Ben E. King
photo: michael borkson · cc by 2.0 ↗Benjamin Earl Nelson, born in Henderson, North Carolina in 1938, first found fame as a principal lead singer of The Drifters, voicing hits such as "There Goes My Baby" and "Save the Last Dance for Me" before launching a solo career in 1960. His solo signature "Stand by Me" (1961), co-written with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, became one of the most enduring soul standards of the century, returning to the charts after its use in the 1986 film of the same name. A gospel-schooled tenor, King helped bridge the vocal-group doo-wop tradition and the emerging sound of 1960s soul.
King named Sam Cooke among his key vocal influences, and you can hear Cooke's model of a gospel-trained voice carrying secular pop-soul in King's smooth, unforced phrasing.
listen forListen to the effortless, church-schooled glide of Cooke's "You Send Me," then to King's "Stand by Me" — the same warm, conversational croon that makes a big melody feel intimate.
Clyde McPhatter founded The Drifters as their high, gospel-tenor lead, establishing the vocal template King inherited when he later fronted the group; McPhatter's soaring, church-rooted lead-tenor style is a direct forerunner of King's own.
listen forHear McPhatter's pleading high-tenor lead on "A Lover's Question," then King's aching upper register on "Spanish Harlem" — the same gospel-bred tenor floating a romantic ballad.
The Ink Spots pioneered the vocal-group ballad format — a tender lead voice floating over soft backing harmonies — that doo-wop and groups like The Drifters descend from, shaping the lead-over-harmony architecture King worked in.
listen forCue the Ink Spots' "If I Didn't Care" for its high lead gliding over hushed backing voices, then King's dramatic "I (Who Have Nothing)" — the same idea of a solitary lead carrying the emotion above a soft cushion of accompaniment.