It is impossible to talk about The Platters with out talking about Buck Ram! Born Samuel Ram to Jewish parents, it has been said that the history of rock & roll could not be written without including Buck Ram. Ram was one of the top five song writers for BMI in it's first fifty years. Ram wrote, arranged, and produced for various artist, like The Coasters, The Drifters, Ike & Tina Turner, Ike Cole, Duke Ellington, Glen Miller, Ella Fitzgerald and others. The connection between Ram and future groups and future music runs from Ram through The Coasters and The Drifters to Leiber and Stoller. Ram started adding singers to groups to define a sound which is how Leiber and Stoller operated with their arrangements.
Ram is mostly remembered for his association with The Platters, whom he signed to a contract in 1953. Ram was working as a talent manager, A&R man for a dance band when Tony Williams, the brother of one of clients auditioned for him. Ram was looking for someone to sing the songs he had written and found the voice he was looking for in Tony Williams. Ram built The Platters around Williams. Ram arranged and produced all recordings by The Platters after they signed with Mercury Records, until his death. Ram also wrote their biggest hits including, "Only You (And You Alone)", "The Great Pretender", "Magic Touch",and "Twilight Time".
When Mercury announced that it would release "Only You" on their purple"race music" label Ram insisted that the records be relabeled stating that The Platters had worked to hard to have their market limited by a record label. Mercury agreed and the records were released on Mercury's regular label, thereby making The Platters one of the first cross-over artist.
As a follow-up to "Only You" Ram wrote "The Great Pretender" in a hotel washroom. "The Great Pretender" was anumber 4 hit for Freddie Mercury in 1987. Ram had no idea who Freddie Mercury was, but was thrilled that his songs was on the charts again, he laughed all the way to the bank. Ram also wrote "Twilight Time" and "Chew Chew Chew Your Bubble Gum" with Ella Fitzgerald.
Ram was involved in a controversy about the song "I'll Be Home For Christmas". Ram claims that he wrote the song and then talked about it two songwriters that he hardly knew, and that they took credit for the song until he forced them to give him credit. On Bing Crosby's recording of the song the credits are listed as Kent, Gannon, and Ram.
No matter what else Ram did in his life, his greatest success was The Platters.
THE PLATTERS
The Platters were a group formed in Los Angeles in the early 50's. They were managed by Ralph Bass and signed to Federal Records, where they had little success. The original group included, Alex Hodge, Cronell Gunther David Lynch, Joe Jefferson, Gaynel Hodge, and Herb Reed.
After signing with Ram, the group went through several changes before finding the mix that put them on the charts. The winning combination was Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor.
The Platters didn't chart at first, but a great touring group and were so successful that the The Penguins asked Ram to manage them as well. Mercury Records agreed to sign both groups. Sadly The Penguins never had a hit with Mercury Records.
Believe it or not Ram had to be talked into recording "Only You' by Tony Williams and Jean Bennett. Released in 1955 the song became the groups first top ten hit, and stayed on the charts for seven weeks. Their follow-up "The Great Pretender" went to number one and stayed on the charts for 11 weeks. In 1956 The Platters were in the first major motion picture based around rock & roll, Rock Around the Clock. They sang "Only You" and "The Great Pretender".
The Platters unique vocal style hit a nerve in America, and a string of hits followed. "I'm Sorry" (#11), "He's Mine" (#23) in 1957, "Enchanted" (#12) in 1959 and "The Majic Touch" (#4) in 1956. The Platters also found a way of making old hits new, with standards like, "My Prayer", "Twilight Time", "Harbor Lights", "If I Didn't Care" and Jerome Kerns, "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes". Kerns' widow expressed concern the that her late husband's song would be turned into a rock & roll song. It topped both American and British charts.
This hit making group stayed together until 1960, when trouble started creeping in.
As a group The Platters began to have some problems with their public. In 1959 four members of the group were arrestd in Cincinnati, on drug and prostitution charges. No one was convicted of the charges, but their professional reputation was seriously damaged and US radio stations started removing their song from their play list, forcing the group to book thenselves in Europe. During that time Tony Williams left the group for a solo career and was replaced by Sonny Turner. Mercury Records refused to issue any Platters records that did not have Tony Williams on lead. This action caused a law suite between Ram and Mercury Records. Mercury released only Williams lead records until The Platters contract expired.
