Ben E King has died aged 76.
The Telegraph reports he died of natural causes.
Born on September 28, 1938 in Henderson, North Carolina, King started his career in the late 1950s with The Drifters, singing on hits including “There Goes My Baby” and “Save The Last Dance For Me”.
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As a solo artist, his hits included “Stand By Me” and “Spanish Harlem”.
A Top 5 hit when it was first released in 1961, “Stand By Me” additionally enjoyed later success when it was used on the soundtrack for the 1986 River Phoenix film of the same name.
The song was extensively covered, including a version by John Lennon in 1975.
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King continued to perform into his Seventies, most recently touring the UK in 2013.
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