Benjamin Earl King[1] (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He rose to prominence as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group the Drifters, notably singing the lead vocals on three of their biggest hit singles "There Goes My Baby", "This Magic Moment", and "Save the Last Dance for Me" (their only U.S. No. 1 hit).[2]
Benjamin Earl Nelson was born on September 28, 1938, in Henderson, North Carolina,[2] and moved to Harlem, New York, at the age of nine in 1947.[7] He began singing in church choirs, and in high school formed the Four B's, a doo-wop group that occasionally performed at the Apollo Theater.[8]
Career
The Drifters
In 1958, King (still using his birth name) joined a doo-wop group called the Five Crowns.[8] Later that year, the Drifters' manager George Treadwell fired the members of the original Drifters, and replaced them with the members of the Five Crowns.[9]
King had a string of R&B hits with the group on Atlantic Records. He co-wrote and sang lead on the first Atlantic hit by the new version of the Drifters, "There Goes My Baby" (1959). King sang lead on a succession of hits by the team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, including "Save the Last Dance for Me", "This Magic Moment", and "I Count the Tears".[2] He recorded only 13 songs with the Drifters—two backing other lead singers and 11 lead vocal performances—including an unreleased song called "Temptation" (later redone by Drifters vocalist Johnny Moore). The last of the King-led Drifters singles to be released was "Sometimes I Wonder", which was recorded on May 19, 1960, but not issued until June 1962.[10]
After a year of touring with the Drifters, contract disputes arose with Treadwell, in which King and his manager Lover Patterson demanded greater compensation. Treadwell refused, and King was only hired for studio recordings. On television, fellow Drifters member Charlie Thomas usually lip-synched the songs that King had recorded with the Drifters.[11]
Solo career
In May 1960, King left the Drifters,[2] assuming the stage name Ben E. King in preparation for a solo career. Remaining with Atlantic Records on its Atco imprint, King scored his first solo hit with the ballad "Spanish Harlem" (1961).[2]
King's records continued to place well on the Billboard Hot 100 chart until the mid-1960s. British pop bands began to dominate the pop music scene, but King still continued to make R&B hits. Some of these hits include "What is Soul?", "Tears, Tears, Tears", and Till I Can't Take It Anymore. In 1975, King made a comeback on the top 40 Billboard Hot 100 chart with the Disco hit "Supernatural Thing". "Supernatural Thing" peaked at number 5 on Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 1 on the Billboard R&B Charts. It was also nominated for a Grammy at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards in 1975 for "best R&B vocal performance, male". In 1977, King collaborated with Average White Band in releasing the album Benny & Us. The album spawned two top 40 R&B hits, "A Star in the Ghetto" and "Get It Up".
King returned to the Drifters in late 1982 in the United Kingdom and sang with them until the group's break-up and reorganization in 1986.[16] From 1983 until the band's break-up, the other members of this incarnation of the Drifters were Johnny Moore, Joe Blunt, and Clyde Brown.[citation needed]
A 1986 re-issue of "Stand by Me" followed the song's use as the theme song to the movie Stand By Me and re-entered the Billboard top ten after a 25-year absence. This reissue also topped the charts in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland for three weeks in February 1987.[8] The reissue also made King the first act to reach the Hot 100's top 10 in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, either as a member of an act that reached that high (in this case, the Drifters) or as a solo act that did.[17]
As a Drifter and solo artist, King achieved five number-one hits: "There Goes My Baby", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Stand By Me", "Supernatural Thing", and the 1986 re-issue of "Stand By Me". He also earned 12 Top 10 hits and 26 Top 40 hits from 1959 to 1986. King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a Drifter;[19] he was also nominated as a solo artist.[20]
On March 27, 2012, the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that "Stand By Me" would receive its 2012 Towering Song Award and that King would be honored with the 2012 Towering Performance Award for his recording of the song.[23]
Later life
King was active in his charitable foundation, the Stand By Me Foundation, which helps to provide education to deserving youths.[12][24] King was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, from the late 1960s onwards.[25]
King performed "Stand By Me" during a televised tribute to late comedian George Carlin, as he was one of Carlin's favorite artists.[26] On November 11, 2010, King performed "Stand By Me" at the Latin Grammys with Prince Royce.[27]
King toured the United Kingdom in 2013 and played concerts in the United States as late as 2014, despite reported health problems.[28]
Following a brief illness, King died at Hackensack University Medical Center on April 30, 2015, at the age of 76.[28][29][30]
He was married to his wife, Betty, for 50 years, and had three children: Terris Cannon, Benjamin King Jr., and Angela Matos, in addition six grandchildren.[31]
^Bret, David (2014). Brit Girls of the Sixties: Kathy Kirby + Dusty Springfield + Cilla Black + Helen Shapiro + Marianne Faithfull + Sandie Shaw + Lulu. Lulu Press.
^Lewis, Dave (2012). From A Whisper to A Scream: The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin. Music Sales Group.