Ben
E. King
More
than forty years after making his first musical mark with The
Drifters, Ben E. King's voice remains one of the most expressive
instruments in musical history.
Born in Henderson, North Carolina, Ben E. King had his first formal
experience in hometown church choirs. Later, his family moved
to New York City's Harlem and it was there that Ben E. founded
his first group while attending James Fenimore Junior High. The
group was called The Four B's (for Ben E., Billy, Billy &
Bobby). They were neighborhood buddies and marked Ben E.'s first
singing experience outside of gospel music. Then, one day in 1959,
Ben E. was singing in his father's restaurant and the manager
of a group called The Five Crowns stopped in. That was really
when it all began to happen for Ben E. King.
While rock n' roll devotees may fondly recall the early years
of The Drifters, between 1953 and 1958, it is still the two year
period of 1959 to 1960, when Ben E. King sang lead with the group,
that endures as their "golden age". In 1959, the original
Drifters had disbanded, leaving their manager with a recording
contract to fulfill, as well as long term performance contract
for annual appearances at Harlem's Apollo Theater. A promising
young group known as The Five Crowns, with the new addition of
Ben E. King (not yet 21) was chosen to take The Drifters name
and step into their shoes.
"There Goes My Baby", the first single record by The
"new" Drifters, became the first record by the group
to reach the Top 5 on both the R&B and Pop charts. In addition
to singing lead, Ben E. co-wrote the tune.
After a slew of hits with The Drifters including, "Dance
With Me", "This Magic Moment" and "Save The
Last Dance For Me", fate intervened with a mid-winter snowstorm
that would change Ben E.'s career forever. The weather prevented
the other three Drifters from attending a session. The musicians,
engineers and recording personnel decided not to waste the time
and allowed Ben E. to record two songs. The first single was "Spanish
Harlem", which became one of the biggest hits of 1961. Ben
E. was honored as the outstanding vocalist of the year for this
single and "Stand By Me", which was his next hit, going
straight to Number 1 on the charts and was re-released in 1986,
when the movie of the same name was in theaters. An entire new
generation of fans were privy to the voice that responsible for
such classics as, "Amor", "Don't Play That Song",
"Supernatural Thing" and "Do It In The Name Of
Love", just to mention a few.
Although Ben E. has spent mostly all of his time over the last
few years touring and writing, he still has found the time for
other industry related projects. Recent appearances on 'Good Morning
America', 'Late Night with David Letterman' and re-recording of
songs used in television commercials such as "Stand By Me"
and "This Magic Moment" have occupied much of Ben E's
time. Many of his activities have taken him overseas, one of which
is a recording project in Japan, as well as numerous Asian and
European tours.
On tour much of the year, Ben E. King is an Artist's Artist and
audiences around the world love him.
|
