Carole King honoured by Grammys

King was awarded the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song earlier this year

Carole King will receive a special honour from the organisers of the Grammy Awards next year.

The singer-songwriter will be named MusiCares Person of the Year at an event held two nights before the main Grammys ceremony in January.

She will be serenaded by artists including Lady Gaga, the Dixie Chicks, Bette Midler, Steve Tyler, Jason Mraz and her former partner James Taylor.

King, 71, was honoured with a Grammy for lifetime achievement this year.

Previous recipients of the MusiCares Person of the Year title include Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Barbra Streisand and Neil Young.

The award will honour King's career as a writer and performer, which spans nearly six decades, as well as her charitable and philanthropic work.

The four-times Grammy winner was the first female solo artist to sell more than 10 million copies of a single album with Tapestry, which stayed in the US music charts for six years after its 1971 release.

Her biggest hits include The Locomotion, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow and You've Got a Friend, and her songs have been recorded by the likes of The Monkees and Aretha Franklin.

"Her contributions as a songwriter and performer have truly changed the landscape of pop music, and her philanthropy speaks volumes about her generosity and personal passions," said Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammys.

The award will be given out at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on 24 January.

Hits such as I Feel the Earth Move and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman also saw her become a member of the Rock and Roll and Songwriters' Halls of Fame in 1987.

A musical of King's life, charting her rise from Brooklyn to fame and fortune, is due to open on Broadway next spring called Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.