From this point on it seems that there was always a law suit going on and a new group of Platters being formed. In 1966 The Platters had a small hit with "I Love You 1,000 Times". However they would never have the success of the Tony Williams group. It seems That every member of the group formed a group of Platters. There were so many groups of Platters that some were named for the lead of the group, like Herb Reed's Platters.
It is My opinion that The Platters were the classiest Do-Wop group ever!
There is not a lot of information about Tony Williams after he left The Platters, but if you listen to him sing "My Prayer" you can hear the power and control that he had with a song. His solo csreer should have compared with Jackis Wilson's, but it never did.
I would love to hear form readers in the comment section. Just click on the comment section and type in what you want to say including your name, then click anonymous to post your comments
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Re-visit The Drifters
As promised we're going to go back and look at the great lead singers of The Drifters. I must admit that while researching the group I found some things that even surprised me.
Let's start with Clyde McPhatter. McPhatter joined a gospel group called the Mount Lebanon Singers. In 1950 McPhatter joined Billy Ward's Dominoes, and can be heard on the hit "Sixty Minute Man". McPhatter recorded a number of songs with the group including, "Have Mercy Baby".
McPhatter left the Dominoes in 1953 and signed with Atlantic Records and formed a new group called the Drifters. The first version of this group recorded, "Money Honey", "Such A Night", "Honey Love", "Whatcha Gonna Do", and the classic "White Christmas", with Bill Pinkney on bass.
In 1954 McPhatter was drafted, but was able to record with the group because he was stationed in the US. When McPhatter returned from the military he found that there was no room for him in the group, so he decided to start his solo career. McPhatter teamed with Ruth Brown for his first hit, "Loved Has Joined Us Together". Over the next few years McPhatter recorded several songs without a hit. A song written by Brook Benton, "A Lovers Question", went to #6 in 1958. McPhatter released "Lover Please" that same year. Afew of McPhatter's song charted high in the UK.
McPhatter singed with MGM and released another string songs including, "I Told myself A Lie", "Think Me A Kiss", and "TaTa".
In 1960 McPhatter left the US and spent time in England where he was back by a UK band called ICE. McPhatter returned to the states and soon died of heart failure.
McPhatter complained over the years about how his replacement in The Dominoes (Jackie Wilson) was having a better solo career than he was.
Next in line is Bill Pinkney. Pinkney was part of the first group of Drifters, with Andrew and Gerhart Thrasher and bass singer Willie Ferbie. On The Drifters first recording "Money Honey", Pinkney a natural baritone sang first tenor. Willie Ferbie left the group and Pinkney then moved to bass, and can be heard on the classic White Christmas. The Drifters version of "White Christmas" was scorned at first, but the more it was played the more it caught on, and fifty years later it is still one of the top selling Christmas songs of all times.
Pinkney was in and out of the group over the next few years, he did not record with the group when they recorded "Fools Fall In Love", and "Drip Drop".
Pinkney later formed a new group of Drifters called The Original Drifters and toured with the group over the years.
Next up is Ben E. King. King started his career using his given name Benjamin Earl Nelson. In 1958 King joined a do-wop group called The Five Crowns. That same year the manager of The Drifters (George Tredwell) fired the members of The Drifters and hired The Five Crowns as the new Drifters. King only recorded 10 songs with the group, including "There Goes My Baby", which was co-written by King.
King left the group in 1960 after being refused a raise by Tredwell.
King's first hit was "Spanish Harlem" in 1961 followed by "Stand By Me". "Stand By Me" was written by King along with Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller. King had a fantastic career and is still touring at this time.
There was not a lot of information on Rudy Lewis. Lewis was the lead for The Drifters from 1960 until 1964. Sometimes switching off with Johnny Moore. Lewis lead on "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "Please Stay", "On Broadway", and "Up On The Roof". It seems that Lewis' biggest problem was folling Ben E. King as lead of The Drifters. Lewis died May 20, 1964, the night before a recording session. Johnny Moore took the lead at the session and The Drifters moved on.
Johnny Moore joined The Drifters in 1955 at age 21. He was drafted and forced to leave the group; upon returning he recorder as a solo act under the name of Johnny Darrow. He rejoined the group and became lead singer in 1964. Johnny Moore toured with a number of Drifters group over the years. Moore even moved to the UK with a group of Drifters in the 1970's. Moore stayed with the group until his death in 1998.
