A one-time star of The Drifters, who sang lead on their big hit, "There Goes My Baby," Ben E. King also struck gold after leaving the group in 1960. His chart debut as a solo artist was the #10 hit, "Spanish Harlem." While born in North Carolina, King was raised in Harlem after moving there at the age of 9. In 1961, he scored again with "Stand By Me," which went to #4 and reappeared on the chart to peak at #9 in 1986 after being featured in the film of the same name. King had some lesser known hits through the decade, including "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" (#11) and "I (Who Have Nothing)" (#29). Ben E. King also had a big comeback hit in the 70s that many people have forgotten: "Supernatural Thing (Part 1)" went to an impressive #5 in 1975. "We Got A Thing Going On" was a duet he performed with Philadelphia R&B star Dee Dee Sharp. These two powerhouse vocalists couldn't get the song to chart for some reason when it was released in 1968. I think most people hearing it now would be surprised it didn't perform better. Ben E. King passed away in 2015 at age 76.
If you didn't know better, you might mistake this tune for one done by The Coasters. Couldn't blame you, as The Coasters do the backing vocals on this biggest hit for R&B singer Bobby Hendricks. Prior to "Itchy Twitchy Feeling," which went to #25 in 1958, Hendricks sang lead for a group called The Swallows and also spent some time with the Drifters. Hendricks sand on their song, "Drip Drop." Hendricks had one more charting single, "Psycho," in 1960. The tune went to #73 and featured the New York DJ Dr. Jive as the man speaking as the psychiatrist.
