Maria Myrie gets close to patron of the concert, custos of Kingston, Steadman Fuller (third left, front row). - Photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
Boris Gardiner plays his bass guitar as he sings.
Paulette Bellamy and Jon Williams do a violin double.
Ben E. King interspersed his songs with humour.
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Michael Reckord, Gleaner WriterGoogle 'Ben E. King' and you'll find that he's been charming audiences with his singing for a long time. He did it again at a concert called An Evening of Musical Memories & Excellence, held at the Courtleigh Auditorium, New Kingston, on Sunday.
It was 55 years ago when King (originally Nelson) - then 20 years old - started singing as a member of The Drifters, one of pop music's most beloved groups. The soul singer's humour, memory and vocal flexibility in delivering more than a dozen songs belied the age indicated by his lined face and stiff posture.
King was the final act of the nearly four-and-a-half hour show, which also featured numerous entertaining local performers. They were Carole Reid, Rory Baugh, Onaje Bell, Jon Williams, Paulette Bellamy, Ouida Lewis, Maria Myrie, Boris Gardiner and their backing band, Harold Davis and Friends.
Davis produced the concert, which was a benefit for the Kingston Chapter of the Lay Magistrates Association. Patron was custos of the parish, Steadman Fuller, and Mrs Fuller.
Looking cool in a cream jacket, black and white tie and dark pants, King appeared after the intermission, which began at 10 p.m. During the break, warm-voiced emcee Norma Brown Bell informed the audience that the Usain Bolt running spikes on display could be obtained through an eBay auction. However, there was a challenge for someone at Courtleigh obtaining the spikes that Bolt had donated, Bell revealed. After all, Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey and Serena Williams (and possibly Venus) had expressed interest in the specially created Puma footwear.
Backed by a black-clad, six-man band of musicians (who King said were all born after he started singing), King had his audience singing along to nearly every song he performed. He claimed to be surprised - "It's amazing you remember these songs," he said at one stage - but was clearly pleased with the enthusiastic response.
King's first song was This Magic Moment and, in between friendly, witty chatter, he offered other hits of yesteryear. Some of these were from his days with The Drifters, like Under the Boardwalk and Save the Last Dance For Me, with others from his days as a solo artist. The most popular were Spanish Harlem, Seven Letters, Ecstasy, Stand By Me and Jamaica, which King wrote as a tribute to this island.