Legendary soul singer Ben E. King passed away yesterday at the age of 76.

King's R&B presence was there at the beginning of the Rock Era when his group the Drifters scored their first hits at the end of the 1950's.  "There Goes My Baby", "This Magic Moment", and "Save The Last Dance For Me" have withstood the test of time as all-time classics that still help define the late '50's and early 1960's musically.

If King's career had ended when the Drifters split he would still have been a force in the music business.  However - as a solo artist, Ben E. King scored numerous other hits. "Spanish Harlem".  "Supernatural Thing, Part 1".  But the all-time classic came in 1961 as King recorded a song called "Stand By Me" - which far-overshadowed all of his other work.  The song was a hit when it first came out and then scored on the charts all over again in the mid-1980's when it was used as a theme song to the movie of the same name.  The song was also covered on the country charts by Mickey Gilley in 1980.

 

 

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