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Music is a big part of any TV show but especially Gilmore Girls. That’s why it’s only fitting music from Carole King inspired the name of the 2016 Netflix revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.

Carole King revamped 1 of her songs to make the ‘Gilmore Girls’ theme song

Carole King smiles as she sits at a piano and performs at the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize Tribute Concert
Carole King performs at the 2013 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize Tribute Concert | Paul Morigi/WireImage

“Where you lead, I will follow.” They’re the first lines of the theme song that play during the opening credits of every Gilmore Girls episode. What song is it? A version of King’s “Where You Lead,” which originally appeared on her 1971 album, Tapestry.

When Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino reached out to King about re-recording “Where You Lead,” the Grammy winner wasn’t singing it often.

King “was not singing that song much anymore because it had these kind of ‘stand by your man’ lyrics,” her daughter, Louise Goffin, told BuzzFeed News in a 2016 phone interview. “She wasn’t feeling it anymore. She didn’t feel like it was an empowering song.”

Gilmore Girls gave King the opportunity to give it new meaning. She tweaked the lyrics so they’d apply to a mother and daughter rather than a woman and a man. Then she recorded the new version with Goffin and the Gilmore Girls theme song was born. 

Carole King’s song, ‘You’ve Got a Friend’, inspired the name of the ‘Gilmore Girls’ Netflix revival

Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) shared details about the original series and the revival in her book, Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, (and Everything in Between).

According to Business Insider Australia, the actor revealed another one of King’s songs has a connection to the world of Gilmore Girls. Her song, “You’ve Got a Friend,” another track off Tapestry, inspired the name of the Netflix revival.

Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel sit on a couch together in a promotional poster for 'Gilmore Girls; A Year in the Life'
Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel in Gilmore Girls; A Year in the Life | Netflix
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How ‘Gilmore Girls’ Got Its Iconic Theme Song, ‘Where You Lead’

A line in the song says, “Winter, spring, summer or fall. All you have to do is call, and I’ll be there.” Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life features four episodes, each one covering Lorelai and Rory’s Gilmore’s (Alexis Bledel) lives in a different season.

What’s more, King surprised everyone on the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life set by singing “You’ve Got a Friend.”

Carole King performed 1 of her hit songs on ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’


King played Sophie Bloom on Gilmore Girls. She reprised her role in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Instead of just playing the music store owner Lane Kim (Keiko Agena) looked up to, the now-79-year-old made an even bigger nod to her real-life profession.

While pitching songs for the Stars Hollow musical, King sang a little bit of “I Feel the Earth Move” on the piano as Bloom. The best part? Lorelai, Taylor Doose (Michael Winters), and everyone else at the meeting didn’t go for the song when in reality it’s a big hit.

Watch Gilmore Girls and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life on Netflix.