Home / Quotes / Quote by Ben E. King

Quote by Ben E. King

“I'm a songwriter. So I'm OK. But when I wrote "Stand By Me" as a song and to know that the song will probably be here for hundred and hundreds of years to come, it's great, you know. And it was just simple lyrics.”

Quote by Ben E. King

Author

Ben E. King, an iconic American singer, was born on September 28, 1938, and passed away on April 30, 2015. Known for his emotive voice and unique musical style, he is one of the most prominent figures in soul music during the 1960s. more

You May Also Like

“During those times like in my early years as a writer I could actually write a song in ten minutes because all of a sudden a song is writing itself, I'm just putting down words. It just seem each line that you put down flows with the other ones. It's like writing a love letter you don't think about it, it's something from the heart.”

Thinking Writing Years Heart Seems Song Lines Minutes Ten Flow Letters Love Letter

Author:Ben E. King

“You're writing it is how you feel. And when you're finished you put your signature on it and you mail it off and that's it. And that's how "Stand By Me" was really.”

Feels Writing Finished Mail Signatures How You Feel Stand By Me

Author:Ben E. King

“It's a different thing when you go into a studio and you record with the intent of going somewhere and you're marketing yourself for that direction.”

Different Records Marketing Studios Different Things

Author:Ben E. King

“I would imagine after the first recording session with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and Atlantic Records I began to realize that this is going to be like this for the rest of my life and I knew that what, what they were doing was going to be successful because with each session that we would do, it would get better and better and better, the songs would become better, the, ah, the feeling of success was there and we were all in the middle of that as well.”

Firsts Wells Feelings Song Realizing Successful Records Imagine Middle Get Better Being Successful Mike Session Jerry

Author:Ben E. King

“People abroad always tend to take what the best of what we have and come back through the back door always, say, and hit us with it. And then we wake up one day and say, I think I've heard that. Yeah, it was done by whoever, you know. So, ah, that's been one of our weaknesses we don't tend to hold on as they do there.”

People Thinking Knows Done Doors Heard One Day Weakness Wake Up Yeah Back Doors

Author:Ben E. King

“speaking with, uh, about the vocal choreography, one of the first groups that I worked with was a group called the Cadillacs, which was uh, an exceptionally talented group. They all moved well and they sort of established Cholly Atkins's style. In other words they basically put me on the map, and everybody would look at them and see their choreography and they wanted to know who did it, so they would tell them.”

Knows Firsts Wells Looks Wanted Groups Style Moved Maps Vocal Choreography Cadillacs

Author:Cholly Atkins

“Well, the most important thing in choreographing for a specific tune is to get the story line and try to make your movements, rather than just actual movements, let them become more or less a physical drama to, to what they were singing about. And uh, also, uh, honor the beat and the rhythmic pattern of the musical track.”

Trying Wells Important Stories Lines Movement Honor Drama Beats Singing Important Things Musical Patterns Track Tunes

Author:Cholly Atkins

“So it would be a happy marriage between the movement and the vocal and uh, this is the thing that you give a lot of consideration to.”

Giving Would Be Movement Consideration Vocal Happy Marriage

Author:Cholly Atkins

“In vocal choreography you had to give a lot of consideration to the fact that you were working with singers and not dancers. But you had to make singers look like they were dancers, and to make the movements as natural as possible, and there to be an association with the movement, uh, somewhat to what the lyric was saying.”

Giving Looks Facts Natural Movement Singers Dancer Consideration Association Vocal Choreography

Author:Cholly Atkins

“You had to give, uh, a lot of consideration to the fact that, uh, the artist had to come back into the mike area and start singing, especially the background singers, you know. And you had to make sure they had a couple of bars of music in order to catch their breath. And uh, in many cases a lot of choreographers didn't give that, uh, the proper thought.”

Knows Giving Facts Artist Order Cases Couple Singing Areas Breaths Singers Bars Backgrounds Consideration Mike Choreographers

Author:Cholly Atkins