Last and by no means least is Charlie Thomas. Thomas was a member of The Five Crowns with Ben E. King when they were hired to be the new Drifters. Charlie Thomas' biggest song was "Sweets For My Sweets".
While doing my research I found some great connections. The first connection is Leiber and Stoller who were song writers and producrs who signed to the Atlantic label, but were allowed to write and produce for other labels. Leiber and Stoller wrote and produced songs for the likes of Elvis, The Coasters, and The Drifters. It seems that the duo had a majic touch for making hits, no matter who they worked with.
The second connection is the Drinkard Singers. Leiber and Stoller took a female gospel group that included Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, Sissy Houston, and at times Judy Clay and made them an important part of the Drifters success.
Leiber and Stoller arranged some of The Drifters songs so that The Drifters sang in unison on a note that was in harmony with the harmony of The Drinkards Singers. This arrangement kept The Drifters on the charts for years.
As time goes on we will visit Leiber and Stoller many times as we look at groups that were touched by the pair.
If there are any groups that you would like to hear about, please leave request in the comments section of this blog.
Let's start with Clyde McPhatter. McPhatter joined a gospel group called the Mount Lebanon Singers. In 1950 McPhatter joined Billy Ward's Dominoes, and can be heard on the hit "Sixty Minute Man". McPhatter recorded a number of songs with the group including, "Have Mercy Baby".
McPhatter left the Dominoes in 1953 and signed with Atlantic Records and formed a new group called the Drifters. The first version of this group recorded, "Money Honey", "Such A Night", "Honey Love", "Whatcha Gonna Do", and the classic "White Christmas", with Bill Pinkney on bass.
In 1954 McPhatter was drafted, but was able to record with the group because he was stationed in the US. When McPhatter returned from the military he found that there was no room for him in the group, so he decided to start his solo career. McPhatter teamed with Ruth Brown for his first hit, "Loved Has Joined Us Together". Over the next few years McPhatter recorded several songs without a hit. A song written by Brook Benton, "A Lovers Question", went to #6 in 1958. McPhatter released "Lover Please" that same year. Afew of McPhatter's song charted high in the UK.
McPhatter singed with MGM and released another string songs including, "I Told myself A Lie", "Think Me A Kiss", and "TaTa".
In 1960 McPhatter left the US and spent time in England where he was back by a UK band called ICE. McPhatter returned to the states and soon died of heart failure.
McPhatter complained over the years about how his replacement in The Dominoes (Jackie Wilson) was having a better solo career than he was.
Next in line is Bill Pinkney. Pinkney was part of the first group of Drifters, with Andrew and Gerhart Thrasher and bass singer Willie Ferbie. On The Drifters first recording "Money Honey", Pinkney a natural baritone sang first tenor. Willie Ferbie left the group and Pinkney then moved to bass, and can be heard on the classic White Christmas. The Drifters version of "White Christmas" was scorned at first, but the more it was played the more it caught on, and fifty years later it is still one of the top selling Christmas songs of all times.
Pinkney was in and out of the group over the next few years, he did not record with the group when they recorded "Fools Fall In Love", and "Drip Drop".
Pinkney later formed a new group of Drifters called The Original Drifters and toured with the group over the years.
Next up is Ben E. King. King started his career using his given name Benjamin Earl Nelson. In 1958 King joined a do-wop group called The Five Crowns. That same year the manager of The Drifters (George Tredwell) fired the members of The Drifters and hired The Five Crowns as the new Drifters. King only recorded 10 songs with the group, including "There Goes My Baby", which was co-written by King.
King left the group in 1960 after being refused a raise by Tredwell.
King's first hit was "Spanish Harlem" in 1961 followed by "Stand By Me". "Stand By Me" was written by King along with Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller. King had a fantastic career and is still touring at this time.
There was not a lot of information on Rudy Lewis. Lewis was the lead for The Drifters from 1960 until 1964. Sometimes switching off with Johnny Moore. Lewis lead on "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "Please Stay", "On Broadway", and "Up On The Roof". It seems that Lewis' biggest problem was folling Ben E. King as lead of The Drifters. Lewis died May 20, 1964, the night before a recording session. Johnny Moore took the lead at the session and The Drifters moved on.
