Music Friday: Carole King Gets the Ring in 1964's 'Oh No Not My Baby'

Welcome to Music Friday when we often bring you classic songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, the incomparable Carole King gets the ring in her classic 1964 hit, “Oh No Not My Baby.”

King assumes the role of a young woman, whose trust is unwavering despite signs that her boyfriend has been fooling around. She sings, “When my friends told me you had someone new / I didn’t believe a single word was true.”

Later in the song, King rationalizes that even if he was unfaithful, the dalliance was hardly a betrayal. She sings, “Well, you might have had a last-minute fling / But I am sure it didn’t mean a thing / ‘Cause yesterday you gave me your ring.”

Co-written by King and then-husband Gerry Goffin, “Oh No Not My Baby” was originally recorded in 1964 by Maxine Brown and subsequently covered by some of the biggest names in the music business, including Aretha Franklin, Cher, Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt, the Shirelles, Manfred Mann, Dusty Springfield, Debby Boone, Julie Budd, Eydie Gormé and the made-for-TV band The Partridge Family.

Although Carole King has composed most of her songs for other performers, many fans agree that nobody does Carole King like Carole King. That’s why we chose to feature King’s rendition of “Oh No Not My Baby,” which appeared on her 1980 album Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King as well as her 2001 album Love Makes the World.

Born Carol Joan Klein to a New York City firefighter dad and teacher mom, King started playing the piano at the age of 4. While attending high school she dated singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka and changed her name to Carole King. She and her buddy Paul Simon (Yes, of Simon & Garfunkel fame) earned extra money by making demo records for $25 per session. While attending Queens College, she met Goffin, who became her song-writing partner. They were married one year later, in 1959, when King was only 17 years old. The marriage lasted nine years.

In the early 1970s, King launched a successful solo career catapulted by the immense success of Tapestry, a breakthrough album that topped the U.S. album charts for 15 weeks in 1971 and remained on the charts for more than six years. It sold 30 million copies worldwide and still stands as one of the bestselling albums of all time.

King is credited with writing or co-writing 118 songs that have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100. King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, as a writer in 1990 and as a performer in 2021. King announced her retirement in 2012, but then walked back that statement in 2013, clarifying that she was just “taking a break.” She is still performing at the age of 80.

Please check out the audio track of King’s awesome rendition of “Oh No Not My Baby.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along.

“Oh No Not My Baby”
Written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Performed by Carole King.

When my friends told me you had someone new
I didn’t believe a single word was true
I showed them all I had a faith in you
I just kept on saying

Oh, no, not my baby
Oh, no, not my sweet baby
You’re not like those other guys
Who lead you on and tell you lies

My mama told me when rumors spread
There’s truth somewhere and I should use my head
But I didn’t listen to what she said
I kept right on saying

Oh, no, not my baby
Oh, no, not my sweet baby
You’re not like those other boys
Who play with hearts like they were toys

Well, you might have had a last-minute fling
But I am sure it didn’t mean a thing
‘Cause yesterday you gave me your ring
And I’m so glad that I kept on saying

Oh, no, not my baby
Oh, no, not my sweet baby
You’re not like those other guys
Who lead you on and tell you lies

Oh, no, not my baby
Oh, no, not my sweet baby
Oh, no, not my baby
Oh, no, not my sweet baby

Credit: Image by Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

WSU Scientists Surprised When Platinum Tops Gold in Extreme Pressure Test

Scientists at Washington State University (WSU) were stunned when platinum outperformed gold in a test to determine how much pressure they could take.

Prior to the study, the scientists at WSU's Institute for Shock Physics speculated that gold would be the victor, but the final results weren't even close.

Platinum easily held its atomic structure at 3.5 million atmospheres, the pressure at the center of Earth. Then the researchers pushed platinum even further, and the metal continued to hold its structure to nearly 4 million atmospheres, at which point it reached 3,215 degrees Fahrenheit and began to melt.

