No Rock And Roll Fun

ROCKOBIT: The King who sang with "the King", Solomon King, has died.

Although best known as a backing singing for Elvis (indeed, it's a picture of Presley that the BBC are using for King's obituary - once a backing singer, always a backing singer) he also worked with Billie Holiday, the first white singer to do so. He scored hits as a solo artist with She Wears Your Ring and When We Were Young.

Born in Lexington, Kentucky as Alan Levy, King lived in Manchester for two decades with his Canadian wife, Henny Lowy. The couple raised four children before the marriage ended; King retunred to America and picked up a career singing in the clubs.

King died from cancer yesterday in his Oklahoma home.