Thanks to a stunning intimacy that makes it feel like he's performing for an audience of one, American soul singer Ben E. King scored a timeless testament to romantic devotion in 1961's “Stand By Me,” his yearning vocals contrasting with the song's strings-sweetened shuffle. King had already enjoyed success as a member of The Drifters, scoring gentle pop/R&B hits like “This Magic Moment” and “Save the Last Dance for Me,” but he secured his solo career with the marimba-kissed ballad “Spanish Harlem.” King could adapt with the times, too, slipping comfortably into sumptuous, slow-burn funk for 1975's “Supernatural Thing, Pt. 1.”