On the other hand, the researchers were surprised when gold's structural integrity began to fail at a relatively modest 1.5 million atmospheres.

“Science is all about curiosity,” said Yogendra Gupta, director of the Institute for Shock Physics at WSU. “Even though I had 48 years of experience in this field, and I was certain gold would behave as I suspected, I was just wrong. That is why we do experiments in science.”

In the test, scientists used a powerful laser to subject four types of metals to immense pressure over short intervals of about 10 to 15 billionths of a second. They then used a synchrotron to send x‑ray pulses into the materials to study the changes in their physical structure.

“Basically, we can look inside things and provide information about their atomic structure,” Gupta said. “This is the only synchrotron-based facility in the US capable of doing these kinds of experiments.”

Silver and copper were also put to the test. Surprisingly, silver matched gold's performance, while copper lasted a little longer before transforming at 1.7 million atmospheres of pressure.

One atmosphere of pressure is what an average person will experience at sea level. At a depth of 5,000 meters (about 3 miles), the pressure will be approximately 500 atmospheres or 500 times greater than the pressure at sea level.

“It’s really just pure fun science more than anything, but nevertheless I find it fascinating,” Gupta said. “I kind of laugh about it because you will never produce 1.5 million atmospheres of pressure in any real-world scenario. For all practical purposes gold is stable.”

Platinum's superior performance at WSU's Institute for Shock Physics aligns neatly with the messaging on the website of the trade organization Platinum Guild International (PGI).

Writes the PGI, "It takes a lot to say 'forever,' but when you’re selecting bridal jewelry—or any jewelry, for that matter—it’s important to know that platinum is truly eternal. This noble metal, one of the strongest, natural materials on the planet, is also one of the longest lasting."

And now we've learned that platinum also performs best under pressure.

Credit: Image by 2x910, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Watermelon Tourmaline Is the Most Delectable Variety of October’s Birthstone

There’s an ancient Egyptian legend that describes how tourmalines got their amazing colors, and it goes something like this… On their long voyage up to the surface from the center of the Earth, tourmalines passed through a rainbow — and by doing so, assumed all of its colors.

The name “tourmaline” is derived from the Singhalese words “tura mali,” which mean “stone with mixed colors.” In fact, when it comes to color, tourmaline is the undisputed champion of the gemstone world.

Not only does tourmaline come in a wide range of colors, such as blue, red, green, yellow, orange, brown, pink, purple, gray and black, the official October gemstone also boasts bi-color and tri-color varieties. (The other official birthstone for October is opal.)

One of our multicolor favorites is called “watermelon tourmaline” because it features green, white and pink bands that look very much like a slice of the delicious summer fruit. Designers love to use thin, polished cross-sections of watermelon tourmaline in their work. Gem collectors love watermelon tourmaline because it’s fun and so unusual.

According to the American Gem Society, the multicolor gems with the clearest color distinctions are the most highly prized.

The trade has unusual names for the wide variety of multicolor tourmalines. According to the International Colored Gemstone Association, colorless crystals with black on both ends is called “Mohrenkopf,” a chocolate-coated marshmallow treat sold in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.

Tourmaline crystals that have banded color zones that lie on top of one another are referred to by the Brazilians as “papageios” or “rainbow tourmaline.” A tourmaline with red on one end is called a “Turk’s head tourmaline.” Apparently, the reference is a nod to the red fez cap made popular in Turkish culture.

Tourmaline is found in many locations around the world, including the U.S. (mainly California and Maine), Brazil, Afghanistan and East Africa.

Tourmalines get their color from trace elements that are introduced to a gem’s chemical structure. Lithium-rich tourmalines yield blue, green, red, yellow and pink colors, while iron-rich tourmalines are black to bluish-black. Magnesium-infused tourmalines tend to be brown-to-yellow in color. Multicolored crystals reflect a “fluid chemistry” during crystallization.

Credit: Photo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.