Ben E. King

Born in North Carolina, Ben E. King moved to Harlem, New York when he was nine and made his first move towards stardom in 1958 when he joined a doo-wop group, the Five Crowns. When he and the rest of the group were invited to replace five sacked members of the more established Drifters, Benjamin King - as he was then - became the focal point, co-writing their 1959 smash There Goes My Baby and singing lead vocal on one of their biggest hits, Save The Last Dance For Me. He quit in 1960 after falling out with the group's manager and, changing his name to Ben E. King, launched his solo career. King's first solo hit Spanish Harlem came in 1961 and was rapidly followed by Stand By Me, one of rock's most iconic songs, which he co-wrote with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It has subsequently become one of the most widely covered songs in history though King's original version remains definitive and became a Number 1 in the UK on its re-release in 1987. He never replicated its success but continued to tour and record soul and R&B songs for the next four decades, retaining the respect and affection of both his peers and subsequent generations.

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