9
’59 smash
There Goes My
Baby
on Atlantic that was
later called uptown soul.
King fronted that one as well
as the group’s followup
smashes
Dance With Me,
This Magic Moment, Save
The Last Dance For Me
,
and
I Count The Tears
. But
his tenure ended abruptly
when he inquired about a
disparity in the group’s
money. He was ready to
go solo anyway, changing
his surname to King and
signing with Atlantic’s
Atco imprint. Drifters
producer Jerry Leiber
and Mike Stoller handed
him the brilliant uptown
soul theme
Spanish
Harlem
, and Ben
brought his own gem to
the same date.
“Jerry Leiber said, ‘Look, we have some time left. Do you have anything that
you’d like to show us? Maybe we can do it real quick,’” he said. “Amateur piano
player that I am, I showed him a song called ‘Stand By Me.’ He said, ‘Wow!’”
Spanish Harlem
and
Stand By Me
were huge sellers in 1961, the latter sailing
