Home‎ > ‎The Pantheon‎ > ‎Greatly Appreciated Items‎ > ‎

The Drifters

THE DRIFTERS
 
 
The Drifters  are a long-lasting American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group.  According to Rolling Stone magazine, 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.  There have been 60 vocalists in the history of the Treadwell Drifters line, 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”, etc.  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 managed to give the public 13 Billboard Hot 100 top 30 chart hits.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 

The name of the Greg Shaw magazine called Who Put the Bomp is taken from “Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)”, a Top-40 hit by Barry Mann.  This was basically a one-hit wonder, but Mann always concentrated mostly on his songwriting, and he is well known for numerous songs that were co-written with his wife Cynthia Weil.  Others that he co-wrote with others include two hit duets by Linda Ronstadt, “Don’t Know Much” (with Aaron Neville) and “Somewhere out There” (with James Ingram); “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’” by the Righteous Brothers and also Daryl Hall and John Oates; and “On Broadway” by the Drifters and later by George Benson.  Barry Mann’s songwriting credits include an astounding 635 songs. 

 

(May 2013)

 

*       *       *

 

Chuck Berry had previously been a part of Alan Freed’s touring “Biggest Show of Stars for 1957” that had a truly amazing lineup:  Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, LaVern Baker, Eddie Cochran, the Spaniels, the Drifters, Clyde McPhatter, Paul Anka, Frankie Lymon, and others. 

 

(June 2013/1)

 
*       *       *
 

Before the Beatles came along, Cliff Richard was the leading rock musician in the UK.  Under his real name Harry Webb, he had been the leader of a British rock and roll band called the Drifters (not related at all to the prominent American singing group also called the Drifters); essentially, they were the predecessor band to Cliff Richard and the Shadows. 

 

(November 2014)

 

*       *       *

 

Not everyone feels that way though.  Doc Dosco, a jazz guitarist who played on Black Russian wrote of his early session work on his website www.docdosco.com:  “‘I did tons of “guitar for hire” studio dates back then’, says Doc, ‘and I gigged a lot during the late seventies and eighties.  I was a funky fusion style player and there was lots of funk style work.  I also did pick-up work, casuals, society gigs and played numerous concerts with old timers such as Little Anthony, the Drifters, the Diamonds, the Platters, Freddy Cannon, Connie Stevens.  I worked for composer Dennis McCarthy on the Barbara Mandrell [and the Mandrell Sisters] TV show.  I also wrote songs for Jerry Lee Lewis and German pop sensation Nina Hagen, produced “Billboard Queen” Angelyne, and recorded an album with the revolutionary Motown recording artists Black Russian.’”

 

(April 2015/1)