Spanish Harlem
Ben E. King
1961
Annual listening list: initial release cycle, with recent carryovers; not an original-release-date field. Release chronology remains partly unverified.
Release year not established
Release year not establishedDate review open
A first-release date was not established in the available metadata.
The large badge identifies this listening list, not a newly issued recording. Later reissues and renewed chart popularity do not replace an original release date. How years are assigned.
About Ben E. King
Song-specific inspiration or recording background is not established for this entry. This sourced artist profile provides career context.
Ben E. King's baritone voice became familiar through his work as a lead singer with the Drifters and through an extensive solo recording career. His repertoire included Stand by Me, Spanish Harlem, Don't Play That Song and Supernatural Thing, spanning different periods of R&B and pop. He also explored jazz and blues standards on the 2000 album Person to Person. That later project broadened a catalog already associated with both vocal-group performances and individual recordings.
Artist background sources
Ben E. King - Songwriters Hall of Fame biography
Read baritone/Drifters/solo distinction, named repertoire and the 2000 jazz-and-blues standards album Person to Person. Promotional rankings, awards, philanthropic inspiration and outdated present-tense touring claims are omitted. | Retrieved 2026-10-18
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-18. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
Retained annual-list context
Spanish Harlem by Ben E. King appears at number 64 in the reviewed U.S. year-end table for 1961. No reliable song-specific account of its inspiration was established in this review.
Annual-list context only; songwriting inspiration remains unestablished
Billboard year-end 1961 table (Wikipedia transcription)
Secondary transcription reviewed 2026-10-11: title, artist and annual chart association; not original release date or complete recording metadata.
Other appearances and versions
catalog version unspecified
Original release date and exact pressing/version are not independently established.
An annual chart year and an original release date are different. Similar titles may be covers or different masters; no audio fingerprint has been performed.
Sources and scope
Source-backed annual association (secondary source; not a complete discographic review)
Editorial artist-repertoire classification
Billboard year-end 1961 table (Wikipedia transcription)
Secondary transcription reviewed 2026-10-11: title, artist and annual chart association; not original release date or complete recording metadata.
Browse by year
1960-2025. Each year contains 150 selections.