‘Anthology’ Showcases Drifters’ Ben E. King

The Drifters had so many lead singers during their glory days that it’s hard even for fans of the R&B; group to recall just who sang what.

Remember the Drifters’ classic rendition of “White Christmas” in the ‘50s? That was Clyde McPhatter on lead. And what about “Up on the Roof” in the early ‘60s? Rudy Lewis was the lead singer. Or “Under the Boardwalk”? Johnny Moore sang lead.

Those records can be found on various Drifters CD reissues from Atlantic, but the latest retrospective from Rhino/Atlantic spotlights yet another great Drifters voice.

Recall “There Goes My Baby,” “Lonely Wind” and the landmark “Save the Last Dance for Me”? The lead singer was Ben E. King, a North Carolina native who was only with the Drifters a year before going solo in 1961.

Working with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the same production team that shaped the Drifters hits, King went on to have such memorable solo singles as “Spanish Harlem” and “Stand By Me.” The latter, a Top 10 single in 1961, returned to the Top 10 in 1986 when King’s record was featured in a film of the same name.

King’s solo career tailed off commercially after that early success, though he continued to record for Atlantic until the early ‘80s. His last Top 10 single was “Supernatural Thing--Part 1” in 1975.

In the new two-disc set titled “Ben E. King/Anthology,” King doesn’t exhibit the distinctive vocal styling of the most compelling R&B;/soul singers, yet there’s a winning, almost effortless Everyman quality to his work.

In the box set’s booklet, King--whose real name is Benjamin Earl Nelson--reflects on his early hits. “Stand By Me,” which he co-wrote with Leiber and Stoller, was originally intended for the Drifters.

“I had presented it to the group, and we’d even rehearsed it but (manager) George Treadwell just said, ‘No thanks, we don’t need it,’ which really upset me,” King recalled.

When he later went into the studio with Leiber and Stoller to begin his solo career, there was enough time left at the end of the session to record one additional song.

“Jerry and Mike asked me if I had anything I wanted to do,” King said. “I went to the piano and played a little of ‘Stand By Me,’ which I’d gone over before with Jerry. So right at the end of the sessions, we cut it . . . I had tears in my eyes when I sang it.”