christopher Budd guides us through the pleasures of this much overlooked release.
Event Information
Price: £23.00
Course Weeks: 1
Room: Brunt
Campaign: Easter School 2026
Your Tutor
Name: Stephen Barnard & Christopher Budd
Bio: Stephen Barnard has been writing and lecturing on broadcasting, film, popular music and social history on a part-time basis for over 40 years. He has run courses for the WEA, De Montfort University, the City University and a number of Hertfordshire arts groups. Originally a music journalist, Stephen’s writing career included a long spell with the UK arm of Reader’s Digest. His five books include ‘Studying Radio’, the standard academic textbook on the subject. He lives in Letchworth and has taught at the Settlement since 2012.
Christopher is a writer, teacher, and musician, with a specialism in music for film. His interests range from silent cinema to electronic music via Hollywood from the studio system to the experimental ’70s, and British and European film and music of the 1960s and 70s. He has written for publications including Music Teacher and Classical Music on diverse topics and contributes regularly to music magazine Shindig!. He also teaches private instrumental lessons and records as a session musician.
Department: Humanities