Ben E. King, 76...
- Thread starter Fishoz
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2010
- Messages
- 17,704
- Tagline
- Broken beyond repair but highly affable
Member of the R&B classic group the Drifters and solo, perhaps best known for the song Stand By Me which was remade by Mickey Gilley and John Lennon to great success as well and became the title song of a popular movie in 1986. He passed away April 30, 2015.
He was born Benjamin Earl Nelson on September 28, 1938. He was very popular with the Drifters from 1958 until about 1961. The Drifters were about as stable as the name suggests, having been formed in the early 1950s for Clyde McPhatter by Ahmet Ertegun when he brought King to Atlantic and going through numerous lineup changes over bad management and poor pay. They were often more famous for creating solo acts and other groups (such as the Coasters) before those groups sometimes lost members back to the Drifters band. As a result of this poor management and some outright pettiness there are actually several versions of the Drifters that have toured to this day, some with former members of different versions with new members, including the band members' children. The version of the Drifters King was in was originally called the Five Crowns, who formed in 1958. When their manager fired the entire previous lineup the Five Crowns were drafted as the new Drifters.
King went solo on Atlantic's imprint Atco and released Stand By Me, which cemented his already legendary status in music, and also sang Save The Last Dance For Me, This Magic Moment (covered to great success by Jay and the Americans) and Spanish Harlem (notably covered by Aretha Franklin), among others.
Ben E. King is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, via the Drifters, and has been nominated as a solo artist but as yet not inducted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drifters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_E._King
He was born Benjamin Earl Nelson on September 28, 1938. He was very popular with the Drifters from 1958 until about 1961. The Drifters were about as stable as the name suggests, having been formed in the early 1950s for Clyde McPhatter by Ahmet Ertegun when he brought King to Atlantic and going through numerous lineup changes over bad management and poor pay. They were often more famous for creating solo acts and other groups (such as the Coasters) before those groups sometimes lost members back to the Drifters band. As a result of this poor management and some outright pettiness there are actually several versions of the Drifters that have toured to this day, some with former members of different versions with new members, including the band members' children. The version of the Drifters King was in was originally called the Five Crowns, who formed in 1958. When their manager fired the entire previous lineup the Five Crowns were drafted as the new Drifters.
King went solo on Atlantic's imprint Atco and released Stand By Me, which cemented his already legendary status in music, and also sang Save The Last Dance For Me, This Magic Moment (covered to great success by Jay and the Americans) and Spanish Harlem (notably covered by Aretha Franklin), among others.
Ben E. King is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, via the Drifters, and has been nominated as a solo artist but as yet not inducted.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drifters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_E._King
Sad News
Rest in Peace Ben E.
"Save The Last Dance For Me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ll8cKiudDA
Rest in Peace Ben E.
"Save The Last Dance For Me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ll8cKiudDA