Johnny Moore joined The Drifters in 1955 at age 21. He was drafted and forced to leave the group; upon returning he recorder as a solo act under the name of Johnny Darrow. He rejoined the group and became lead singer in 1964. Johnny Moore toured with a number of Drifters group over the years. Moore even moved to the UK with a group of Drifters in the 1970's. Moore stayed with the group until his death in 1998.
Last and by no means least is Charlie Thomas. Thomas was a member of The Five Crowns with Ben E. King when they were hired to be the new Drifters. Charlie Thomas' biggest song was "Sweets For My Sweets".
While doing my research I found some great connections. The first connection is Leiber and Stoller who were song writers and producrs who signed to the Atlantic label, but were allowed to write and produce for other labels. Leiber and Stoller wrote and produced songs for the likes of Elvis, The Coasters, and The Drifters. It seems that the duo had a majic touch for making hits, no matter who they worked with.
The second connection is the Drinkard Singers. Leiber and Stoller took a female gospel group that included Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, Sissy Houston, and at times Judy Clay and made them an important part of the Drifters success.
Leiber and Stoller arranged some of The Drifters songs so that The Drifters sang in unison on a note that was in harmony with the harmony of The Drinkards Singers. This arrangement kept The Drifters on the charts for years.
As time goes on we will visit Leiber and Stoller many times as we look at groups that were touched by the pair.
If there are any groups that you would like to hear about, please leave request in the comments section of this blog.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The 5 Royales
Before I get to The 5 Royales, I have some unfinished buisness with The Drifters. There were so many singers and leads over the years, that it would be an injustice if we didn't profile some of them. So after I cover The 5 Royales I will come back and cover some of the singers that passed through The Drifters.
The 5 Royales were a gospel group form Winston-Salem, North Carolina, called The Royal Sons Quintet.They started recording in the early 50's and changed their name to The 5 Royales after moving from gospel to secular music. The group consisted of Lowman "Pete" Pauling who was the groups main writer and guitarist. Pauling wrote the group's first two hits. "Dedicated to the one I love" which was covered by the Shirells and The Momas and Papas, "Tell the Truth" covered by Ray Charles and "Think" covered by James Brown & The Famous Flames. It has been claimed that James Brown modeled his group after The 5 Royales. Steve Cropper of Booker T and the MG's credit Pauling as an influence.
Most of the group's recording were made in 1952 and 1953. The group consisted of Pauling, Jimmy Moore, Obadiah Carter, Otto Jefferies, and Johnny Tanner on lead. Tanners brother Eugene replaced Jeffries. Johnny Tanner had a big voice and lead on most of the group songs, including "Think". A sweeter voice was needed for the lead of "Dedicated to the One I Love", so Eugene Tanner was picked to lead. "Baby Don't Do It" became hits in 1953.
The group shared the stage with most of the major groups of the day including Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, and even filled in for The Raelettes, in Durham North Carolina.
In late 1952 some confusion arose when two 5 Royales groups started touring. The other group was from Detroit and was led by Hank Ballard. The confusion ended when a promoter sent the Detroit group to Winston-Salem and tried to pass them off as the original group. The audience was not fooled and soon after the Detroit group changed their name to The Midnighters. Both groups had hits at King records with Rock& Roll Hall of Fame producer Ralph Bass. The two groups became friends and from time to time staged battle of the bands. Hank Ballard and the Midnighters gained fame for the song and dance "The Twist". It has been claimed that the gospel group The Nightingales, wrote the song but could not sing it because of it's secular lyrics. The song was later covered by a new comer named Chubby Checker. The Midnighters gained greater fame with their risque series of "Annie" songs, ("Work With Me Annie", and "Annie Had a Baby").
In 1957 "Think" and "Tears of Joy" became hits for The 5 Royales. Some of their lesser known recording were now looked at as innovative.
The 5 Royales broke up in 1967, but various combination of musicians would tour with group's name into the 1970's
Pauling continued recording with pianist Royal Abbitt as El Pauling and the Royalton. Pauling's brother Clarence a former member of the Royal Sons Quintet found success as producer and song writer at Motown.
Most of the group's members lived well into the 1990's. Pauling however died of a seizure in December 1973.
