Ben E. King

I met Ben in 1959, when my late partner Jerry Leiber and I were assigned to record the Drifters. We produced “There Goes My Baby,” which he sang so effectively. The way Ben sang was never over the top. It was always just heartfelt. Whatever he sang, the emotions and the thoughts became so important. When Atlantic Records released the song, it just shot up to the top of the pop chart, the R&B chart, everything.

We worked with Ben as part of the Drifters on many hit songs and records, like “Save the Last Dance for Me.” And when he decided to leave the group, we worked with him as a solo artist too. I just loved the way he sang. Ben was a young guy, but he had such a mature style–a knowing, sophisticated ability to impart a lyric. Our very first session produced one of Ben’s biggest hits, “Stand by Me.” The lyric is wonderful, but his voice gives those words even more meaning than reading them on a piece of paper.

A lot of wonderful performers came to my 80th-birthday celebration, but when Ben showed up and sang “Stand by Me,” that was the cherry on top of the whipped cream–everybody wanted to be up onstage with him.

Stoller is an award-winning songwriter and producer