The Drifters - There Goes My Baby

"There Goes My Baby" is a song written by Ben E. King (Benjamin Earl Nelson), Lover Patterson, George Treadwell and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for The Drifters. This was the first single by the second incarnation of the Drifters (previously known as the 5 Crowns), who assumed the group name in 1958 after manager George Treadwell fired the remaining members of the original lineup. The Atlantic Records release was King's debut recording as the lead singer of the group. Leiber and Stoller used a radically different approach to production than Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler had employed with the original Clyde McPhatter-led Drifters. The combination of new style and new group fit, and the song reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind "A Big Hunk o' Love" by Elvis Presley. "There Goes My Baby also hit number one on the Billboard R&B chart. On the Cash Box sales chart, it likewise went to number one for two weeks, in the summer of 1959. This recording introduced the idea of using strings, a Brazilian baion and elaborate production values on an R&B recording to enhance the emotional power of black music. The string arrangement is by Stan Applebaum. This pointed the way to the coming era of soul music as the popularity of the doo-wop vocal groups peaked and faded. Phil Spector studied this production model under Leiber and Stoller. In 2010, the song was ranked #196 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song has been covered by many artists, including Jay and the Americans. The song was included in the musical revue Smokey Joe's Cafe.

I lived in Lakeland, FL that year. Raised on all that GOOD MUSIC! Back then it was love music. Now it's drug, kill, hate music!