| "Spanish Harlem" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byBen E. King | ||||
| from the albumSpanish Harlem | ||||
| A-side | "First Taste of Love" (original 1960 release) | |||
| B-side | "First Taste of Love" (later releases) | |||
| Released | December 1960 (1960-12) | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 2:53 | |||
| Label | Atco | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | |||
| Ben E. King singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Spanish Harlem" is a song recorded byBen E. King in 1960 forAtco Records. It was written byJerry Leiber andPhil Spector and produced byJerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. "Spanish Harlem" was King's first hit away fromThe Drifters, peaking at number 10 onBillboard's pop chart, and number 15 on the rhythm and blues chart.[1]
The song has been covered by a number of artists includingAretha Franklin, whose version reached number two onBillboard's pop chart.The song was ranked number 358 onRolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[2]
Leiber credited Stoller with the arrangement in a 1968 interview;[3] similarly, Leiber said in a 2009 radio interview with Leiber and Stoller on theBob 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 autobiographyHound Dog that he had created this "fill" while doing a piano accompaniment when the song was presented toAhmet Ertegun andJerry Wexler atAtlantic Records, with Spector playing guitar and Leiber doing the vocal. "Since then, I've never heard the song played without that musical figure."[3] The song was arranged byStan Applebaum, featuring Spanish guitar, marimba, drum-beats, soprano saxophone, strings, and a male chorus.[citation needed]
The riff to the song was originally conceived by Spector and his then-girlfriendBeverly Ross. She was apparently shocked to discover the same riff a few months later in the version sung by King.[4][5]
Ben E. King's "Spanish Harlem" was originally released as the B-side to "First Taste of Love",[6] and it became his first hit away fromThe Drifters, a group he had led for several years. The track climbed theBillboard charts, peaking at number 10 on the pop chart, and number 15 on the rhythm and blues chart.[7] Though it was not a hit in the United Kingdom upon its initial release,[8] it was re-released in 1987, after the re-release of "Stand By Me" became a number 1 hit.[8]
| "Spanish Harlem" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byAretha Franklin | ||||
| from the albumAretha's Greatest Hits | ||||
| B-side | "Lean on Me" | |||
| Released | July 9, 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 3:30 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers | Jerry Wexler,Arif Mardin,Tom Dowd | |||
| Aretha Franklin singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
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 and 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,[9] barred from the top spot by "Go Away Little Girl" byDonny Osmond.[10] This version also hit number six onBillboard's Easy Listening chart.[11] Aretha Franklin's version earned agold single for sales of over one million.Dr. John played keyboards on Franklin's version withBernard "Pretty" Purdie on drums andChuck Rainey on bass.[12]
| Chart (1971) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] | 4 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[14] | 25 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] | 5 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] | 1 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[17] | 14 |
| USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)[18] | 6 |
| USBest Selling Soul Singles (Billboard)[19] | 1 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[20] | 2 |
| West Germany (GfK)[21] | 6 |
Cliff Richard released his rendition on his 1962 album32 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,[22][23] as well as a number one hit in Switzerland in 1965.[citation needed]
| Chart (1962–64) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[24] | 1 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[25] | 28 |
| West Germany (GfK)[26] | 1 |
On her 1971 covers albumGonna Take a Miracle, singer-songwriterLaura Nyro performed a version with backing vocals by the groupLabelle.[27]
| "Harlem spagnolo" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byDalida | ||||
| from the album no album | ||||
| A-side | "No Dico No" | |||
| Released | 1961 | |||
| Recorded | 1961 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Label | Barclay/Jolly | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Walter Guertler | |||
| Dalida singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
On 1961 French singerDalida performed a version in italian language (lyrics byCarlo Da Vinci.[28]
