Spanish Harlem (song)

"Spanish Harlem" is a song recorded by Ben E. King in 1960 for Atco Records. It was written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. "Spanish Harlem" was King's first hit away from The Drifters, peaking at number 15 on Billboard's rhythm and blues and number 10 in pop music chart.

The song has been covered by a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, whose version reached number two on Billboard's pop chart. The song was ranked number 358 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Background
Leiber credited Stoller with the arrangement in a 1968 interview; similarly, Leiber said in a 2009 radio interview with Leiber and Stoller on the Bob Edwards Weekend talk show that Stoller had written the key instrumental introduction to the record, although he was not credited. Stoller remarks in the team's autobiography Hound Dog that he had created this "fill" while doing a piano accompaniment when the song was presented to Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records, with Spector playing guitar and Leiber doing the vocal. "Since then, I've never heard the song played without that musical figure." The song was arranged by Stan Applebaum, featuring Spanish guitar, marimba, drum-beats, soprano saxophone, strings, and a male chorus.

The riff to the song was originally conceived by Spector and his then-girlfriend Beverly Ross. She was apparently shocked to discover the same riff a few months later in the version sung by King.

Ben E. King's "Spanish Harlem" was originally released as the B-side to "First Taste of Love". "Spanish Harlem" was King's first hit away from The Drifters, a group that he had led for several years. It climbed the Billboard charts, and peaked at number 15 for rhythm and blues and number 10 in pop music. King's version was not a hit in the United Kingdom. The song was re-released in 1987, after "Stand By Me" made number 1.

Aretha Franklin version
In July 1971, Aretha Franklin released a cover version of the song that outperformed the original on the charts and in which Franklin changed the lyrics slightly: from "A red rose up in Spanish Harlem" to "There's a rose in Black 'n Spanish Harlem. A rose in Black 'n Spanish Harlem.” Her version went to number one on the US Soul charts for three weeks and number two on the Pop charts for two weeks, barred from the top spot by "Go Away Little Girl" by Donny Osmond. This version also hit number six on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. Aretha Franklin's version earned a gold single for sales of over one million. Dr. John played keyboards on Franklin's version with Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on drums and Chuck Rainey on bass.

Cliff Richard versions
Cliff Richard released his rendition on his 1962 album 32 Minutes and 17 Seconds. He also recorded a German version, titled "Das ist die Frage aller Fragen", with lyrics by Carl Ulrich Blecher, that was a number one hit in Germany and Austria in 1964, as well as a number one hit in Switzerland in 1965.

Laura Nyro version
On her 1971 covers album Gonna Take a Miracle, singer-songwriter Laura Nyro performed a version with backing vocals by the group Labelle.

Other recordings

 * Volume 2 - Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass (1963)
 * If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears - The Mamas & the Papas (1966)