The 5 Royales were a gospel group form Winston-Salem, North Carolina, called The Royal Sons Quintet.They started recording in the early 50's and changed their name to The 5 Royales after moving from gospel to secular music. The group consisted of Lowman "Pete" Pauling who was the groups main writer and guitarist. Pauling wrote the group's first two hits. "Dedicated to the one I love" which was covered by the Shirells and The Momas and Papas, "Tell the Truth" covered by Ray Charles and "Think" covered by James Brown & The Famous Flames. It has been claimed that James Brown modeled his group after The 5 Royales. Steve Cropper of Booker T and the MG's credit Pauling as an influence.
Most of the group's recording were made in 1952 and 1953. The group consisted of Pauling, Jimmy Moore, Obadiah Carter, Otto Jefferies, and Johnny Tanner on lead. Tanners brother Eugene replaced Jeffries. Johnny Tanner had a big voice and lead on most of the group songs, including "Think". A sweeter voice was needed for the lead of "Dedicated to the One I Love", so Eugene Tanner was picked to lead. "Baby Don't Do It" became hits in 1953.
The group shared the stage with most of the major groups of the day including Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, and even filled in for The Raelettes, in Durham North Carolina.
In late 1952 some confusion arose when two 5 Royales groups started touring. The other group was from Detroit and was led by Hank Ballard. The confusion ended when a promoter sent the Detroit group to Winston-Salem and tried to pass them off as the original group. The audience was not fooled and soon after the Detroit group changed their name to The Midnighters. Both groups had hits at King records with Rock& Roll Hall of Fame producer Ralph Bass. The two groups became friends and from time to time staged battle of the bands. Hank Ballard and the Midnighters gained fame for the song and dance "The Twist". It has been claimed that the gospel group The Nightingales, wrote the song but could not sing it because of it's secular lyrics. The song was later covered by a new comer named Chubby Checker. The Midnighters gained greater fame with their risque series of "Annie" songs, ("Work With Me Annie", and "Annie Had a Baby").
In 1957 "Think" and "Tears of Joy" became hits for The 5 Royales. Some of their lesser known recording were now looked at as innovative.
The 5 Royales broke up in 1967, but various combination of musicians would tour with group's name into the 1970's
Pauling continued recording with pianist Royal Abbitt as El Pauling and the Royalton. Pauling's brother Clarence a former member of the Royal Sons Quintet found success as producer and song writer at Motown.
Most of the group's members lived well into the 1990's. Pauling however died of a seizure in December 1973.
Friday, November 27, 2009
The Drifters
After learning that McPhatter had left the Dominoes, Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records singed McPhatter to form another group that would blend the gospel sound with the new R&B sound. McPhatter got four members of his old gospel group, The Mount Lebanon Singers to be the first Drifters. They were William "Chick" Anderson (tenor), David "Little Dave" Baughan, (tenor), David Baldwin (baritone), and James "Wrinkle" Johnson (bass). After the first recording, McPhatter saw that the combination wasn't working and changed the lineup. Again McPhatter pulled singers from the gospel ranks. They were Gerhart Thrasher (baritone), Andrew Trasher (tenor), Bill Pinkney (high tenor), Willie Ferbee (bass) and Walter Adams on guitar.
In their second recording session this group came up with group's first major hit, "Money Honey", which was released in September, 1953. A song called Luucille was the "B" side. "Money Honey" was a huge success and pushed The Drifters to immediate fame. Almost immediately the group started making changes in personell. Ferbee was in an accident and left the group, Adams passed away and was replaced by Jimmy Oliver. Ferbee was not replaced so the voice parts were switched around. Gerhart Thrasher moved to first tenor, Andrew Thrasher moved to baritone, and a change that would define the sound of The Drifters, Bill Pinkney moved to bass. "Such A Night" came from this configuration, and the combination of Pinkney, and McPhatter changing leads on an Irvin Berlin song, "White Christmas" created a Christmas standard that has stood the test of time. Since November, 1954, The Drifters version of "White Christmas" has been a best seller for years. The song is included on most gotta have songs for the Christmas season.
McPhatter was drafted in May, 1954, but was stationed Buffalo,NY, which made it possible for him to still record with group. Being in the Army made it impossible for McPhatter, to tour with the group. McPhatter last recording with the group was "What'cha Gonna Do". It was contended that when McPhatter left the Army there was no room for him in The Drifters.
The relationship with Billy Ward not paying the singers in the Dominoes their proper salaries, caused McPhatter to demand a large share of The Drifters profits. When McPhatter left he sold his share of The Drifters to George Tredwell the manager of the group. As a result many of the groups members made very little money. McPhatter did the same thing to The Drifters that Billy Ward had done to him.
