Carole King’s beloved, whimsical collaboration with Maurice Sendak, Really Rosie, celebrates its 50th anniversary with a vinyl reissue from Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment.

Available February 28th, 2025 on vinyl for the first time since 1975, the release features 11 original soundtrack recordings composed and performed by Carole King, with story and lyrics by the legendary Sendak. The album was produced by King’s longtime collaborator Lou Adler, the man behind the board on her 1971 smash-hit album Tapestry.

Carole King is the most successful female songwriter of the 20th century pop music era, with 118 Billboard chart hits. Tapestry, King’s 1971 solo album, took her to the pinnacle as a singer/songwriter with four Grammy Awards®. Tapestry, certified 14 x Platinum and with 30 million worldwide sales, remained the best-selling album by a female artist for a quarter century.

First premiered as a CBS animated special in February 1975, Really Rosie tells the story of an ambitious and imaginative girl from Brooklyn who decides to stage a musical about her life and her quirky neighborhood friends. Set to the vibrant and poignant music of Carole King, paired with Sendak’s delightfully subversive lyrics, the songs explore themes of childhood whimsy, creativity, and self-discovery.

Side A:
1. Really Rosie
2. One Was Johnny
3. Alligators All Around
4. Pierre
5. Screaming and Yelling
6. The Ballad of Chicken Coup
7. Chicken Soup with Rice

Putting the vinyl LP on the turntable, Side A opens on the drum-led, harmonically sumptuous title track Really Rosie and then comes the rhythmically-infectious One Was Johnny, a song that encapsulates my childhood in a nutshell, the catchy Alligators All Around, the gentle hipsway of Pierre, the side rounding out on a track for anyone who has ever babysat to easily identify with Screaming and Yelling, the melodious The Ballad of Chicken Coup and then the bluesy Chicken Soup with Rice is brought forth.

Side B:
1. Avenue P
2. My Simple Humble Neighborhood
3. The Awful Truth
4. Such Sufferin’
5. Really Rosie (Reprise)

Turning the vinyl LP over and dropping the needle, up next on Side B is an achingly impassioned Avenue P which is in turn followed seamlessly by the playfully perky My Simple Humble Neighborhood, the dutifully rocking Dracula track The Awful Truth, before the set comes to a close on the gorgeously free flowing Such Sufferin’ and a beautiful, simplistically delightful Really Rosie (Reprise).

King had a deep connection to the material. Recognizing echoes of her own Brooklyn childhood in Sendak’s work, she brought her signature style and warmth to Really Rosie, voicing the title character and infusing each track with her unmistakable charm. Songs like the cheeky “Pierre” and the bittersweet “The Ballad of Chicken Soup” highlight Sendak’s mix of playfulness and darker humor, all buoyed by King’s effervescent music and performance.

Over the past five decades, Really Rosie has remained a treasured classic, a staple for children’s theater groups, and a gateway to musical discovery for families. Its educational and entertaining elements have transcended generations, cementing its status as a cultural touchstone.

The 50th-anniversary edition of Really Rosie will be reissued worldwide on 1-LP standard-weight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve through Legacy Recordings and is available for pre-order now.

Official Purchase Link