BENIDITO KING is new name to us but we’ve learned that he’s actually the son of Ben E King… the clues in his name! His mother was singer/dancer/pianist Vashti Torrienti Adams so Benidito has the music in him for sure. That’s born out by his CV. As a teen he fronted a band called Prophecy, who morphed into Wicked Funk. Then a solo career beckoned via a deal with to Philly World Records. He went on to work with his singing son, R Tastik before landing himself a deal with Butch Ingram’s Society Hill Records who, as you probably know, work to keep soul’s wonderful heritage alive.
The first fruits of this relationship is a 11 song album, ‘Magic Moments’ and you won’t be surprised to learn that all but one of the tracks are Ben E King/Drifters’ songs. So here you can enjoy new treatments of familiar songs like ‘Up On The Roof’, ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’, ‘Spanish Harlem’, ‘I Count The Tears’ and ‘Some Kind Of Wonderful’. Benidito also has a stab at his dad’s signature song ‘Stand By Me’ and, wisely, he gives it a slightly different spin. All those songs are, of course, from King’s/The Drifter’s “golden age” – the 60s. The odd one out is ‘Music Trance’ which Ben E cut in 1980 during a career renaissance.
The other “odd one out” track is ‘I’m a King’ – a new song, written by Butch Ingram especially for the project. It’s a harmonic ballad with (unsurprisingly) a Philly feel, though it does fit the album’s overall sonic template.
Benidito King’s ‘Magic Moments’ is out now. Who said there’s no future in nostalgia! It’s alive and well at Society Hill Records!
