Friday Night Throwback: Ben E. King - "Stand By Me"

Word has come out that legendary soul singer Ben E. King, best known for his classic "Stand By Me," died Thursday of natural causes. King started his career in the late 1950's with The Drifters, singing lead on hits that included "There Goes My Baby" and "Save The Last Dance For Me". After going solo, he hit No. 1 on the R&B charts and gained a Top Ten hit on the U.S. charts twice with "Stand By Me" in 1961. The song, written by King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, returned to the charts in the 1980's when it was featured on the soundtrack of the 1986 film Stand by Me. Inspired by the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2–3, to date there have been over 400 recorded versions of the song. King's other hits included "Spanish Harlem", "Amor", "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" and "Supernatural Thing - Part I." Originally from North Carolina, but raised in Harlem, NY, the great Ben E. King was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009 and in 2012 the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that "Stand By Me" would receive its 2012 Towering Song Award and that King would be honored with the 2012 Towering Performance Award for his recording of the song.