Ben E. King — American Musician born on September 28, 1938, died on April 30, 2015

Benjamin Earl King, known as Ben E. King, was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He was perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later in 1986, a number one hit in the UK in 1987, and no. 25 on the RIAA's list of Songs of the Century—and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group the Drifters... (wikipedia)

I still think my whole career was accidental. I didn't pursue it. I feel like I'm cheating sometimes.
And, because there was an honesty about all that was going on. It connected with the people in the street.
You were able to sing something they related to instantly, because it was part of what you felt. It was part of what you had already traveled through. It's part of the people you were associating with daily. It was all of that.
When we took on the name The Drifters, we became the new Drifters, and signed a contract to be put on salary, which I think was like a hundred dollars a week, a piece, five hundred dollars for all five of us.
I do like what Alicia Keys and John Legend are doing. With their music, you keep your clothes on.