Posted on 05/01/2015 2:50:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Ben E. King, the smooth, soulful baritone who led the Drifters on “There Goes My Baby,” “Save the Last Dance for Me” and other hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and as a solo artist recorded the classic singles “Spanish Harlem” and “Stand by Me,” died on Thursday in Hackensack, N.J. He was 76.
His lawyer, Judy Tint, said Mr. King, who lived in Teaneck, N.J., died at Hackensack University Medical Center after a brief illness, offering no further details.
Mr. King was working in his father’s Harlem luncheonette in 1956 when a local impresario, Lover Patterson, overheard him singing to himself and persuaded him to join a group he managed, the Five Crowns.
Lightning struck when the group, then known as the Crowns, performed at the Apollo Theater on a bill with the original Drifters in 1958 and attracted the attention of George Treadwell, who managed the Drifters and owned the name.
Mr. Treadwell had been feuding with his group, which had entered a lean period after Clyde McPhatter, its lead singer, was drafted into the Army in late 1954. He fired the Drifters en masse and replaced them with Mr. King and three of his fellow singers.
Atlantic Records assigned the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller to produce the group’s recordings. The match turned out to be inspired, yielding a streak of hit records that helped the Drifters achieve crossover success. Mr. King’s suave but impassioned vocals had a lot to do with it.
“He had a way of retaining a gospel grit in his voice but at the same had an easy, debonair style that was appealing and ingratiating,” said Ken Emerson, the author of “Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era,” about the Midtown
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Actually, I thought he had already died. Good soul singer though.
I’m a retired musician. Gigged 6/7 nights a week for years. Lots of studio time. That’s not important, just my bona fides.
“Stand By Me” has always been a favorite of mine. I think it’s one of the best Pop songs ever recorded. Timeless!
I’ve spent a lot of time arranging it for my Cooderish-style fingerpicking, and I’m going to go and play it right now!
A gifted performer from a time when the top performers had talent and produced popular music that was pleasing to the ear.
Ben E. King and others of his era could actually sing instead of yelling, mumbling, and chanting.
Spanish Harlem - one of my favs
You failed to mention grabbing their crotch or pretending they could play some other instrument.
Your bad.. as they say.
I think I’ll listen to the Mills Brothers now.
"pretending they could play some other instrument"
Very nicely worded!
For many (most?) the crotch is the only instrument they can play.
Now that’s a real slap in the face. Drifters are dying and Grifters are in the Whitehouse.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.