"Spanish Harlem" is a song released by Ben E. King in 1960 on Atco Records, written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song was King's first hit away from The Drifters, a group he had led for several years. With an arrangement by Stan Applebaum featuring Spanish guitar, marimba, and drum-beats, the song climbed the Billboard charts, eventually peaking at #15 R&B and #10 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. Aretha Franklin's version earned a gold single for sales of over one million. Dr. John played keyboards on Franklin's version. This version hit #6 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. Franklin also changed the lyrics slightly, from "A red rose up in Spanish Harlem" to "There's a rose in Black 'n Spanish Harlem. A rose in Black 'n Spanish Harlem."
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Harlem