Oct 27th in Pop History

On this day, October 27th, in:

• 1960 - Ben E. King records Stand by Me.

Benjamin Earl King (Sep. 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer of Stand By Me, a Top Ten hit, both in 1961 and later in 1986 (when it was used as the theme in a film of the same name). Ben Nelson, as he was then known, was born in North Carolina and sang in his church choir there; he soon moved to New York with his family at the age of nine, where he became involved with both local gospel and doo-wop groups.

In 1958, King joined a doo-wop group called The Drifters. King had a string of hits with the group, including There Goes My Baby, in 1959, followed by Save the Last Dance for Me, and This Magic Moment. After that, he went solo with his singing career as Ben E. King.

His next single, Stand By Me, would ultimately be voted as one of the Songs of the Century by the RIAA. Stand By Me is one of the best-known and most covered songs in history. Eventually his bigger songs, Stand by Me, There Goes My Baby, Spanish Harlem, and Save the Last Dance for Me were all named in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Also, each of those records earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. He was one of the greats...and yet remained a humble man.

Ben E. King on Spotify

Stand By Me • Ben E. King

Also, on this day in…

• 1957 - Police in Oakland, California, inform Elvis Presley that he is not allowed to swivel his hips onstage in tonight's performance at the Oakland Auditorium. Elvis responds by sarcastically wiggling only his little finger while singing