Of course, the kids who had never heard of a person called Ben E. King were then aware of the name associated with the song. That gave a tremendous lift to me as an artist.

"Stand by Me" "There Goes My Baby" and "Spanish Harlem" were named as three of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and were all given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award as well as "Save The Last Dance For Me. On March 27 2012 the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced that "Stand By Me" would receive its 2012 Towering Song Award and that King would be honored with the 2012 Towering Performance Award for his recording of the song. He also sang lead on a succession of 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.

Benjamin Earl Nelson (born September 28 1938) better known as Ben E. Top 10 hit in both 1961 and later in 1986 (when it was used as the theme to the film of the same name) and a #1 hit in the UK in 1987 and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group The Drifters.