America Eats Its Young.
   The words are not mine but those of that New Jersey oracle George Clinton who has proved to be clairvoyant with this and other pronouncements. Clinton wasn't talking about the pop music business but he could have been. The landscape is littered with one-hit-wonders. These artists managed to capture the moment for a large audience and were then discarded, usually in a remarkably short period of time, by a fickle public whose only concern is what you have done lately.
   To a certain extent, this is the nature of the pop music business. The song is always remembered while the artist who performed it is often forgotten. The percentage of singers who have been able to sustain a career over a lifetime is infinitesimally small. "out of sight, out of mind" is more than the title of a great five keys' song. The number of lead singers in popular vocal groups who managed to sustain solo careers is again small. If jackie wilson could exit the dominoes to instant stardom why couldn't tony williams of the platters? Even clyde mcphatter, the original lead of the drifters, had a career full of occasional ups but mostly downs before an untimely death at the age of 39. But then there is Ben E. King.       
   Benjamin Earl Nelson was his given name and he was born in Henderson, North Carolina. He moved to New York at the age of nine and got involved in the vocal group scene in the city. After an apprenticeship with the Moonglows, he became lead of a group called the Five Crowns. This was a group that had made a record and appeared at the Apollo theater. One of the great show business stories involves that apollo engagement. George Treadwell, the manager of the Drifters (and owner of the name Drifters) got fed up with his personnel, also on the Apollo show, and fired them all. As he began to look for replacements, he heard the Five Crowns. A deal was struck and the Five Crowns became the 'new' Drifters! The first Atlantic session by the new lineup, in march 1959, produced "There Goes My Baby", a #1 r&b hit, the first substantial hit for the Drifters in almost four years. This was followed by "Dance With Me", which hit #2. By late 1959, Benny Nelson became Ben E. King when he began a solo career. He cut his first solo sides for Atco in December and joined the touring show of Lavern Baker.
   Although Ben E King was on the way to establishing himself as a solo artist, Leiber and Stoller, producers of the Drifters called him in to sing lead on another huge record, "This Magic Moment". This process was repeated in may 1960 when "Save The Last Dance for Me", another #1 r&b hit was recorded. In June 1960, Ben E. cut a duet with Lavern Baker and then, in October 1960, he prepared his second Atco date. This date is one of most famous record dates in history. "Spanish Harlem" was a big record but more of a pop hit while "Stand By Me", derived from a gospel song, was his first #1 r&b hit. "Young Boy Blues" was also cut at this session. Ben E. King was off and running.
   He had his share of additional hits in the near term ("Amor" and "Don't Play That Song [You Lied]" were the two biggest) and in general continued a string of strong Atco singles and albums through the end of the sixties. Generally, this is where the story ends. Any career that lasts 10 years is a substantial one and the number of hits that Ben E. had with the Drifters and on his own would guarantee him top billing on the oldies circuit that began to become a big deal in the 70s. But Ben E. King had other things in mind. Just as the disco era began to make employment difficult for stars of soul music, in 1975, Ben E. King leaped in with another #1 r&b hit, "Supernatural Thing -Part One" and followed that with another big record, "Do It In The Name Of Love". Clearly, Ben E. King was not ready to be put out to pasture!             
   I first met Ben E. King in Ahmet Ertegun's office at Atlantic records. The year was 1987 and dutch television was interested in doing a feature on the rhythm & blues revival that was happening in Europe. I was there because i had co-produced the grammy winning box set Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974. Ahmet was there because he was involved in the whole history of the music and the label but Ben E. King was of special interest to this crew because a reissue single of "Stand By Me", powered by the film of the same name, had blasted into the top 10 of the billboard pop chart! The true test of a performer is how his music can reach across the boundaries of time and touch people. Ben E. King had done that. He is still doing it. This is his second album for Half Note records. It was recorded live, with a solid, swinging band at the Blue Note, New York 's most prominent jazz club. There are tunes here that Ben E. King has never recorded before as well as several old favorites. He gives them all his special flavoring. Ben E. King, one of the great American voices.