Ben E. King

Benjamin Earl King † (Born: Benjamin Earl Nelson; September 28, 1938 - c. April 30, 2015 [aged 76]) better known online as Ben E. King, was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. 
==History==
Benjamin Earl Nelson was born on September 28, 1938, in Henderson, North Carolina, and moved to Harlem, New York, at the age of nine in 1947. http://pix11.com/2015/05/01/ben-e-king-singer-stand-by-me-dies/ He began singing in church choirs. In his high school year he formed the Four B's. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/arts/music/ben-e-king-soulful-singer-with-the-drifters-dies-at-76.html?_r=0 
In 1958, King joined a doo-wop group called the Five Crowns. Later that year, the Drifters' manager George Treadwell fired the members of the original Drifters, and replaced them with the members of the Five Crowns. http://souljoneswords.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/play-it-again-ben-ben-e-king-interview.html 
After a year of touring with the Drifters, contract disputes arose with Treadwell, in which King and his manager Lover Patterson demanded greater compensation. Treadwell refused, and King was only hired for studio recordings. On television, fellow Drifters member Charlie Thomas usually lip-synched the songs that King had recorded with the Drifters. https://web.archive.org/web/20150404221624/http://oldies.about.com/od/soulmotown/p/In-The-Spotlight-Ben-E-King.htm
In May 1960, King left the Drifters, assuming the stage name Ben E. King in preparation for a solo career. Remaining with Atlantic Records on its Atco imprint, King scored his first solo hit with the ballad "Spanish Harlem." https://www.amazon.com/Great-Rock-Discography-Complete-Discographies/dp/1841956155 pg. 531–532. 
King's next single, "Stand by Me", written with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, ultimately would be voted as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America. King cited singers Brook Benton, Roy Hamilton, and Sam Cooke as influences for his vocals of the song. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32547474 
King returned to the Drifters in late 1982 in the United Kingdom and sang with them until the group's break-up and reorganization in 1986. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/king-ben-e-1938-2015/
==Death==
King toured the United Kingdom in 2013 and played concerts in the United States as late as 2014, despite reported health problems. Following a brief illness, King died at Hackensack University Medical Center on April 30, 2015, at the age of 76. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11577200/Stand-By-Me-singer-Ben-E-King-dies-at-76.html 
==Discography==
===Albums===
*Spanish Harlem (1961)
*Ben E. King Sings for Soulful Lovers (1962)
*Don't Play That Song! (1962)
*Young Boy Blues (1964)
*Seven Letters (1965)
*What Is Soul (1967)
*Rough Edges (1970)
*The Beginning of It All (1972)
*Supernatural (1975)
*I Had a Love (1976)
*Rhapsody (1976)
*Benny and Us (1977)
*Let Me Live in Your Life (1978)
*Music Trance (1980)
*Street Tough (1981)
*Save the Last Dance for Me (1987)
*What's Important to Me (1991)
*Shades of Blue (1993)
*I Have Songs In My Pocket (1998)
*I've Been Around (2006)
*White Christmas (2008)
*Heart & Soul (2010)
===Live Albums===
*Person to Person: Live at the Blue Note (2003)
===Compilation Albums===
*Ben E. King's Greatest Hits (1964)
*Stand By Me: The Ultimate Collection (1987)
*The Very Best of Ben E. King and the Drifters (1990)
*Anthology (1993)
*The Very Best of Ben E. King (1998)
*Eleven Best (2001)
*Soul Masters (2005)
*Love Is Gonna Get You (2007)
==References==
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