| Official 50th Anniversary photograph
Dr.See limited use conditions below.Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame.Only King and Thomas are alive today.ORIGINAL DRIFTERS since 1958.We appreciate your visit.This site is maintained
by Original Drifters, Inc.Best Act of its Genre on Music Scene Today!"The Drifters helped create soul music with gospel style vocals.After
Clyde McPhatter was fired by the Dominoes Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic
Records encouraged him to form a group.McPhatter discovered the other members singing
at the Mount Lebanon Church in Harlem, New York.The Drifters were not only a popular for
their vocals but, for their choreography.McPhatter was drafted into the Army in 1954.After McPhatter's departure George Treadwell, the Drifter's manager, hire
Johnny Moore to become the groups new lead singer.Drifter name and convinced Treadwell to apply the name to a
brand new group.Treadwell heard Benjamin Nelson (later Ben E.King
as lead tenor was even more successful then the original group.King left the group to
pursue a solo career in October, 1960.In the meantime, The Drifters enjoyed their greatest hit making period
with Rudy Lewis on lead vocals.Through 1963, The Drifters had major pop and rhythm and
blues hits provided by Brill Building songwriters.Saturday Night At the Movies.The Drifters continued
to record into the early '70s.Around 1972, Johnny Moore with a new group of Drifters,
moved to England, toured the clubs and cabarets, and signed with British Bell, for whom
they had a series of British hits through 1975.His
popularity diminished he rejoined The Drifters for European Tours in the early '80s.EMI, Manhattan, and
Ichiban.For other uses, see The Drifters (disambiguation).Bill Pinkney's "Original Drifters"
1.He finally settled on Gerhart and Andrew Thrasher on baritone and second tenor, respectively, Bill Pinkney on high tenor, Willie Ferbee as bass, and Walter Adams on guitar.After the session, Ferbee was involved in an accident and left the group and Adams died (to be replaced by Jimmy Oliver)."Honey Love," "Bip Bam," "White Christmas," and "What'cha Gonna Do") before McPhatter was drafted in May 1954 (after which he pursued a solo career).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.As a result, the Drifters cycled through copious members, none of whom made much money.Baughn soon left the group, and was replaced by Cleveland native Johnny Moore (of The Hornets).In the mid 1950s, the Drifters began working with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, songwriters who eventually became the group's producers as well.Low salaries contributed to burnout among the members, particularly Bill Pinkney, who was fired after asking Treadwell for more money.Andrew Thrasher left as well, in protest.By early 1958, the lineup was: Bobby Hendricks (lead tenor), Gerhart Thrasher (first tenor), Jimmy Milner (baritone), Tommy Evans (bass), and Jimmy Oliver (guitar).During that week, one of the members got into a fight with the owner of the Apollo.Since Treadwell owned the rights to the name "Drifters," and since he still had a year's worth of bookings for the Apollo, he recruited another group, The Five Crowns, featuring lead singer Ben E.Baughan left after a short time, leaving the group a trio.Bobby Lee Hollis joined in 1964 and took over the lead spot.Andrew Thrasher returned, replacing Hollis.Hollis and Baughan bounced in and out through the 1960s.By 1968, the group was Pinkney, Gerhart Thrasher, Hollis, and Hendricks.At this point, the group split.The Tears were Benny Anderson, George Wallace, Albert Fortson, and Mark Williams.Pinkney then brought in new members Bruce Caesar, Clarence Tex Walker, and Bruce Richardson.The lineup changed rapidly.In 1979 the group was Pinkney, Andrew Lawyer, Chuck Cockerham, Harriel Jackson, and Tony Cook.They appeared on the PBS special, Doo Wop 51 with Pinkney, Dunbar, Johnson, and Bobby Hendricks.The lineup in the early 2000s was Pinkney, Cockerham, Dunbar, Young, and Clyde McPhatter's son, Ron McPhatter.Greg Johnson is now in Bobby Hendricks' Drifters.The second Drifters
