Rememebering 3 rock pioneers Wally Lester, Jack Ely and Ben E. King

First on April 23 we lost Wally Lester at the age of 73. He was one of the vocalists for the doo-woop group The Skyliners. They had several hits in the late fifties including “Since I Don’t Have You,” "It Happened Today" in 1959 and "This I Swear" and "Pennies From Heaven" in 1960. The group split up in 1963 but would reform on and off in the 70's. Above is the hit Since "I Don't Have You".

Then on April 28th Jack Ely died. Ely was was the lead singer for the early 60's rock band The
Kingsmen. The Kingsmen's most well-known song was a cover of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie" in 1963 which spent 6 weeks at number 2 on the Billbaord charts. Their version of this song was investigated by the F.B.I for being obscene. The case was dropped in 1964. This was the bands only hit song but has went on to become a staple of rock music and the most popular and well-known version of the song. The song is posted above.
  

Then on April 30th the great Ben E. King died. He sang one of music's greatest and well-known song Stand By Me. It was one of a few songs to be reach the top of the charts for a second time. It reached the US Billboard Hot 100in 1961 at number 4 and then again at number 9 in 1987 after the film of the same name came out. Before his solo career he was the lead singer of the legendary doo-wop group the Drifters and sang with them from 1958 to 1960. He sang one of the groups most well-known songs Save the Last Dance for Me. Another  great Drifters song he sang on is This Magic Moment which I posted above.