Ben E. King & friends - BB King’s, NYC, 9.27.13


by Michael Sherer
Posted: Oct 2013
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Ben E. King - photo by Michael Sherer

Ben E. King - photo by Michael Sherer

On the eve of Ben E. King’s 75th birthday, he and his special guests put on a soulful, rollicking and old-school show. The guests were, in order, saxophonist and singer Lonnie Youngblood, singer LaLa Brooks, (former lead singer of the Crystals) and Charlie Thomas of the Drifters accompanied by back up singers.

Youngblood is both a very good singer and player, and is able to sound quite similar to whichever singer’s song he’s interpreting. He did a heartfelt rendition of “A Change Is Gonna’ Come” by Sam Cooke, which for me is the most memorable tune played. When I said to Youngblood that his playing reminds me of the late saxophonist King Curtis, he said that he, in fact, studied with him, and that Curtis was a role model.

Clad in a white suit with rhinestones, Youngblood looked as good as he sounded, an old show-business rule still adhered to by some.

LaLa Brooks came on next, and belted out her usual high-voltage, albeit abbreviated set. She still has a lot of energy and enthusiasm after all these decades since fronting the Crystals in the early to mid ‘60’s, which she began as a teenager. Brooks, 66, explained that the Crystals were the first full group that Phil Spector worked with as a producer for his Philles record label, having hits with him such as “Da Do Ron Ron” and “Then He Kissed Me”, both of which Brooks performed here.

LaLa also did a rousing cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Beast Of Burden”, complete with Jagger’s pouting lips and chicken like dance. This is one my favorite Stones songs, and Brooks did well with it.

Charlie Thomas and his singers were next. Thomas was a lead singer with The Drifters starting in ’59, and sang lead on two of their hits, those being “Sweets For My Sweet” and “When My Little Girl Is Smiling”. I believe they performed both of these songs during this show. Charlie, at 76, sounds great, especially embellished by his back up singers.

To close the show was King. He sang many of his hits from when he was with the Drifters, which was ’58 - ’60, such as the early one “There Goes My Baby.” He also sang lead on a succession of subsequent hits by the team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, including “Save The Last Dance For Me”, “This Magic Moment”, and “I Count the Tears”. King actually recorded only thirteen songs with The Drifters. Two of them were backing other lead singers and eleven were lead vocal performances. This including a non-single called “Temptation” (later redone by Drifters vocalist Johnny Moore).

Then there’s King’s hits as a solo artist, which began in ’60. Gems such as “Spanish Harlem,” the hugely popular “Stand by Me”, written with Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, “There Goes My Baby”, and “Spanish Harlem.” King’s other lesser known hits include “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)”, “Amor”, “Seven Letters”, “How Can I Forget”, “On the Horizon”, “Young Boy Blues”, “First Taste of Love”, “Here Comes the Night”, “Ecstasy”, and “That’s When It Hurts”. A hit in ’63, “I (Who Have Nothing)” reached the Top 10 on New York’s radio station, WMCA, and is one of my favorites. Many of these songs were performed by King here. He was in good vocal form, especially for his age, and had a fine band backing him. He had his eyes closed most of the time while singing, and looked smart in a tan suit jacket with a black shirt and pants.

At the end, everyone came out and sang together. The sense of friendship amongst all was palatable, and it contributed to making this a show to remember warmly and for a long time to come.