Treadwell had approached Lover Patterson, the manager of the Five Crowns.All but one member of The Five Crowns went along with the name change to become the Drifters.Charlie Thomas (tenor), Dock Green (baritone), and Elsbeary Hobbs (bass).However, personnel changes started almost immediately.Lover Patterson (who had managed the Five Crowns and was now the Drifters' road manager) got into a fight with George Treadwell.New member Johnny Lee Williams did the touring (although he can be heard leading "True Love, True Love").Williams was subsequently replaced by Rudy Lewis (of The Clara Ward Singers), who led the Drifters on hits such as "Some Kind Of Wonderful," "Please Stay," and "Up on the Roof."Tommy Evans left again in 1963 and was replaced by Johnny Terry.Later that year, the group was scheduled to record "Under the Boardwalk" on May 21.However, Rudy Lewis died the night before the session, and Johnny Moore took over as the sole lead (he and Lewis had been alternating).Gene Pearson was replaced by Rick Sheppard that same year.Bill Fredricks replaced William Brent.Baskerville stayed only a short time, leaving before a session (which was done as a trio).This lineup lasted only a few months.By March 1970, the Drifters had broken up.Rose By Any Other Name" and "Be My Lady" became the Drifters' last Atlantic release.Atlantic career
After this, the Drifters moved to England and underwent the usual bewildering personnel changes.Along with Moore and Fredricks, Butch Leake and former Ink Spot Grant Kitchings were members initially.Fredricks was replaced by Clyde Brown the next year, and Kitchings by Billy Lewis the year after.Leake was replaced by Joe Blunt in 1976, making the lineup Johnny Moore, Clyde Brown, Joe Blunt, and Billy Lewis.This year, Faye Treadwell renamed the group's management company Treadwell Drifters Inc.In 1986, the group split, and the a new lineup was constructed by Treadwell, consisting of new member Jonah Ellis and former members Ray Lewis, Billy Lewis, and Louis Price.Ray Lewis was out in 1988, and was replaced by Joe Cofie.In 1989, Billy Lewis left, and replaced by the returning George Chandler, then Tony Jackson, Keith John, and finally Peter Lamarr in 1990.Patrick Alan was in for Peter Lamaar briefly, before Lamaar left in 1991, and was permanently replaced by Rohan Delano Turney.Patrick Alan returned to the group, keeping it a quartet.In 2001, Faye Treadwell left the United Kingdom, allegedly due to bankruptcy.Two members of her company, Mark Lundquist and Phil Lunderman, started a new management company, Drifters UK Limited, to run the group.As of December 2006, writs have been served in the London High Court by Tina Treadwell, daughter of George and Faye, against Lundquist and Lunderman, alleging they are not the rightful controllers of The Drifters.Tina's group features Roy Hemmings and Jason Leigh.It should be noted that Hemmings remained with Lundquist and Lunderman initially, leaving three years after the formation of Drifters UK Limited.King and The Drifters'(2000).In 1988, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted The Drifters; naming members Clyde McPhatter, Bill Pinkney, Gerhardt Thrasher, Johnny Moore, Ben E.Pinkney and Richard Knight Dunbar joined with Bobby Hendricks and a fourth member; they performed "White Christmas."Charlie Thomas' Drifters also appeared along with Ben E.Phil was driving when their car hit a stationary vehicle in the outside lane of the carriageway.Splinters
In the early 1970s, promoter Larry Marshak decided to reunite the Drifters (not realizing that they were still performing with a newer lineup).He found Dock Green, Charlie Thomas, and Elsbeary Hobbs, and began to promote them as "The Drifters".This brought swift legal action from Faye Treadwell, wife of George Treadwell, who was managing the Drifters.In an attempt to grant his group the sole rights to the name, Marshak convinced Hobbs, Thomas, and Green to apply for a trademark on the Drifters name in 1976.The trademark was granted but due to Treadwell's legal action it was revoked in 2000 in US Federal Court.Beary Hobbs had a group, which has continued to record after his death (and is still managed by Marshak).Rick Sheppard also tours with a group.Sheppard owns the Canadian Trademark for the Drifters name and has recently won a lawsuit in Canada, so that no other Drifters permitted to perform there.Ray Lewis and Roy Hemmings have led a Drifters group, and Hemmings now fronts a group that is managed by Tina Treadwell.Don Thomas leads