Peak
1
Weeks
12
Score
3,473
Chart Year
1971
The most sexual song on the album, this piano-driven cut is the first track on Carole King's classic Tapestry album, which spent nearly six years on the album charts, thanks in large part to women who bought the album en masse. While the song had a sexual feel, King never used sex appeal in her marketing, which earned her a great deal of respect with women who could relate to her songs and outlook. The earthquake metaphor can be seen as King's coming out, opening her album with confidence and setting the stage for a new sound. With a piano hook and very forthright lyrics, it certainly made a statement. There is some confusion over whether this song was a #1 hit. The facts are that given its upbeat nature, King's record label selected "Earth Move" as the A-side to Tapestry's first single. However, after a few weeks of continuous airplay many DJs began to give the slower, lamenting B-side "It's Too Late," an equal amount of spin. Soon, it came to the point where "It's Too Late," dominated and ended up topping the charts by May of 1971. Billboard has since declared the record a double A-side and it is generally listed as such in books and articles that both songs reached #1 on the Hot 100 chart. This was used in the movie Terms of Endearment. It was also used in an episode of the TV show Eli Stone. The pop singer Martika covered this as her follow up to her #1 hit "Toy Soldiers." Her dance/rock version reached #25 on the pop charts in the U.S. and #7 in the UK. It also charted high in Australia, Japan and Spain and a number of other countries. Eternal, an R&B girl group from the UK, sang this on the 1995 album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King.
I feel the Earth move under my feet I feel the sky tumblin' down I feel my heart start to tremblin' Whenever you're around Ooh, baby, when I see your face Mellow as the month of May Oh, darlin', I can't stand it When you look at me that way I feel the Earth move under my feet I feel the sky tumblin' down I feel my heart start to tremblin' Whenever you're around Ooh, darlin', when you're near me And you tenderly call my name I know that my emotions Are somethin' I just can't tame I've just got to have you, baby Uh-uh-uh, uh-uh-uh, yeah I feel the Earth move under my feet I feel the sky tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down I feel the Earth move under my feet I feel the sky tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down I just lose control Down to my very soul I get hot and cold All over, all over, all over, all over I feel the Earth move under my feet I feel the sky tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down I feel the Earth move under my feet I feel the sky tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down A-tumblin' down, a-tumblin' down A-tumblin' down, tumblin' down
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 12, 1971 | 6 | 120 |
| 2 | Jun 19, 1971 | 1 | 125 |
| 3 | Jun 26, 1971 | 11 | 115 |
| 4 | Jul 3, 1971 | 1 | 125 |
| 5 | Jul 10, 1971 | 1 | 125 |
| 6 | Jul 17, 1971 | 1 | 125 |
| 7 | Jul 24, 1971 | 2 | 124 |
| 8 | Jul 31, 1971 | 3 | 123 |
| 9 | Aug 7, 1971 | 7 | 119 |
| 10 | Aug 14, 1971 | 11 | 115 |
| 11 | Aug 21, 1971 | 13 | 113 |
| 12 | Aug 28, 1971 | 21 | 105 |