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Ben E. King music biography continued...

Benjamin Earl Nelson on September 28, 1938, in Henderson, North Carolina, King honed his vocals in church as a youngster after his family had moved to Harlem, New York when he was nine. In 1958, he joined a doo wop group called The Five Crowns, a group that was later reconfigured as The Drifters after that group disbanded. Nelson co-wrote the first hit by the new version of the Drifters, "There Goes My Baby" (1959). He also sang lead, using his birth name, on "Save the Last Dance for Me", a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, "Dance With Me," "This Magic Moment," "I Count the Tears," and "Lonely Winds." All in all, King recorded ten songs with The Drifters, until a contractual disagreement prompted him to split from the group and start his own solo career with the stage name of King, after a favorite uncle. King scored his first solo hit with the stylish, Latin-tinged ballad "Spanish Harlem" (1961). "Stand by Me" was his next recording. Written by King along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, "Stand by Me" became a number one hit, and was ultimately voted one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America.



Throughout King's career he earned five number one hits: "There Goes My Baby," "Save The Last Dance For Me," "Stand By Me," "Supernatural Thing," and the 1986 re-issue of Stand By Me." "Stand by Me," "There Goes My Baby" and "Spanish Harlem" were named as three of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and were all given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award including Save The Last Dance For Me . Kings other classics were Don't Play That Song (You Lied) (which was covered by Aretha Franklin in the 1970s), Amor, Seven Letters, How Can I Forget, On the Horizon, Young Boy Blues, the original I (Who Have Nothing), and many more. He also earned twelve top ten hits throughout 1959 to 1986. King continues to perform these classics at special guest appearances and on television to this day, delighting each new generation of fans with his timeless elegance.