Carole King will release reissues of four classic albums — Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King (1980), Touch the Sky (1979), Welcome Home (1978), and Simple Things (1977) — on February 28 via her own Rockingale Records label and Concord Music Group. Each includes the original photography and album notes and, aside from Pearls, has never been previously released on CD in the United States.

Carole King is one of the primary architects of the singer-songwriter movement of the early 1970s, thanks in large part to the hugely influential body of work she had already established by the time she released her first solo album. King wrote hit songs for other artists for nearly a decade before stepping into the spotlight with her landmark 1971 release Tapestry, which received a Diamond Award from the RIAA for sales of more than 10 million units in the U.S., with more than 25 million units sold worldwide.

These subsequent releases brim with the unprecedented honesty and intimacy of the singer-songwriter era and helped solidify her status as one of the most successful and revered female songwriter in pop music history.

Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King (1980)

Welcome Home is an eclectic and exploratory outing, with songs ranging from the Beatle-esque (“Venusian Diamond”) to the dance beat (“Disco Tech”). But the album is also marked by tragedy. It’s King’s second recording to showcase the collaborative songwriting partnership with her husband Rick Evers, who died in the months between the completion of the recording sessions in January 1978 and the release in May (Evers appears prominently in the album photos). Welcome Home — with backing by her band Navarro — provides a snapshot of an artist willing to take risks by stepping beyond preconceptions to embrace a range of styles.