McPhatter was replaced by David Baughn, his voice was simular to McPhatter's, but his behavior made him unsuitable for Atlantic Records.
Baughn, formed a new group called The Harps. Baughn would join Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters in 1958.
Johnny More joined the group and almost immediately had a hit "Adorable" which went to number one. The "B" side made it to number five. Two more hits followed, "Ruby Baby" and " I Got To Get Myself A Woman".
Low salaries caused burnouts and friction with the members of the group. Bill Pinkney was fired when he asked for more money. In protest Andrew Thrasher also left. Pinkney formed another group called The Flyers. There were so many people in and out of the group in the next few years that no one knew which was up. "Fools Fall In Love" was the last hit of 1957.
Moore was drafted in 1957 and was replaced by Bobby Hendricks. In 1958 the lineup was Hendricks, Gerhart Thrasher, Jimmy Millender, Tommy Evans, and Jimmy Oliver. This lineup had one ok hit "Drip Drop"
By May of 1958 both Hendricks and Oliver had quit, their replacements and the new lineup had a one week appearance at the Apollo, during the week one of The Drifters got ito a fight with someone at the theater, this pushed George Treadwell over the edge, and he fired the entire group on the spot.
In the mean time McPhatter had started his solo career with a duet with Ruth Brown.
Feeling that they had been messed over many of the ex-Drifters felt that they were the real Drifters and deserved piece of the pie. Bill Pinkney was the fist to make the move. He joined with the Trashers and David Bauhn to tour as The Original Drifters. Somewhere it got lost that they were part of the second Drifters. Pinkney continued to change members of the group often so at times the groups sound was not up to par and in many cases the faithful in the audience noticed, and sometimes there were walkouts during shows. There were too many Drifters to count by this time.
While all of this was going on George Tredwell was moving forward with his version of The Drifters. In the summer of 1958, Tredwell approached Lover Patterson the manager of a new group on the scene call The Five Crowns and hired them as The Drifters. This group included Ben E. Nelson (Ben E. King), Charlie Thomas, Doc Green, Elsbeary Hobbs.
Since the new group had none of the old members, sometime they met hostile audiences. The new group is widely considered the true golden age of the group.
The first release from this group was "There Goes MY Baby", it became an hit, and is considered the first Rock & Roll song to have a string orchestra. This version of The Drifters had six hit in row, also this version of the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000 as Ben E King and The Drifters.
King, Tredwell and Lover Patterson had many conflicts about money which resulted in King leaving and starting his successful solo career.
Over the years since Kings group, there have been many many versions of the group. At times there have been as many as five groups of Drifters touring at on time. With so many singers in and out of the group, it's hard to pick the singers that did the most for the group. My picks would be Clyde McPhatter, Ben E. King, Johnny Moore, Rudy Lewis, Charlie Thomas.
The Drifters influenced a lot of groups in American music, and for a time in the early sixties had four or five hits in a row.
There is another strange connection to the Drifters, and Ben E. King, Lieber and Stoller produced and wrote many of the songs that became hits for The Drifters and King even after he left the group.
Clyde McPhatter had a modest solo career, his last hit was in 1962, it was "Lover Please". By now Jackie Wilson, McPhatter's replacement in The Dominoes, had started his solo career and seemed to be doing better than McPhatter. McPhatter was bitter about this and complained about it for years.
McPhatter died in 1972 after returning from a long stay in England.
Our next group will be The Five Royals.
Please check in and see what's up and feel free to comment!
In their second recording session this group came up with group's first major hit, "Money Honey", which was released in September, 1953. A song called Luucille was the "B" side. "Money Honey" was a huge success and pushed The Drifters to immediate fame. Almost immediately the group started making changes in personell. Ferbee was in an accident and left the group, Adams passed away and was replaced by Jimmy Oliver. Ferbee was not replaced so the voice parts were switched around. Gerhart Thrasher moved to first tenor, Andrew Thrasher moved to baritone, and a change that would define the sound of The Drifters, Bill Pinkney moved to bass. "Such A Night" came from this configuration, and the combination of Pinkney, and McPhatter changing leads on an Irvin Berlin song, "White Christmas" created a Christmas standard that has stood the test of time. Since November, 1954, The Drifters version of "White Christmas" has been a best seller for years. The song is included on most gotta have songs for the Christmas season.
