The Drifters Survived

The Drifters never had any control over the songs they sang, the manner in which their music was prepared, recorded or presented. They never even owned the rights to the group name. They were basically a revolving cast of poorly paid hired hands that ran through a string of lead and backing vocalists according to someone else's whim. Despite that ...

The Drifters showcased many of the greatest songs and featured several of the best lead singers of the era beginning with the great Clyde McPhatter ("Money Honey, "Such a Night"), Ben E. King, ("Stand By Me", "Spanish Harlem"), Johnny Moore ("Saturday Night at the Movies"), Charles Thomas ("There Goes My Baby", "Sweets for My Sweet" "Under the Boardwalk") and the woefully overlooked Rudy Lewis ("Up On the Roof") ("On Broadway"). Boardwalk was to have been recorded with Lewis singing lead (and a young Phil Spector on guitar). When Lewis was found dead in a rooming house at age 27, the group's manager, George Treadwell, (who also managed and was married to Sarah Vaughan at the time), simply re-hired former member, Charles Thomas, and recorded the song the very next day. One can feel the sadness underlying "Boardwalk" - when there was no time to mourn the loss of a friend because the show had to go on. As shabbily as they were treated, The Drifters brought a depth of feeling, soul and charm to the pop confections of Goffin-King and their Brill Building cohorts and left a legacy of beautiful music behind. I don't know where these videos, which rarely surface, came from but if it's a glimpse into the real or fantastic world of the Drifters, that's something to be thankful for.

Up On The Roof

Under the Boardwalk

Saturday Night at the Movies