Ben E. King is dead – VG

The man who sang “Stand By Me” is not among us more.

It is the BBC reporting that Benjamin Earl Nelson, known under stage name Ben E. King’s death, 76 years old.

King began his career at The Drifters in the fifties, including got hits with “There Goes My Baby” and “Save The Last Dance For Me” .

As a solo artist he appears first at the Phil Spector-authored “Spanish Harlem” in 1961.

Ben E King

(Track) Stand By Me / Stand By Me

Later that year, he got a big hit with the song most will remember him for “Stand By Me”. It was written by King along with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

It should reappear steadily, not least in John Lennon’s version of the cover album “Rock’n’Roll” from 1975.
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Kings original version was also a hit again in the eighties, attached to a film by the same title, where Kiefer Sutherland and River Phoenix was among the actors.

It was only in the wake of the film, in 1987, that “Stand By Me” entered the Norwegian charts.

The song was also the spinal cord in Sean Kingston’s 2007 hit “Beautiful Girls.”

You can read VG former US correspondent Eirik MOSVEEN reflections on King when the artist turned 75 (requires login).