The Drifters

The Drifters

The Drifters are a US doo-wop and rhythm and blues vocal group from New York, active from 1953 to the present. They begin in 1953 when Clyde McPhatter forms the group after leaving Billy Ward & the Dominoes, with initial backing from Atlantic Records through Ahmet Ertegun. The group goes on to have many different lineups, with more than 60 members over time.

Early lineups and first hits

The first short-lived Drifters session includes William “Chick” Anderson, David Baldwin, James “Wrinkle” Johnson and David “Little Dave” Baughan, with McPhatter at the centre. After that session, Atlantic asks McPhatter to assemble a new group. He settles on Gerhart Thrasher, Andrew Thrasher, Bill Pinkney, Willie Ferbee and Walter Adams. This lineup records the group’s first major hit, “Money Honey”.

After Ferbee leaves following an accident and Adams dies, Jimmy Oliver replaces Adams and the voice parts shift around. The group then records a series of early R&B hits including “Such A Night”, “Honey Love”, “Bip Bam”, “White Christmas” and “What’cha Gonna Do”. McPhatter is drafted in 1954 and leaves for a solo career. George Treadwell, a former jazz trumpeter and husband of Sarah Vaughan, takes control of the group and ownership of the name, which leads to constant personnel changes.

Ben E. King era

After McPhatter leaves, David Baughan briefly fronts the group before Johnny Moore takes over. Moore leads the group on the 1955 hit “Adorable” and later singles such as “Ruby Baby”, “I Got To Get Myself A Woman” and “Fools Fall In Love”. In the mid-1950s the Drifters begin working with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who become the group’s producers. This period is widely regarded as a key phase in the group’s history.

Later, Treadwell brings in The Five Crowns and renames that group the Drifters. This new version includes Ben E. King, Charlie Thomas, Dock Green and Elsbeary Hobbs. It records major chart singles including “There Goes My Baby”, “Dance With Me”, “This Magic Moment”, “Save The Last Dance For Me” and “I Count The Tears”. King records with the group for about a year before beginning a solo career.

Further personnel changes and later hits

After King stops touring with the group, Johnny Lee Williams handles touring vocals and is later replaced by Rudy Lewis, who leads the Drifters on “Some Kind Of Wonderful”, “Please Stay” and “Up on the Roof”. While recording “Please Stay”, Burt Bacharach meets Dionne Warwick, beginning their later collaboration. The lineup changes repeatedly as members leave for military service, other careers or disputes over management and pay.

Johnny Moore returns in 1964, and the group records “Under the Boardwalk” shortly before Rudy Lewis dies the night before the session; Moore then sings lead. Later lineups include Gene Pearson, Johnny Terry, Dan Dandridge, William Brent, Rick Sheppard, Bill Fredricks, Charles Baskerville, Milton Turner and a later Charlie Thomas who uses the name Don Thomas. The group breaks up in 1970.

British period and later years

Johnny Moore and Bill Fredricks regroup in 1971 for an independently produced session that is later sold to Atlantic. “A Rose By Any Other Name” and “Be My Lady” are the group’s last Atlantic releases. After that, the Drifters move to England and continue with frequent personnel changes. During the 1970s their only charted records are in Britain, including “Kissing In The Back Row Of The Movies”, “There Goes My First Love” and “You’re More Than A Number In My Little Red Book”.

Across the later decades, many singers pass through the group, including Butch Leake, Grant Kitchings, Clyde Brown, Billy Lewis, Joe Blunt, Ray Lewis, Louis Price, Jonah Ellis, Gene Jenkins, George Chandler, John Thurston, Joe Cofie, Tony Jackson, Keith John, Patrick Alan, Peter Lamarr, Roy Hemmings, Rohan Delano Turney, Jason Leigh and Victor Bynoe. Johnny Moore dies in 1999, but the group continues. A management split leads to Drifters UK Limited, and the group keeps touring in the UK.

Recognition

The Vocal Group Hall of Fame inducts both The Original Drifters in 1998 and Ben E. King and The Drifters in 2000. Rolling Stone ranks The Drifters at number 81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004.