RIP Ben E King

[pete.young]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32547474

Another of the great voices I remember from my childhood , at least he had a good innings and will be remembered as a great writer and singer for Stand By Me and many others.

[ezbass]

I saw him with The Average White Band at The Lyceum in London back in the dim and distant past, a great talent. RIP.

[Drax]

What an incredible record Stand By Me is - the bass, the vocal, that string arrangement. First tune I (and many I guess) learned on the bass.

From what I know he was one of the few that didn't get totally shafted, he did very well out of it all.

[chris_b]

I don't know about shafted. . . . he split the royalties for Stand By Me 50/50 with the publishing company, then split his 50% with one of the Lieber/Stoller guys (can't remember which one) for coming up with an arrangement (he [i]was[/i] ripped off here, because arrangers usually got fees not royalties), then he split his 25% with a foundation to help disadvantaged black kids.

It says a lot for the sales and plays of Stand By Me that he managed to live pretty well on his "share" of the royalties.

As always, sad news.

Ben E King was one of the first gigs I went to. He was playing a club in a scout hut in Cowley, near Uxbridge, backed by Tony Knight's Chessmen. What a great night.

[spongebob]

I saw him in the 80's with The Drifters - Johnny Moore was also back with them at the time.

Very sad. It's an era which we are slowly losing.

[madshadows]

Sad news

John

[Chris Horton]

Another of the greats have gone .......
But we are left with fantastic songs to remember him by

[bubinga5]

awesome talent.!

[casapete]

Loved his voice.
The album he made with The Average White Band, 'Benny and us' is one of my all time favourites, as well as all the early classics too.
A sad loss.