Rewind: 1961 - Ben E King Releases his Debut Solo Album 'Spanish Harlem'

Released 1st May 1961

Atco Records

US Chart #57

UK Chart #30

Ben E. King passed away yesterday at the age of 76. What better tribute to pay the man to reflect upon the release of his Debut Solo album that was dispatched on this very day in 1961. The album was a Latin Soul project, a very interesting choice to go for with your Debut but it made the chart and laid the foundation for what was to follow. Later in 1961 he would have his biggest hit with Stand By Me, a song that generally most people associate with him even if they can't tell you any other song he recorded!

 Read The Guardian's Obituary Here.

    "Amor" (Gabriel Ruíz, Sunny Skylar, Ricardo López Méndez) - [3:02]
    "Sway" (Norman Gimbel, Gabriel Ruíz) - [2:18]
    "Come Closer to Me" (John Stewart, Osvaldo Farrés) - [2:35]
    "Perfidia" (Alberto Dominguez, Milton Leeds) - [2:04]
    "Granada" (Agustín Lara, Dorothy Dodd) - [2:27]
    "Sweet and Gentle" (George Thorn, Otilio del Portal, Martin Ledyard) - [2:24]
    "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" (Joe Davis, Osvaldo Farrés) - [2:12]
    "Frenesi" (Alberto Dominguez, Leonard Whitcup) - [3:09]
    "Souvenir of Mexico" (Mort Shuman, Doc Pomus) - [2:24]
    "Besame Mucho" (Sunny Skylar, Consuelo Velázquez) - [2:57]
    "Love Me, Love Me" (Ben E. King) - [2:37]
    "Spanish Harlem" (Jerry Leiber, Phil Spector) - [2:53]