Ben E. King and The Drifters First Taste Of Love 1958-60 CD
Although Ben E King's name is wholly synonymous with that of The Drifters, the reality is that he only actually sang on a dozen Drifters tracks - indeed, he’d effectively left the group after their first hit together. Ben E. King would, of course, go on to enjoy a massive career - as, indeed, would The Drifters - but the body of work he recorded during 1959/60 was truly exceptional, and included many of his own and The Drifters’ respective career benchmark recordings. First Taste Of Love/Spanish Harlem was released in December 1960 and initially it was the former which took off (as, indeed, it had been custom-written to do). However, one or two deejays soon began playing the flip, whereupon ‘Spanish Harlem’ took over, eventually reaching No.10 Pop, No.15 R&B, giving Ben his first hit and winning him a gold record.
