BEN E KING / THE DRIFTERS – Five Classic Albums (2 CDs) AVID

AVID Pop presents the latest release in our Five Classic Albums series with a remastered 2CD release from Ben E King & The Drifters complete with original artwork, liner notes, personnel details;
“Ben E King: Spanish Harlem”; “Ben E King: Don’t Play That Song!”; “Ben E King: Sings For Soulful Lovers”; “The Drifters: Rockin’ & Driftin’ “ and “The Drifters: Save The Last Dance For Me”
A short history of The Drifters would actually be an impossibility as well over 60 performers have been “Drifting” at one point or another! For brevity’s sake let’s just say the original Drifters were formed as a back up band for Clyde McPhatter and released one album in 1956 aptly titled “Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters”. Fast forward to 1959 and we find the second band emerging from a group called The Five Crowns, led by one, Benjamin Earl Nelson, better known professionally as Ben E King. Along with three other Crowns, Charlie Thomas, Dock Green and Elsbeary Hobbs they became a four piece dropping an alcohol troubled fifth member James “Poppa” Clark along the way. This line up became arguably the classic Drifters group produced mainly by The Coasters producers, Leiber & Stoller. The dynamic “wunderkinds “of the fifties music scene would of course write many classic songs of the era, many included here on our set alongside another dynamic writing duo Pomus & Shuman. This era became known as “the true golden age of the group” but sadly was to last only a couple of years. Due to financial problems (all the group were certainly never paid what they were worth) rather than the other classic rock n roll break up reason “musical differences”, Ben E King left the group for a solo career in 1960 and here we include three classic albums by the great man. Ben scored his first hit the following year, 1961, with the stone classic “Spanish Harlem” followed by yet another “Stand By Me” not a bad start at all, we say! Many hit singles and albums would follow but arguably he never had a hit as big at these two all time classics! And as we know they would both re-appear on the charts down the years. In 1982 Ben E King returned to The Drifters for a British tour and stayed until 1986. As with all AVID releases, we hope you enjoy this classic set and check out our extensive catalogue for more great music across pop, R&B, country, rock n roll, rockabilly, jazz, blues and many other musical genres.

CD1
1-12: ‘Ben E. King: Spanish Harlem’
1. Amor
2. Sway
3. Come Closer To Me
4. Perfidia
5. Granada
6. Sweet And Gentle
7. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps)
8. Frenesi
9. Souvenir Of Mexico
10. Besame Mucho
11. Love Me, Love Me
12. Spanish Harlem
13-24: ‘Ben E. King: Don’t Play That Song’
13. Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)
14. Ecstasy
15. On The Horizon
16. Show Me The Way
17. Here Comes The Night
18. First Taste Of Love
19. Stand By Me
20. Yes
21. Young Boy Blues
22. The Hermit Of Misty Mountain
23. I Promise Love
24. Brace Yourself
25-31: ‘Ben E. King: Sings For Soulful Lovers’
25. My Heart Cries For You
26. He Will Break Your Heart
27. Dream Lover
28. Will You Love Me Tomorrow
29. My Foolish Heart
30. Fever
31. Moon River

CD2
1-5: ‘Ben E. King: Sings For Soulful Lovers’
1. What A Difference A Day Made
2. Because Of You
3. At Last
4. On The Street Where You Live
5. It’s All In The Game
6-19: ‘The Drifters: Rockin’ & Driftin’’
6. Moonlight Bay
7. Ruby Baby
8. Drip Drop
9. I Gotta Get Myself A Woman
10. Fools Fall In Love
11. Hypnotized
12. Yodee Yakee
13. I Know
14. Soldier Of Fortune
15. Drifting Away From You
16. Your Promise To Be Mine
17. It Was A Tear
18. Adorable
19. Steamboat
20-31: ‘The Drifters: Save The Last Dance For Me’
20. Save The Last Dance For Me
21. I Count The Tears
22. Somebody New Dancin’ With You
23. Jackpot
24. No Sweet Lovin’
25. Sweets For My Sweet
26. Mexican Divorce
27. When My Little Girl is Smiling
28. Some Kind Of Wonderful
29. Please Stay
30. Nobody But Me
31. Room Full Of Tears