McPhatter was drafted in May, 1954, but was stationed Buffalo,NY, which made it possible for him to still record with group. Being in the Army made it impossible for McPhatter, to tour with the group. McPhatter last recording with the group was "What'cha Gonna Do". It was contended that when McPhatter left the Army there was no room for him in The Drifters.
The relationship with Billy Ward not paying the singers in the Dominoes their proper salaries, caused McPhatter to demand a large share of The Drifters profits. When McPhatter left he sold his share of The Drifters to George Tredwell the manager of the group. As a result many of the groups members made very little money. McPhatter did the same thing to The Drifters that Billy Ward had done to him.
McPhatter was replaced by David Baughn, his voice was simular to McPhatter's, but his behavior made him unsuitable for Atlantic Records.
Baughn, formed a new group called The Harps. Baughn would join Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters in 1958.
Johnny More joined the group and almost immediately had a hit "Adorable" which went to number one. The "B" side made it to number five. Two more hits followed, "Ruby Baby" and " I Got To Get Myself A Woman".
Low salaries caused burnouts and friction with the members of the group. Bill Pinkney was fired when he asked for more money. In protest Andrew Thrasher also left. Pinkney formed another group called The Flyers. There were so many people in and out of the group in the next few years that no one knew which was up. "Fools Fall In Love" was the last hit of 1957.
Moore was drafted in 1957 and was replaced by Bobby Hendricks. In 1958 the lineup was Hendricks, Gerhart Thrasher, Jimmy Millender, Tommy Evans, and Jimmy Oliver. This lineup had one ok hit "Drip Drop"
By May of 1958 both Hendricks and Oliver had quit, their replacements and the new lineup had a one week appearance at the Apollo, during the week one of The Drifters got ito a fight with someone at the theater, this pushed George Treadwell over the edge, and he fired the entire group on the spot.
In the mean time McPhatter had started his solo career with a duet with Ruth Brown.
Feeling that they had been messed over many of the ex-Drifters felt that they were the real Drifters and deserved piece of the pie. Bill Pinkney was the fist to make the move. He joined with the Trashers and David Bauhn to tour as The Original Drifters. Somewhere it got lost that they were part of the second Drifters. Pinkney continued to change members of the group often so at times the groups sound was not up to par and in many cases the faithful in the audience noticed, and sometimes there were walkouts during shows. There were too many Drifters to count by this time.
While all of this was going on George Tredwell was moving forward with his version of The Drifters. In the summer of 1958, Tredwell approached Lover Patterson the manager of a new group on the scene call The Five Crowns and hired them as The Drifters. This group included Ben E. Nelson (Ben E. King), Charlie Thomas, Doc Green, Elsbeary Hobbs.
Since the new group had none of the old members, sometime they met hostile audiences. The new group is widely considered the true golden age of the group.
The first release from this group was "There Goes MY Baby", it became an hit, and is considered the first Rock & Roll song to have a string orchestra. This version of The Drifters had six hit in row, also this version of the group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000 as Ben E King and The Drifters.
King, Tredwell and Lover Patterson had many conflicts about money which resulted in King leaving and starting his successful solo career.
Over the years since Kings group, there have been many many versions of the group. At times there have been as many as five groups of Drifters touring at on time. With so many singers in and out of the group, it's hard to pick the singers that did the most for the group. My picks would be Clyde McPhatter, Ben E. King, Johnny Moore, Rudy Lewis, Charlie Thomas.
The Drifters influenced a lot of groups in American music, and for a time in the early sixties had four or five hits in a row.
There is another strange connection to the Drifters, and Ben E. King, Lieber and Stoller produced and wrote many of the songs that became hits for The Drifters and King even after he left the group.
Clyde McPhatter had a modest solo career, his last hit was in 1962, it was "Lover Please". By now Jackie Wilson, McPhatter's replacement in The Dominoes, had started his solo career and seemed to be doing better than McPhatter. McPhatter was bitter about this and complained about it for years.
McPhatter died in 1972 after returning from a long stay in England.
Our next group will be The Five Royals.
Please check in and see what's up and feel free to comment!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Billy Ward and the Dominoes
In the next few weeks we're going to talk about some of the groups that had long lasting effects on R&B and Rock & Roll.
