Gerry Goffin, the American lyricist who co-wrote some of the biggest hit songs of the 1960s with his former wife and longtime collaborator Carole King, has died. He was 75.

Goffin, who died of natural causes at his Los Angeles home, co-wrote numerous top-40 singles with King, including (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, The Loco-Motion and Up on the Roof, most of which were hits for other performers including Aretha Franklin, Kylie Minogue and The Drifters.

Goffin wrote the lyrics to tunes King composed at the piano. The couple divorced in 1968 but they remained friends and in 1990 were inducted together into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In a statement, King said Goffin was her “first love” and had a “profound impact” on her life, the BBC reports.

“His words expressed what so many people were feeling but didn’t know how to say.”

Born in the New York city borough of Brooklyn in 1939, Goffin married King when he was 20 and she was 17. They had their first hit, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, sung by the Shirelles, shortly afterwards.