Ben E. King

Ben E. King, en un concierto en Nueva York en 2007

Benjamin Earl Nelson (Henderson, 28 de septiembre de 1938), Ben E. King, cantante estadounidense de soul y pop.

Especialmente famoso en los años sesenta, es el intéprete de la versión más conocida "Stand by Me" (de la que es su coautor), un éxito en los Estados Unidos en 1961 y 1986, y en 1987 en el Reino Unido en 1987 (también alcanzó el #8 en el United World Chart).

Biografía

Tras trasladarse muy niño a Harlem, sus primeros pasos artísticos se produjeron a finales de los años cincuenta. En 1958, Ben Nelson formó un grupo de doo wop llamado The Five Crowns. A finales de año, The Drifters' se deshicieron con varios de sus miembros y los reemplazaron con lo del grupo de Nelson, que había trabajado en ocasiones con The Drifters. Nelson coescribió el primer éxito para el nuevo grupo, "There Goes My Baby" (1959). Fue su cantante principal, usando para ello su nombre de pila, en "Save the Last Dance for Me", una canción escrita por Doc Pomus y Mort Shuman, "Dance With Me", "This Magic Moment", "I Count the Tears" y "Lonely Winds." Ben E. King solo grabó diez canciones con los Drifters, incluyendo un no sencillo titulado "Temptation".

Discografía

Álbumes

• Spanish Harlem (1961, Atco) US: #57 UK: #30
• Ben E. King Sings for Soulful Lovers (1962)
• Don't Play That Song (1962)
• Young Boy Blues (1964)
• Ben E. King's Greatest Hits (1964)
• Seven Letters (1965)
• Rough Edges (1970, Maxwell)
• The Beginning of It All (1972, Mandala)
• Supernatural (1975, Atlantic) US: #39
• I Had a Love (1976)
• Rhapsody (1976)
• Benny and Us (1977) US: #33 with Average White Band
• Let Me Live in Thy Life (1978)
• His Love for Her (1980) US: #73
• Street Tough (1981)
• Save the Last Dance for Me (1987, EMI-Manhattan)
• Stand by Me: The Ultimate Collection (1987, Atlantic) UK: #14
• What's Important to Me (1991, Ichiban)
• Shades of Blue (1993, Half Note)
• I Have Songs In My Pocket (1998, Bobby Susser)
• The Very Best of Ben E. King (1998, Atlantic) UK: #15
• Person to Person: Live at the Blue Note (2003, Half Note)
• I've Been Around (2006, True Life)

Singles

• "Show Me the Way" (1960, Atco)
• "How Often" (1960, Atlantic) with Lavern Baker
• "Spanish Harlem" (1961, Atco) R&B: #15 US: #10
• "First Taste of Love" (1961) US: #53 UK: #27 b-side of Spanish Harlem
• "Stand by Me" (1961) R&B: #1 US: #4 UK: #27
• "Amor" (1961) R&B: #10 US: #18 UK: #38
• "Young Boy Blues" (1961) US: #66
• "Here Comes the Night" (1961) US: #81 b-side of Young Boy Blues
• "Ecstasy" (1962) US: #56
• "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" (1962) R&B: #2 US: #11
• "Too Bad" (1962) US: #88
• "I'm Standing by" (1962) US:#111
• "Tell Daddy" (1962) US:#122 R&B: #29
• "How Can I Forget" (1963) R&B: #23 US: #85
• "I (Who Have Nothing)" (1963) R&B: #16 US: #29
• "I Could Have Danced All Night" (1963) US: #72
• "What Now My Love" US:#102(1964)
• "That's When It Hurts" (1964)
• "What Can A Man Do" (1964) US:#113
• "It's All Over" (1964) US: #72
• "Around The Corner" (1964) US:#125
• "Seven Letters" (1965) R&B: #11 US: #45
• "The Record (Baby I Love You)" (1965) Pop: #84
• "She's Gone Again" (1965) US:#128
• "Cry No More" (1965)
• "Goodnight My Love" (1965) US: #91
• "So Much Love" (1966) US: #96
• "Get In a Hurry" (1966)
• "I Swear by Stars Above" (1966) R&B: #35 b-side of Get in a Hurry
• "They Don't Give Medals to Yesterday's Heroes" (1966)
• "What Is Soul?" (1966) R&B: #38 b-side of They Don't Give...
• "A Man Without a Dream (1967)
• "Tears, Tears, Tears" (1967) R&B: #34 US: #93 b-side of A Man Without...
• "Katherine" (1967)
• "Don't Take Your Sweet Love Away" (1967) R&B: #44
• "We Got a Thing Goin' On" (1968) with Dee Dee Sharp US:#127
• "Don't Take Your Love from Me" (1968) US:#117
• "Where's the Girl" (1968)
• "It Ain't Fair" (1968)
• "Til' I Can't Take It Anymore" US:#134
• "Hey Little One" (1969)
• "I Can't Take It Like a Man" (1970, Maxwell)
• "Take Me to the Pilot" (1972, Mandala)
• "Into the Mystic" (1972)
• "Spread Myself Around" (1973)
• "Supernatural Thing Pt. 1" (1975, Atlantic) R&B: #1 US: #5
• "Do It in the Name of Love" (1975) R&B: #4 US: #60
• "We Got Love" (1975)
• "I Had a Love" (1975) R&B: #23 b-side of We Got Love
• "I Betcha you Didn't Know" (1976)
• "Get It Up" (1977) with Average White Band
• "A Star in the Ghetto" (1977) R&B: #25 with Average White Band
• "Fool for You Anyway" (1977) with Average White Band
• "I See the Light" (1978)
• "Fly Away to My Wonderland" (1978)
• "Music Trance" (1979) R&B: #29
• "Street Tough" (1981)
• "You Made the Difference in My Life" (1981)
• "Stand by Me [re-issue]" (1986) US: #9 UK: #1
• "Spanish Harlem [re-issue]" (1987)
• "Save the Last Dance for Me [re-recorded]" (1987, EMI-Manhattan)
• "What's Important to Me" (1991, Ichiban)
• "You've Got All of Me" (1992)
• "You Still Move Me" (1992)
• "4th of July" (1997, Right Stuff)

Vínculos

• VH1 profile
• [1]
• [2]
• [3]