An Introduction To

2017 collection. An introduction to Ben E. King. A 10-track compilation of Ben E. King. One of the coolest customers in the history of R&B left us in 2015. Here's his immortal Stand by Me, his hits Spanish Harlem, Amor, Here Comes the Night, Young Boy Blues, I Could Have Danced All Night, his take on Moon River and more sublime singing by Ben E. King! Born Benjamin Earl Nelson in Henderson, North Carolina on September 28, 1938, the future Mr. King moved up the east coast to Harlem when he was only nine years old, but the change in locale ultimately proved fortuitous for the singer: in 1958, he became a member of a doo-wop group known as the Five Crowns, who found themselves selected by manager George Treadwell to replace the members of The Drifters that he'd fired. As the new lead singer of The Drifters, King's voice was soon emerging from radios all around America, singing such instant classics as Save the Last Dance for Me, This Magic Moment, and There Goes My Baby, which King co-wrote with Lover Patterson, George Treadwell, Jerry Lieber, and Mike Stoller. Unfortunately, a contract dispute led King to depart the group's ranks, but it all worked out in the end, as that's when he adopted his stage name, embarked on a solo career, and started to create musical magic with Spanish Harlem and Stand by Me.