The Drifters
The Drifters are an American doo-wop 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 drifted in and out of 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", "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, two from the second Drifters, and one from the post-Atlantic Drifters. 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". |
Birth and Death Data: Born Founded 1953
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1950 - 1959
Roles Represented in DAHR: Vocal group
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 34 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlantic | 1085 | 10-in. | 8/9/1953 | Gone | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1087 | 10-in. | 6/28/1953 | Lucille | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1104 | 10-in. | 8/9/1953 | The way i feel | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1105 | 10-in. | 8/9/1953 | Money honey | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1152 | 10-in. | 11/12/1953 | Such a night | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1153 | 10-in. | 11/12/1953 | Warm your heart | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1154 | 10-in. | 11/12/1953 | Bip bam | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1201 | 10-in. | 2/4/1954 | The bells of St. Mary's | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1202 | 10-in. | 2/4/1954 | White Christmas | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1203 | 10-in. | 2/4/1954 | Honey love | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1204 | 10-in. | 2/4/1954 | What'cha gonna do? | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1229 | 10-in. | 3/14/1954 | Someday you'll want me to want you | The Drifters ; Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1339 | 10-in. | 10/24/1954 | Everyone's laughing | Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1341 | 10-in. | 10/24/1954 | Hot ziggity | Clyde McPhatter | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1664 | 10-in. | 9/19/1955 | Adorable | The Drifters | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1665 | 10-in. | 9/19/1955 | Your promise to be mine | The Drifters ; Bobby Hendricks ; Buddy Lucas ; Johnny Moore ; Jimmy Oliver ; Bill Pinkney ; Andrew Thrasher ; Gerhart Thrasher | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1666 | 10-in. | 9/19/1955 | Ruby baby | The Drifters | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1667 | 10-in. | 9/19/1955 | Steamboat | The Drifters | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 1668 | 10-in. | 9/19/1955 | Drifting away from you | The Drifters | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 2046 | 10-in. | 6/21/1956 | Soldier of fortune | The Drifters | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 2048 | 10-in. | 6/21/1956 | I gotta get myself a woman | The Drifters | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 2184 | 10-in. | 11/8/1956 | It was a tear | The Drifters | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 2185 | 10-in. | 11/8/1956 | Fools fall in love | The Drifters | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 2374 | 10-in. | 4/16/1957 | Yodee yakee | The Drifters | Vocal group | ||
Atlantic | 2376 | 10-in. | 4/16/1957 | Hypnotized | The Drifters | Vocal group |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Drifters, The," accessed November 3, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/312897.
Drifters, The. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/312897.
"Drifters, The." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 3 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: The Drifters
Discogs: The Drifters
Allmusic: The Drifters
IMDb: The Drifters
Britannica: The Drifters
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Drifters (Musical group) - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n91048206
Wikidata: The Drifters - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1060576
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/129512680
MusicBrainz: The Drifters - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/9e2d3f58-0653-4007-bcb7-1746fcdd9363
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