KING THE QUEEN OF GERSHWIN

WASHINGTON -

Carole King has a friend in the Library of Congress. She's the first woman to win the library's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

In her five decades of songwriting, King's hits have included "You've Got a Friend," "So Far Away" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." The library said Thursday that King will be the sixth person to receive the prize. Prior recipients were Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, and Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Librarian of Congress James Billington says King's work has been recorded by many artists to communicate universal human emotions like love, joy and pain.

- Associated Press