Out of a Snowstorm Came 'Spanish Harlem' by Ben E. King

‘New York Groove: An Inside Look at the Stars, Songs & Shows That Make NYC Rock’ Book Excerpt

Frank Mastropolo

Crates Digger Music Group

“Spanish Harlem” was Ben E. King’s first hit after leaving the Drifters. Written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector, the song was a №15 hit on the R&B chart in 1960. The song’s arrangement by Stan Applebaum features Spanish guitar and marimba to suggest the neighborhood’s Latino population and cultural heritage.

Leiber and Mike Stoller intended to produce the song for the Drifters but the group didn’t show up at the studio. “When I recorded ‘Spanish Harlem,’ that should have been a Drifters song,” King told WGBH.

“Because it was a snowstorm, I got to the studio to record because Atlantic Records wanted me to continue the sound of the Drifters. So I made an arrangement with Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun that I would come in, just for scale, and do some recording as if I was still in the group with the Drifters.

“I got into the studio by myself and the other guys couldn’t make it and ‘Spanish Harlem’ was in the session. So I did that, finished it and Jerry Leiber says, ‘What are you doing now?’ I said, ‘Well, nothing really.’

“He went to Atlantic and he spoke to them and he convinced them to let ‘Spanish Harlem’ be my first side as solo artist. So if it wasn’t for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, there would be no Ben E. King.”

Aretha Franklin recorded a version in 1971 that reached №1 on the Soul Singles chart. Franklin changed the lyrics from “There is a rose in Spanish Harlem” to “There’s a rose in Black ’n’ Spanish Harlem.”

Frank Mastropolo is the author of New York Groove: An Inside Look at the Stars, Shows & Songs That Make NYC Rock. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.