Ben E. King

His first solo hits came quickly. Spanish Harlem (1961) blended soul with Latin touches, something rare at the time, and proved he could sound fresh without losing his roots. But it was Stand by Me, co-written with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, that became a phenomenon. The song climbed to the Top 10 in 1961 and, decades later, in 1986, returned to the charts thanks to the film that bore its name. It wasn’t just a catchy tune: its structure — simple verse, memorable chorus — made it easy to cover, and artists from genres as varied as John Lennon, Seal, or Florence and the Machine interpreted it in their own way. Even in cinema it left a mark: the 1986 re-release gave it a second life, proving that some melodies don’t age, they just adapt.

Beyond the hits, his legacy lies in how his songs became material for others. I (Who Have Nothing) was taken to pop by Tom Jones in the 70s, while Aretha Franklin gave Spanish Harlem a gospel twist in 1971. Even Supernatural Thing (1975), his only solo Top 5 hit in the 70s, inspired covers by bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees years later. It wasn’t just that his songs were covered: it was that each artist found in them a canvas for their own voice. And though British rock dominated the 60s, King kept recording minor but consistent hits until mid-decade, when the sound of Liverpool’s guitars temporarily overshadowed soul.

In the 80s and 90s, his influence grew subtler but no less present. The 1986 re-release of Stand by Me brought it back to radio, and in 1990 he collaborated with Bo Diddley on a rap version of Book of Love for a film. He even recorded a children’s album in 1998, I Have Songs in My Pocket, which won awards in the children’s music sphere. But beyond the accolades — such as his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as part of the Drifters or the Towering Song Award in 2012 — what remains is the sense that his music was always there, like a bridge between generations. He didn’t seek to be the most innovative, but the most authentic: and in that, few voices have achieved what his did.