The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and led by Ben E. King, were originally an up-and-coming group named the Five Crowns. After 1965, members moved between both groups, and many of these formed other groups of Drifters as well. Over the succeeding decades, several different bands, all called the Drifters, can trace roots back to these original groups, but contain few—if any—original members.
According to Rolling Stone, the Drifters were the least stable of the great vocal groups, as they were low-paid musicians hired by George Treadwell, who owned the Drifters' name from 1955, after McPhatter left. The Treadwell Drifters line has had 60 musicians, including several splinter groups by former Drifters members (not under Treadwell's management). These groups are usually identified with a possessive credit such as "Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters" and "Charlie Thomas' Drifters".
The three golden eras of the Drifters were the early 1950s, the 1960s, and the early 1970s (post-Atlantic period). From these, the first Drifters, formed by Clyde McPhatter, were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as "The Drifters". The second Drifters, featuring Ben E. King, were separately inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as "Ben E. King and the Drifters". In their induction, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selected four members from the first Drifters (Clyde McPhatter, Bill Pinkney, Gerhart Thrasher and Johnny Moore), two from the second Drifters (Ben E. King and Charlie Thomas), and one from the post-Atlantic Drifters (Rudy Lewis). There were other lead singers too, but the group was less successful during those times.
According to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame: "Through turmoil and changes, the (original) Drifters managed to set musical trends and give the public 13 chart hits, most of which are legendary recordings today." Matching that feat, subsequent formations of the Drifters recorded 13 Billboard Hot 100 top-30 chart hits. The 1950s and '60s incarnations of the group were also a force on the US R&B charts, notching six number-one R&B hits: "Money Honey" (1953), "Honey Love" (1954), "Adorable" (1955), "There Goes My Baby" (1959), "Save the Last Dance for Me" (1960), and "Under the Boardwalk" (1964). A 1970s revival in Britain, with both old and new material, was not matched in the United States, although they had their biggest successes on the UK singles chart, peaking with the number-two hit "Kissin' in the Back Row of the Movies".
History Classic first Drifters and Clyde McPhatter To many historians and fans, "The Drifters" means Clyde McPhatter, although he was with the group for only one year. McPhatter was lead tenor for Billy Ward and His Dominoes for three years, starting in 1950. McPhatter's high-pitched tenor was mostly responsible for the Dominoes' success. In 1953, Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records attended a Dominoes performance at Birdland, and noticed McPhatter was absent. Jerry Wexler recalled,
Ahmet exited Birdland like a shot and headed directly uptown. He raced from bar to bar looking for Clyde and finally found him in a furnished room. That very night, Ahmet reached an agreement with McPhatter under which Clyde would assemble a group of his own. They became known as the Drifters.
Wanting to blend gospel and secular sounds, McPhatter's first effort was to get members of his church group, the Mount Lebanon Singers: William "Chick" Anderson, Charlie White, and David "Little Dave" Baughan (tenors); David Baldwin (baritone, and author James Baldwin's brother); and James "Wrinkle" Johnson (bass). After a recording session of four songs on June 29, 1953, Ertegun realized that this combination did not work, and had McPhatter recruit another lineup. The second group included first tenor Bill Pinkney (of the Jerusalem Stars), second tenor Andrew Thrasher, and baritone Gerhart Thrasher (both of the gospel group "The Thrasher Wonders"), Willie Ferbee as bass vocal, and Walter Adams on guitar.
This is the group on the second session that produced their first major hit, "Money Honey", released September 1953, with the record label displaying the group name "Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters". McPhatter was barely known during his time with the Dominoes, and he was sometimes passed off as "Clyde Ward, Billy's little brother". In other instances, people assumed Billy Ward was doing the singing.
"Lucille", written by McPhatter, from the first recording session, was put on the B-side of "Money Honey", making a recording industry rarity; a single released with two songs by two essentially different groups of the same name. "Money Honey" was a huge success, and propelled the Drifters to immediate fame.
More lineup changes followed after Ferbee was involved in an accident and left the group. After Adams died, he was replaced by Jimmy Oliver. Ferbee was not replaced; instead, the voice parts were shifted around. Gerhart Thrasher moved up to first tenor, Andrew Thrasher shifted down to baritone, and Bill Pinkney dropped to bass. This group released several more hits, including "Such a Night" in November 1953, "Honey Love" June 1954, "Bip Bam" October 1954, "White Christmas" November 1954, and "What'cha Gonna Do" in February 1955. McPhatter received his draft letter in March 1954, but as he was initially stationed in Buffalo, New York, he was able to continue with the group for a time. "What'cha Gonna Do", recorded a year before its release, was McPhatter's last official record as a member of the Drifters, although his first solo release ("Everyone's Laughing" b/w "Hot Ziggety") was from his final Drifters session in October 1954. After completing his military service, McPhatter pursued a successful but relatively short-lived solo career with 16 R&B and 21 pop hits.