a group, Don Thomas and the Drifters Review.Three piece vocals touring around New Zealand with the Craven Noble Band Craven Noble is a singer, the MD (he plays Keyboard) and provides the sound gear for the drifters.Billy Washington is the main leader of the drifters, they say they come from America and they came to NZ to perform.Rolling Stone Issue 946.This page was last modified 21:59, 4 January 2008.All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.See Copyrights for details.December 2006)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.Japanese comedy group that started in 1964.They are most famous for the regular variety show Hachijidayo, Zen'inshugo!It held the highest ratings of any program in its time, and still holds one of the highest program ratings in Japanese television history.The show would round out the hour with a few more sketches, often with the musical guests participating in these.Besides the regular weekly show, The Drifters, or Dorifu as they came to be called, would also have special presentations every few months.Often they would have special guests, usually famous singing performers, that would participate in the sketches but would not always sing during the show.The Drifters were often linked to the singing duo Pink Lady through a series of popular fumetti style manga and also had a children's show with Pink Lady based on Journey to the West.The show was called Drifters' Saiyuki and featured puppet caricatures of the Drifters as the principle characters.Pink Lady provided narration and sang the main theme of the show.The group disbanded but continued to get together for their occasional hour and a half specials."Bakatono to Mini Moni Hime"?This page was last modified 16:45, 15 October 2007.All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.See Copyrights for details.Released: 19 June 2006
CD now available in The Drifters shop on this website.Drifters Go Double Gold!THE DRIFTERS Golden Anniversary
Year whilst the Warner Bros.DRIFTERS, achieves Gold sales after spending many weeks in the
Top Ten Album Chart.The Drifters one of the most successful
vocal groups of all time.CD now available in The Drifters shop on this website.They epitomized the vocal group sound of New York City.The material the Drifters recorded came from a variety of sources, including the songwriting teams of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, and Gerry Goffin and Carole King.King as lead vocalist, the Drifters began working with Leiber and Stoller in 1959.Lewis and set to a daringly theatrical arrangement.Just as the Drifters were finally beginning to enjoy sustained musical success, Lewis died of a drug overdose in 1964, and once again the group lost a magical voice.Such resilience was typical of the Drifters, verifying the great store of soul and conviction within them that was evident from their recordings.TIMELINE
August 15, 1925: Bill Pinkney was born.August 23, 1936: Rudy Lewis was born.September 28, 1938: Ben E.Written and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the song stays on the charts for most of the year.Leiber and Stoller will go on to produce and record numerous hits by the Coasters and other Atlantic artists such as the Drifters, Ben E.The Drifters inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Sorry, the page you're trying to reach is unavailable or the page may no longer exist.Click your browser's Refresh button to try reconnecting."The Drifters on MSN Music";s."This page will not function properly in your browser.Your browser is very old.Please upgrade your browser to version 4 or later.Or request the webmaster (of this page) to change their browser compatibility setting in Cool Page to version 3 browsers."Pictured Above: Wolf Johnson, Dawud Shabazz, Marc Vanclaggett, David McRae, Rick Sheppard
(seated).There were
two different groups of Drifters that recorded on the Atlantic Recording Label.Drifters of the 60's
with the most famous hit songs: including On Broadway, Under the Boardwalk, etc.This is what the public dubbed as the Ben E.Rick Sheppard was a
member of that group of The Drifters.Rick Sheppard recorded on the Atlantic Label
with Charlie Thomas, the late Johnny Moore, and the late Bill Fredricks.Visit
the history section to get more information on The Drifters featuring Rick
Sheppard. |
