Once a week Kat will share with you a rockin’ and rare video of rock’n roll legends doing what they do best! Send your suggestions to kat@i100rocks.com!
CHECK IT OUT: Ben E. King with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, and friends on June 6th, 1987 performing “Stand By Me” live at London’s Wembley Arena at The Prince’s Trust Rock Gala:
RIP Ben E. King
‘STAND BY ME’ SINGER BEN E. KING DEAD AT 76
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ben E. King died on Thursday (April 30th) of natural causes in Hackensack, New Jersey at age 76, according to Billboard. He is survived by his wife Betty of 51 years. King, whose legendary stunt in the second version of the Drifters, spawned such early pop/rock classics as the co-written “There Goes My Baby” — which topped out at Number Two, the majestic “This Magic Moment” — also co-written by King — which peaked at Number 16, and the chart-topping Doc Pomus – Mort Shuman masterpiece, “Save The Last Dance For Me.”
Along with the Drifters evergreens, King will forever be known for his 1961 Top 10 hit of “Spanish Harlem” — which was written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector and produced by Leiber and Mike Stoller — and his most enduring hit, the Top Four standard, “Stand By Me,” which he co-wrote with Leiber and Stoller, which later became a surprise 1986 Top 10 hit all over again with the success of Rob Reiner’s coming of age film of the same name.
King, was born Benjamin Earl Nelson on September 28th, 1938, in Henderson, North Carolina, moved to Harlem, New York, in 1947. While still using his given name, he joined the Four Crowns, who in 1958 were deputized as the new Drifters after manager George Treadwell fired the previous lineup.
