Spanish Harlem (song)

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Spanish Harlem is a song released by Ben E. King in 1961 on Atco Records, written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector. The song was King's first hit away from The Drifters, a group he had led for several years. With Spanish guitar, Marimba, and drum-beats, the song climbed the Billboard charts, eventually peaking at #15 at R&B and #10 at Pop. It was later ranked #349 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Aretha Franklin released a cover version of the song in the summer of 1971 which outperformed the original on the charts, charting #1 R&B for three weeks and #2 Pop for two weeks and earning a gold single for sales of over one million. Dr. John played keyboards on Franklin's version. Franklin also changed the lyric slightly, from "There is a rose in Spanish Harlem" to "There is a rose in black in Spanish Harlem." Also covered by The Mamas and The Papas in 1966, and Slim Smith in 1968.