Born Benjamin Earl Nelson on 28 Sep 1938, died 30 Apr 2015 aged 75, and would have been 84 yesterday. He
changed his name to Ben E. King when he left The Drifters in
1960 to pursue a solo career. Although much vaunted as a member of The
Drifters, he only recorded with them for two years on thirteen songs (eleven
on lead). He was a member of the Five Crowns who became The Drifters in 1958
replacing the existing members.
His first hit was his third single "Spanish Harlem" which he followed with his now iconic song "Stand By Me" co-written with Leiber and Stoller (who were credited under the pseudonym
Elmo Glick) which was a #1 R&B and #4 Hot 100 hit in 1961. In 1987 it
was a UK #1 for three weeks owing to it being the theme tune for a film of
the same name starring River Phoenix based on a Stephen King novel "The
Body".
He only achieved four UK Top 40 singles and "Stand By Me" accounts for two of them with it also reaching #27 in 1961. The other two
were "First Taste Of Love" (#27) and "Amor" (#38) both in 1961. "Spanish Harlem" also entered in 1987 (#92), presumably again owing to the movie, although
it doesn't feature on the soundtrack.
His next biggest hit was "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" (later covered by Aretha) which reached #2 R&B but he had to wait
until 1975 for his next Top 10 hit with "Supernatural Thing" which was his second (and last) #1 R&B hit. His only other R&B
Top 10 hit was the follow up from the same album "Do It In The Name Of Love".
His best album, as far as I'm concerned' was "Let Me Live In Your Life" (posted a few months back) produced by Lamont Dozier. Another surprise
is that only two of his albums charted, "Supernatural Thing" (#39 1975) and the joint one with Average White Band "Benny And Us" (#33 1977).
The playlist below focuses on manly his 70s and some early 80s
material.
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