R.I.P. Ben E. King

Ben E. King has died. He was 76. As with the recent passing of Percy Sledge it’s easy to think, straight away, of one song. One monumental song. With Sledge it was When A Man Loves A Woman. With King it was Stand By Me.

The song transcends the notion of having been written, of having been performed, it’s one of just a small handful of tunes that seems to…