The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963[citation needed], though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today.
They were originally formed to serve as backing group for Clyde McPhatter (of Billy Ward & the Dominoes) in 1953.
Rolling Stone magazine states that the Drifters were the least stable of the vocal groups due to being low-paid hired musicians under the direct control of their management,[1] headed by George Treadwell, who owned the Drifters name.
The Treadwell Drifters website states that there have been 60 vocalists in the history of the Treadwell Drifters line, [2] including several splinter groups by former Drifters members (not under Treadwell's management)
These splinter groups are usually identified with a possessive credit such as "Bill Pinckney's Original Drifters", "Charlie Thomas' Drifters", etc.
Only one splinter Drifters group features a classic Drifters member, Charlie Thomas' Drifters.
Nevertheless, there are two versions of the Drifters that are notable.
The first classic Drifters formed by Clyde McPhatter was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as "The Drifters" or "The Original Drifters".[3]
The second Drifters formed by Treadwell featuring Ben E. King was separately inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as Ben E. King and the Drifters.[4]
In their induction, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame eclectically selected four members from the classic Drifters, two from the second Drifters, and one from the post-King Treadwell Drifters.[5]
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."[3]
Matching that feat more or less, the non-original Drifters managed to give the public 13 Hot 100 top 30 chart hits.
The classic first Drifters and Clyde McPhatter
Clyde McPhatter began his professional recording career as lead tenor for Billy Ward and His Dominoes in 1950 after winning "Amateur Night" at the famed Apollo Theater.
Three years later, on May 7, 1953, McPhatter left the group hoping to continue in entertainment and make a name for himself. The Dominoes once made an appearance at Birdland without McPhatter, and Ahmet Ertegün of Atlantic Records noticed McPhatter was not present, only to learn that Clyde was no longer with the group.
As Jerry Wexler recalls, "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."[6]
Wanting to blend gospel and secular sounds, Clyde's first effort was to get 4 out of 5 members of his old church group, the Mount Lebanon Singers.
They were William “Chick” Anderson (tenor), David Baldwin (baritone), James “Wrinkle” Johnson (bass), and David “Little Dave” Baughan (tenor).
After a single recording session of four songs on June 29, 1953, Ertegün saw this combination didn't work and prompted McPhatter to recruit another lineup.
This second group of newly recruited Drifters consisted of gospel vocalists in second tenor Gerhart Thrasher, baritone Andrew Thrasher (both formerly of the gospel group the "Thrasher Wonders"), Bill Pinkney (of the Jerusalem Stars) on baritone, Willie Ferbee as bass, and Walter Adams on guitar.
This is the group on the second session, which produced the group's first major hit, "Money Honey", released September 1953, with the record label proudly displaying the group name Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters.
McPhatter was barely known during his time with The Dominoes.
He was sometimes passed off as "Clyde Ward, Billy's little brother." Others assumed it was Billy Ward doing the singing.
"Lucille" (written by McPhatter) from the first session was put on the B side, making a recording industry rarity as a single released with songs from two essentially separate groups of the same name on the A and B sides.
"Money Honey" was a huge success and propelled The Drifters to immediate fame.
More lineup changes followed after the session when Ferbee was involved in an accident and left the group, and then Adams died, to be replaced by Jimmy Oliver. Ferbee was not replaced and the voice parts were shifted around. Gerhart Thrasher became first tenor, Andrew Thrasher was now the baritone, and Bill Pinkney shifted down to bass.
This group released several more hits ("Such A Night" in November 1953,[7][8] "Honey Love" June 1954, "Bip Bam" October 1954, "White Christmas" November 1954, and "What'cha Gonna Do" in March 1955) before McPhatter received his draft letter in May 1954.
Initially stationed in Buffalo, New York, he was able to continue for a time, with "What'cha Gonna Do" being Clyde's last recording with his group, after which he pursued a successful but somewhat short-lived solo career with 16 R&B and 21 Pop hits.
McPhatter had demanded a large share of the group's profits, which he had been denied in the Dominoes, but, upon his departure, 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 cycled through many members, none of whom made much money.
McPhatter later expressed regret at this action, recognizing that it doomed his fellow musicians to unprofitability. McPhatter was first replaced by David Baughn, who was on the new group's first session. While his voice was similar to McPhatter's, his erratic behavior proved him difficult to work with and made him unsuitable in the eyes of Atlantic Records executives.
Baughn 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 Selma native Johnny Moore (formerly of The Hornets).
September 1955 saw this lineup record a major double-sided R&B hit with the A side's "Adorable", reaching number one and the B side, "Steamboat," going to number five. These were followed by "Ruby Baby" in February 1956, and "I Got To Get Myself A Woman".
Low salaries contributed to burnout among the members, particularly Bill Pinkney, who was fired after asking Treadwell for more money. In protest, Andrew Thrasher left as well.
Pinkney formed another group, called "The Flyers", with lead singer Bobby Hendricks, who would leave to join the Drifters the next year.
Bill Pinkney was replaced by Tommy Evans (who had replaced Jimmy Ricks in The Ravens).
Charlie Hughes, a baritone, replaced Andrew Thrasher. Moore, G. Thrasher, C. Hughes, and Evans were the last quality lineup with the top ten hit, "Fools Fall in Love" in 1957 (number 69 Pop and number 10 R&B).
Source: Wikipedia
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