This week I was going through some old pictures and memories of days gone by. I stumbled upon a photo of the great Ben E. King with me backstage at a show . And mind started racing … Ben E. King’s birthday is this coming Sunday, September 28th, born in Henerson, North Carolina. One of the first records I ever bought with my own money was “Spanish Harlem” a song written for Ben E. King by the great Leiber and Stoller. At the time I could only dream of meeting Mr. King … however years later I would not only meet him but actually share a stage with him… even did a duet with him … pinch me! Just a brief history about Ben E. King… he joined a DooWop group called the Five Crowns in (1958) who was performing on the same bill as the Drifters when George Treadwell fired the Original Drifters and introduced the Five Crowns as the New Drifters in 1959. After several recordings as the New Drifters, Mr. King broke away as a solo recording artist … wha-la … “Spanish Harlem”. Fast forward a few years, I played a show as Johnny Angel and the Halos and was the band that backed him. A few years later, we did a show at Montemurro’s Supper Club and again backed Mr. King. At that show Mr. King called me to the front of the stage and I had the honors of singing a duet with the great Ben E. King… it was the song, one of the first records I ever bought… you can image the joy I had that night! Ten Years ago (2015), Ben E. King left us to join another great group … a Heavenly Choir where he sings in Rock & Roll Heaven! This Sunday night, I will be putting our Soul Spotlight on our old friend … Ben E. King … and celebrating his birthday. You can listen in by downloading the jukinoldies.com app. The above photo was taken at the first show that I mentioned earlier … I look at the photo … and go back … hanging with Ben E. King … what a memory!