 From the groundbreaking orchestrated productions of
the Drifters to his own solo hits,
Ben E. King was
the definition of R&B elegance.
Ben E. King's plaintive baritone had all the passion of gospel, but the settings in
which it was displayed were tailored more for his honey smooth phrasing and
crisp enunciation, proving for perhaps the first time that R&B could be
sophisticated and accessible to straight pop audiences.
Ben E. King's approach influenced countless smooth soul singers in his wake and his
records were key forerunners of the Motown sound.
King was born
Benjamin Earl Nelson in Henderson, NC, in 1938, and sang with his church
choir before the family moved to Harlem in 1947. In junior high, he began
performing with a street corner doo wop group called
the Four B's, which won second place in an Apollo Theater talent contest.
While still in high school, he was offered a chance to join
the Moonglows, but was simply too young and inexperienced to stick. He
subsequently worked at his father's restaurant as a singing waiter, which led to
an invitation to become the baritone singer in a doo wop outfit called
the Five Crowns in 1958.
The Five Crowns performed several gigs at the Apollo Theater along with
the Drifters, whose career had begun to flounder in the years since original
lead singer
Clyde McPhatter departed.
Drifters manager
George Treadwell, dissatisfied with the group members' unreliability and
lack of success, fired them all in the summer of 1958 and hired
the Five Crowns to assume the name of
the Drifters (which he owned).
The new
Drifters toured for about a year, playing to often hostile audiences who
knew they were a completely different group. In early 1959, they went into the
studio with producers
Jerry Leiber and
Mike Stoller to cut their first records. A song
Nelson (still performing under his given name) co-wrote called "There Goes
My Baby" became his first lead vocal and the lush backing arrangement made
highly unorthodox (in fact, virtually unheard-of) use of a string section.
"There Goes My Baby" became a massive hit, laying the groundwork for virtually
every smooth/uptown soul production that followed. Over the next two years,
Nelson sang lead on several other
Drifters classics, including "Dance With Me," "This Magic Moment," "Save the
Last Dance for Me," and "I Count the Tears."
In 1960,
Nelson approached
Treadwell about a salary increase and a fairer share of the group's
royalties.
Treadwell rebuffed him and
Nelson quit the group, at this point assuming the more memorable stage name
Ben E. King in preparation for a solo career. Remaining on Atlantic,
Ben E. King scored his first solo hit with the stylish, Latin-tinged ballad
"Spanish Harlem," a
Jerry Leiber/Phil
Spector composition that hit the Top Ten in early 1961. The follow-up,
"Stand By Me," a heartfelt ode to friendship and devotion co-written by
Ben E. King, became his signature song and an enduring R&B classic; it was also his
biggest hit, topping the R&B charts and reaching the pop Top Five.
Ben E. King scored a few more chart singles through 1963, including velvety smooth
pop-soul productions like "Amor," "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)," and the
Italian tune "I (Who Have Nothing)." In the post-British Invasion years,
Ben E. King had a rough go of it on the pop charts but continued to score R&B hits.
1967's Southern-fried "What Is Soul?" was one of his last singles for Atco;
seeking to revive his commercial fortunes,
Ben E. King departed in 1969.
A 1970 album on Maxwell, Rough Edges, failed to generate much attention, and
Ben E. King was forced to make a living touring the oldies circuit. In 1975,
Atlantic president
Ahmet Ertegun caught
Ben E. King's act in a Miami lounge and invited him to re-sign with the label.
Ben E. King scored an unlikely comeback smash with the disco track "Supernatural
Thing, Part I," which returned him to the top of the R&B charts in 1975 and also
reached the pop Top Five. While he was unable to duplicate that single's
success,
Ben E. King recorded several more albums for Atlantic up through 1981, and also
collaborated with
the Average White Band in 1977 on the album Benny & Us. After leaving
Atlantic a second time,
Ben E. King toured in a version of
the Drifters beginning in 1982. In 1986, "Stand By Me" was prominently
featured in the
Rob Reiner film of the same name; re-released as a single, it climbed into
the Top Ten all over again. In its wake,
Ben E. King returned to solo recording, issuing a new album every few years all the
way up through the '90s. He also guested on recordings by
Heaven 17 and
Mark Knopfler, among others.
Ben E. King's 1999 album Shades of Blue (on Half Note Records) found him branching
out into jazz territory, performing with a big band and guests like
Milt Jackson and
David "Fathead" Newman. 2006 saw the release of a brand new album, I've Been
Around, on True Life Records. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
Ben E. King for your next corporate or private event.
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