clyde mcphatter v ben e king

[honest man]

hello folks listening to clyde mcphatter singing spanish harlem, love it by ben,one of my fave singers, but i think clyde does it better,than ben,i think listening to clyde he was always to live in the drifters and ben's shadows, so much of his material was themed around these 2 acts,listening to him it is kind of sad that he never reached their heights. what do you think, cheers

[mr_postman]

Oh, Clyde McPhatter is one of my favorite singers of all time. I was delighted when Hip-O Select announced "The Complete MGM & Mercury Singles" 2-CD set. Haven't got around buying it yet though. You're right about Clyde not being as well-known as many of his contemporaries, including Ben E. King. On the other hand, with his characteristic voice and phrasing he was very influential during the late 1950's and early 1960's. Many black male artists tried to imitate his voice and steered their singing in Clyde's direction since that was what the record labels were looking for during that time. Unfortunately, the 1950's/1960's r&b that Clyde was performing hasn't aged very well compared to 1960's soul, thus he's been largely forgotten by the public.

[sunset_traveler]

Yes mr_postman, I totally agree, Cyde was a hugely influential figure, and his high tenor style was much copied. Unfortunately by 1964 the style had gone out of fashion, and not only Clyde but many of the singers who had copied him [[like Dee Clark) saw their careers go into decline.

Ben E. King on the other hand was one of the first of the new breed of "soul singers" to emerge in the early 1960s, and although he was nowhere near as influential as Clyde his early work is arguably more fondly remembered by soul fans. Unfair maybe, but sadly true.

[tom_moulton]

Since I am older then most on this Forum. Clyde was a big influence on everyone in the early 50's. There was no one like him at the time and even in the late 50's you could still hear his earlier recordings on New York stations. You have to go a long way to beat Soldier Of Fortune, Without Love,Treasure Of Love and my all time favorite Warm Your Heart.

[KevLo]

Hi this is Kev-Lo

They were both great Icons

[robb_k]

More recent is ALWAYS better remembered than people from older times, when a generation starts dying off. I think that Clyde McPhatter was bigger in relation to his market than Ben E. King was. It's just that by the time Ben E. King was a star, there were a LOT more people listening to that type of music. African -American music was by then, mainstream, and King had TV to also introduce him and his songs to the public. TV wasn't in most people's homes when Clyde was on top of the charts.

[mikey]

I think a better match up would be Chuck Jackson vs Ben E. King.

[CliveR]

I agree with mikey. If comparisons of great singers are really necessary. Clyde McPhatter, with high tenor voice from a gospel background, is not directly comparable with Ben, a baritone singer from doo-wop heritage, but Chuck J shares a similar style and background with Ben.

[rich]

Yeah, Clyde and Ben are both great, in two totally different ways.
How about Nolan Strong vs. Clyde vs. Smokey!

in a steel cage match!

[sunset_traveler]

I think we are drifting [[no pun intended) away from honest man's original point. He was wondering why Clyde hadn't received the recognition he deserved, particularly when compared to Ben E. King. I don't think he was simply comparing their worth as vocalists. As such the replies, in particular from mr_postman and Robb both seemed relevant to me.
As Clive says, the two singer's backgrounds and styles are totally different, making a comparison of their vocal qualities pointless.

[mikey]

How about a match up between Clyde McPhatter vs Sam Cooke?

[arrr&bee]

Well as with most things today there's a lot of-retro this and that so i believe that clyde will be[re]discovered by todays young music lovers for those of us oldtimers clyde is always there as he inspired a whole generation of tenors,of course early in his career he was considered a soprano by some music experts because of the quality of his voice,there was talk of a movie of his life with[lorenz tate]...by the way take a look at clyde and mr.tate[the resemblace is scary]...as long as music is played the great clyde mcphatter will live.