Post by Rob Durkee on Jul 5, 2007 20:39:24 GMT -5
Bill Pinkney, the last surviving member of the original Drifters lineup, was found dead in his Florida hotel room Wednesday night, July 4, 2007. Pinkney was staying at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort and was scheduled to perform with a current Drifters lineup that evening as part of a July 4 celebration.
Sources differ as to Pinkney's date of birth. One source claimed he was born on September 1, 1927. However, it's believed the correct date of birth for Pinkney was August 15, 1925, meaning he was 81. Pinkney was a World II War veteran and pitched for the New York Blue Sox baseball team before becoming an original member of the Drifters. He was with the Drifters for about five years, leaving in 1958 in a money dispute.
The roots of the Drifters took place in the spring of 1953, when the group the Dominoes were scheduled to perform at a Manhattan nightclub. The Dominoes had already hit big with the R&B classic, "Sixty Minute Man." Atlantic Records President Ahmet Ertegun was checking out the group's performance but noticed that its star singer, Clyde McPhatter, was missing. Ertegun went backstage to find out what happened with McPhatter. Billy Ward, the Dominoes' leader, explained, "I fired his ass."
Ertegun tracked down McPhatter and talked him into joining Atlantic Records. The master plan was to make McPhatter the star of a new group. Initially, McPhatter recruited members of his former group, the Mount Lebanon Singers, but that lineup lasted for only one song, "Lucille." McPhatter tried a second time to form a group, this time from his former gospel group, the Civitones. This time, everything clicked with a lineup of McPhatter, Pinkney, brothers Andrew and Gerhart Thrasher, Willie Ferbee and guitarist Walter Adams. They decided to call themselves the Drifters because all of them had been drifting from one group to another.
The impact the early Drifters' songs made in music history can't be emphasized enough. The group's first two principle releases, "Honey Honey" and "Such A Night," would both be recorded by Elvis Presley. The Drifters' third release, "Money Honey", went to #1 on the R&B chart just like "Honey Honey"--and would be the first record ever bought by legendary DJ Wolfman Jack. Two other releases, "Ruby Baby" and "Drip Drip," would both become 1960's remake hits for Dion.
The early Drifters also gave a legendary doo-wop sound with their version of "White Christmas." To this day, the Drifters are the only group to make the pop chart with a version of the holiday classic. Elvis Presley would record four Drifters' songs in all, the others being "White Christmas" and "Fools Fall In Love."
Pinkney wasn't the only one to leave the Drifters in their 1958 dispute over money. Then-manager George Treadwell fired all the group members, replacing them with a group known as the Five Crowns. Essentially, the Five Crowns became the second rendition of the Drifters, which angered fans of the original Drifters. In spite of performing as the new Drifters in front of angry, sometimes-swearing fans, the group, led by Ben E. King, prevailed. "There Goes My Baby" became a #2 pop hit for the newer Drifters in 1959 and their #1 hit, "Save The Last Dance For Me," came in 1960. More classic hits would follow in the 1960's, including "Up On The Roof," "On Broadway" and "Under The Boardwalk."
The Drifters, who entered the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, have had at least eight different lead singers. The total number of Drifters' members is almost impossible to figure. Tom Dowd, a long-time engineer with Atlanta Records, once said, "I worked with 30-35 different Drifters over the years. Nobody could pinpoint who sang on what."
Sources differ as to Pinkney's date of birth. One source claimed he was born on September 1, 1927. However, it's believed the correct date of birth for Pinkney was August 15, 1925, meaning he was 81. Pinkney was a World II War veteran and pitched for the New York Blue Sox baseball team before becoming an original member of the Drifters. He was with the Drifters for about five years, leaving in 1958 in a money dispute.
The roots of the Drifters took place in the spring of 1953, when the group the Dominoes were scheduled to perform at a Manhattan nightclub. The Dominoes had already hit big with the R&B classic, "Sixty Minute Man." Atlantic Records President Ahmet Ertegun was checking out the group's performance but noticed that its star singer, Clyde McPhatter, was missing. Ertegun went backstage to find out what happened with McPhatter. Billy Ward, the Dominoes' leader, explained, "I fired his ass."
Ertegun tracked down McPhatter and talked him into joining Atlantic Records. The master plan was to make McPhatter the star of a new group. Initially, McPhatter recruited members of his former group, the Mount Lebanon Singers, but that lineup lasted for only one song, "Lucille." McPhatter tried a second time to form a group, this time from his former gospel group, the Civitones. This time, everything clicked with a lineup of McPhatter, Pinkney, brothers Andrew and Gerhart Thrasher, Willie Ferbee and guitarist Walter Adams. They decided to call themselves the Drifters because all of them had been drifting from one group to another.
The impact the early Drifters' songs made in music history can't be emphasized enough. The group's first two principle releases, "Honey Honey" and "Such A Night," would both be recorded by Elvis Presley. The Drifters' third release, "Money Honey", went to #1 on the R&B chart just like "Honey Honey"--and would be the first record ever bought by legendary DJ Wolfman Jack. Two other releases, "Ruby Baby" and "Drip Drip," would both become 1960's remake hits for Dion.
The early Drifters also gave a legendary doo-wop sound with their version of "White Christmas." To this day, the Drifters are the only group to make the pop chart with a version of the holiday classic. Elvis Presley would record four Drifters' songs in all, the others being "White Christmas" and "Fools Fall In Love."
Pinkney wasn't the only one to leave the Drifters in their 1958 dispute over money. Then-manager George Treadwell fired all the group members, replacing them with a group known as the Five Crowns. Essentially, the Five Crowns became the second rendition of the Drifters, which angered fans of the original Drifters. In spite of performing as the new Drifters in front of angry, sometimes-swearing fans, the group, led by Ben E. King, prevailed. "There Goes My Baby" became a #2 pop hit for the newer Drifters in 1959 and their #1 hit, "Save The Last Dance For Me," came in 1960. More classic hits would follow in the 1960's, including "Up On The Roof," "On Broadway" and "Under The Boardwalk."
The Drifters, who entered the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, have had at least eight different lead singers. The total number of Drifters' members is almost impossible to figure. Tom Dowd, a long-time engineer with Atlanta Records, once said, "I worked with 30-35 different Drifters over the years. Nobody could pinpoint who sang on what."