Birthday: 28 September 1938, Henderson, North Carolina, USA
Birth Name: Benjamin Earl Nelson
Ben E. King was born on September 28, 1938 in Henderson, North Carolina, USA as Benjamin Earl Nelson. He was married to Betty Nelson. He died on April 30, 2015 in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA.
One minute we can be in a small club, the next minute we can be in a coliseum, and the next minute w...Show more »
One minute we can be in a small club, the next minute we can be in a coliseum, and the next minute we can be in a small auditorium. It varies, depending on the promoter, the budget, and the travelling distance. Show less «
And, because there was an honesty about all that was going on. It connected with the people in the s...Show more »
And, because there was an honesty about all that was going on. It connected with the people in the street. Show less «
The industry now wants to be in charge of everything.
The industry now wants to be in charge of everything.
We were doing things with a hundred per cent feeling. It wasn't programmed. It wasn't asked for. It ...Show more »
We were doing things with a hundred per cent feeling. It wasn't programmed. It wasn't asked for. It wasn't structured. It was just there. It was very raw. I don't think the industry would allow that to happen again. Show less «
It would probably take me an hour to two to write it down, get the feel of it, and that's with quite...Show more »
It would probably take me an hour to two to write it down, get the feel of it, and that's with quite a few changes. It's not really a hard thing for me to do. Show less «
When we took on the name The Drifters, we became the new Drifters, and signed a contract to be put o...Show more »
When we took on the name The Drifters, we became the new Drifters, and signed a contract to be put on salary, which I think was like a hundred dollars a week, apiece, five hundred dollars for all five of us. Show less «
You were able to sing something they related to instantly, because it was part of what you felt. It ...Show more »
You were able to sing something they related to instantly, because it was part of what you felt. It was part of what you had already traveled through. It's part of the people you were associating with daily. It was all of that. Show less «
The Phil Spector that I would meet has always been a nice, quiet, little guy who's very serious abou...Show more »
The Phil Spector that I would meet has always been a nice, quiet, little guy who's very serious about his work; obviously, you can tell that because each and everything he's ever done has always been charted. Show less «
One of the members of the group, I can't remember which one, found out we were making $3 - $5,000 a ...Show more »
One of the members of the group, I can't remember which one, found out we were making $3 - $5,000 a night. We were getting a hundred dollars a week a piece. Everybody got upset about it. Show less «
Yeah. I've been pretty fortunate to travel I guess, all around the place.
Yeah. I've been pretty fortunate to travel I guess, all around the place.
At that time, we were in charge. We didn't ask. We just did. We just did what was in our heart.
At that time, we were in charge. We didn't ask. We just did. We just did what was in our heart.
The movie [Stand by Me (1986)] is actually from a book, by Stephen King, called "The Body". When the...Show more »
The movie [Stand by Me (1986)] is actually from a book, by Stephen King, called "The Body". When they were gonna make it into a motion picture, they found the story was a bit too strong for the title, "The Body", based on a young kid's movie. It would be too heavy. Show less «
If there's anything about the business that I love and that I'm extremely happy about, is that my ca...Show more »
If there's anything about the business that I love and that I'm extremely happy about, is that my career started at that time and that I met some of the greatest entertainers at that time and some are still here. Show less «
He was a manager, one of the singers, I guess talent coordinator for the local talent in Harlem. His...Show more »
He was a manager, one of the singers, I guess talent coordinator for the local talent in Harlem. His name was Lover Patterson. He was living right across the street from where my dad had his restaurant. I guess he saw a lot of kids come in, a lot of my buddies. Show less «
I still think my whole career was accidental. I didn't pursue it. I feel like I'm cheating sometimes...Show more »
I still think my whole career was accidental. I didn't pursue it. I feel like I'm cheating sometimes. Show less «
Of course, the kids who had never heard of a person called Ben E. King were then aware of the name a...Show more »
Of course, the kids who had never heard of a person called Ben E. King were then aware of the name associated with the song. That gave a tremendous lift to me as an artist. Show less «
I do like what Alicia Keys and John Legend are doing. With their music, you keep your clothes on.
I do like what Alicia Keys and John Legend are doing. With their music, you keep your clothes on.
It doesn't take me long to write songs.
It doesn't take me long to write songs.
Yeah. I'm amateurish. I can play enough to write a song, or strum on a little guitar to write out a ...Show more »
Yeah. I'm amateurish. I can play enough to write a song, or strum on a little guitar to write out a song. But, I don't play well at all. I wouldn't even attempt for a second to play in public. Show less «
I never even visualized for a second doing what I'm doing.
I never even visualized for a second doing what I'm doing.
I do a lot of Vegas work and work with the comedians.
I do a lot of Vegas work and work with the comedians.
Many times, I've gone on tours with Paul Anka. He would have someone sitting behind him to keep peop...Show more »
Many times, I've gone on tours with Paul Anka. He would have someone sitting behind him to keep people from even talking to him. You were almost in a little restricted area there. Show less «
Those things don't happen today. I feel sorry for the kids in the industry today. They have on sungl...Show more »
Those things don't happen today. I feel sorry for the kids in the industry today. They have on sunglasses, eat caviar in jet planes, but they'll never know the true feeling that we did. Show less «
When I got involved with The Five Crowns who later became The Drifters, and we got this hit record, ...Show more »
When I got involved with The Five Crowns who later became The Drifters, and we got this hit record, I still was looking at this as kind of a fun thing. Show less «
It never dawned on me at any particular time of my life that people are paid tremendous money to sin...Show more »
It never dawned on me at any particular time of my life that people are paid tremendous money to sing. Show less «
