Ben E. King is an R&B vocalist best know for his 1960 classic "Stand by Me". His smooth soul-influenced baritone delivery helped bring R&B to the attention of mainstream pop fans.
Benjamin Earl Nelson was born in 1938 in Henderson, North Carolina and moved to Harlem when he was nine. In 1958 he joined The Five Crowns, a doo-wop group that replaced the original members of The Drifters, when that group broke up. He co-wrote the new Drifters' first hit "There Goes My Baby" (1959), which reached #2 on the pop charts.
After making a few singles with The Drifters, in 1960 Ben Nelson left the group and took the stage name "Ben E. King". In 1960 he made his first solo hit with "Spanish Harlem", followed by the powerful and disturbing "Stand By Me" which reached #2 on the pop charts. He made a number of successful recordings with a smooth, soul style in the next few years, including "Amor", "Don't Play That Song" and "I (Who Have Nothing", but after the mid-1960s he career went into a decline.
Ben E. King continued to perform and record, but without much success until 1975, when he released the #5 pop hit "Supernatural Thing", with a cooler, more subtle style than his earlier work. Ben E. King's most recent recordings were the albums "Shades of Blue" (1999) and "I've Been Around" (2006).
Stand By Me
Save the Last Dance for Me
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