McPhatter demanded a large share of the group's profits, which he had been denied in the Dominoes; on his departure, though, he did not ensure that this would continue for his successor. He sold his share of the group to George Treadwell, manager, former jazz trumpeter, and husband of singer Sarah Vaughan. As a result, the Drifters recycled many members, none of whom made much money and got paid a mere $100 a week (US$ in dollars). McPhatter later expressed regret at this action, recognizing that it doomed his fellow musicians to unprofitability.
McPhatter was first replaced by original member David Baughan, who had been singing lead in concert while McPhatter was in the service. Baughan's voice was similar to McPhatter's, but his erratic behavior made him difficult to work with and unsuitable in the eyes of Atlantic Records executives. Baughan soon left the group to form the Harps (1955) (finding his way back into Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters in 1958), and was replaced by Johnny Moore (formerly of The Hornets). During September 1955, this lineup recorded an R&B hit with the A-side "Adorable" reaching number one and the B-side "Steamboat" going to number five. These were followed by "Ruby Baby" in February 1956, and "I Gotta Get Myself a Woman".
Low salaries contributed to burnout among the members. Bill Pinkney was fired after asking Treadwell for more money. In protest, Andrew Thrasher left, as well. Pinkney formed The Flyers with lead singer Bobby Hendricks, who would leave to join the Drifters the next year. Pinkney was replaced by Tommy Evans (who had replaced Jimmy Ricks in the Ravens). Charlie Hughes, a baritone, replaced Andrew Thrasher. Moore, Evans, Gerhart Thrasher, and Charlie Hughes got a top-10 hit in 1957 with "Fools Fall in Love" (number 69 Pop and number 10 R&B).Nick Talevski Rock Obituaries – Knocking On Heaven's Door – 2010 Page 163 0857121170 1981 A member of The Drifters, Tommy Evans was one of three dozen vocalists who would pass through the ... Evans appeared on the 1957 Johnny Moore-led Drifters hits: 'It Was A Tear', 'Hypnotized', and 'I Know', as well as the 1958 Bobby ..."
Moore and Hughes were drafted in 1957 and replaced by Bobby Hendricks and Jimmy Milner. By early 1958, the lineup was Bobby Hendricks (lead tenor), Gerhart Thrasher (first tenor), Jimmy Milner (baritone), Tommy Evans (bass), and Jimmy Oliver (guitar). This lineup had one moderate hit, "Drip Drop" (number 58 Pop), released in April 1958.
With declining popularity, the last of the original Drifters were reduced to working the club scene and doing double duty with gigs under the Coasters and the Ravens names. By May 1958, both Hendricks and Oliver had quit, returning only for a week's appearance at the Apollo Theater. During that week, one of the members got into a fight with the master of ceremonies for the Apollo Theatre's Amateur Night, Ralph Cooper. This was considered the last straw for Treadwell, who fired the entire group. After the argument with Cooper, Treadwell hired a group called the Five Crowns and renamed them "The Drifters".
Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters
Although Treadwell owned the Drifters brand, original members felt they were the real Drifters and were determined to keep the group alive. Bill Pinkney left first. After receiving exclusive and irrevocable ownership of the name/mark "The Original Drifters" in a binding arbitration, he joined with the Thrashers and David Baughan to begin touring as "The Original Drifters". Several original Drifters came in and out of this group over time, as well as other new artists, but these Drifters never replicated the success of the earlier Drifters group.
Baughan left after a short time. Bobby Lee Hollis joined in 1964 and took over the lead spot. Later that year, Andrew Thrasher left and Jimmy Lewis joined the group. Bobby Hendricks returned, making the group a quintet for a short time, before Lewis's departure. Andrew Thrasher returned, replacing Hollis. Hollis and Baughan were periodically with the group through the 1960s. In 1968, the group consisted of Pinkney, Gerhart Thrasher, Hollis, and Hendricks.
Pinkney hired the Tears to perform as part of his group on a short tour. The Tears were Benny Andersson, George Wallace, Albert Fortson, and Mark Williams. After the tour, the Tears—without Pinkney—continued to tour as the Original Drifters, but Pinkney successfully sued to stop them from using the name.
Pinkney then added new members Bruce Caesar, Clarence Tex Walker, and Bruce Richardson, but the lineup changed rapidly. In 1979 the group was Pinkney, Andrew Lawyer, Chuck Cockerham, Harriel Jackson, and Tony Cook. Their 1995 album Peace in the Valley, on Blackberry Records, credited vocals to Pinkney, Cockerham, Richard Knight Dunbar, (Vernon Young), and Greg Johnson. They appeared on the 2001 PBS special Doo Wop 51 with Pinkney, Dunbar, Johnson, and Bobby Hendricks. The lineup in the early 2000s was Pinkney, Cockerham, Dunbar, Young, and Ronald Jackson, the son of singer Ruth Brown and Clyde McPhatter. Young died in 2005 and Pinkney in 2007.
The present Original Drifters lineup is Russell Henry, Chuck Cockerham, Richard Knight Dunbar, Vernon Taylor, Kingsley O'Brian McIntosh, and Joseph Turner.
The New Drifters