The groups that we'll talk about are: Billy Ward and the Dominoes, The Five Crowns,the Drifters,The 5 Royals, Nolan and the Diablos, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Swallows, The Flamingos, The Orioles, The Impressions, The Heartbeats, Shep and The Limelites, The Moonglows, The Dells, The Jive Five, The Penguins, THe Platters, and The Spaniels.
Let's start with Billy Ward and the Dominoes. Billy Ward (Robert Williams) was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1921. Ward was a music prodigy and won awards for piano composition at the age of 14. After leaving the military Mr. Ward studied music at the Juilliard Music School in New York. There he met Rose Marks and the two became business and songwriting partners.
Ward's first group was first called the Ques. Clyde McPhatter (lead), along with Charlie White (tenor),Joe Lamont (baritone), and Bill Brown (bass) made up the group.
Ward acted as the groups pianist and arranger. The group had success at the Apollo Theater, and then appeared on the Auther Godfry show in 1950. The group was recommended to Ralph Bass of Federal Records a subsidiary of King Records. They singed with Federal Records and changed their name to the Dominoes, their first release was "Do something for Me". The song climbed to number 16, in 1951. The groups next hit was "Sixty Minute Man". The song was unique in many ways. First the lead on the song was the bass, second the song was about sex and a mans ability to make love for sixty minutes; 15 minutes of kissin, 15 minutes of teasin, 15 minutes of squeezin and 15 minutes of blowing his top. It reached number one on the R&B charts and stayed there for 14 weeks. The song was a cross-over hit and for that reason it was banned in some markets, which made it that even more popular. Some people contend that Sixty Minute Man was the first Rock & Roll record.
Ward was a strict disciplinarian and failed to pay the members of the group well. This caused major conflicts. Ward and Marks owned the Dominoes name and had the right to hire and fire and paid the singers barely enough to live on. The group started to fall apart in 1951 when Brown and White left the group. They were replaced by James Laon, David McNeil.
In 1952 Alan Freed picked the Dominoes to appear at his Moondog Ball. The group had another big hit with "Have Mercy Baby" wich stayed on the charts for 10 weeks.
In 1953 Clyd McPhatter got fedup and left the group and soon formed a new group called The Drifters.
While McPhatter's leaving the Dominoes was not a good thing for the Dominoes, it was great for do-wop and R&B. The Drifters in their many incarnations became a major influence in R&B. And if that wasn't enough Clyde McPhatter's replacement was none other than Jackie Wilson.
The Dominoes continued to tour and record but never got back to their greatness. Their last hit was a pop hit that went number 13 in 1957. This was their only million seller.
The group toured until the mid sixties.
Biiy Ward played small clubs and did arrangements for other groups. Mr Ward died in February 2002.
Tomorrow we'll talk about the many variations of the Drifters. Many singers passed through the Drifters, but with the exception of Clyde McPhatter, and later Ben E. King, there were no standout singers to emerge form the many different groups.
The groups that we'll talk about are: Billy Ward and the Dominoes, The Five Crowns,the Drifters,The 5 Royals, Nolan and the Diablos, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Swallows, The Flamingos, The Orioles, The Impressions, The Heartbeats, Shep and The Limelites, The Moonglows, The Dells, The Jive Five, The Penguins, THe Platters, and The Spaniels.
Let's start with Billy Ward and the Dominoes. Billy Ward (Robert Williams) was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1921. Ward was a music prodigy and won awards for piano composition at the age of 14. After leaving the military Mr. Ward studied music at the Juilliard Music School in New York. There he met Rose Marks and the two became business and songwriting partners.
Ward's first group was first called the Ques. Clyde McPhatter (lead), along with Charlie White (tenor),Joe Lamont (baritone), and Bill Brown (bass) made up the group.
Ward acted as the groups pianist and arranger. The group had success at the Apollo Theater, and then appeared on the Auther Godfry show in 1950. The group was recommended to Ralph Bass of Federal Records a subsidiary of King Records. They singed with Federal Records and changed their name to the Dominoes, their first release was "Do something for Me". The song climbed to number 16, in 1951. The groups next hit was "Sixty Minute Man". The song was unique in many ways. First the lead on the song was the bass, second the song was about sex and a mans ability to make love for sixty minutes; 15 minutes of kissin, 15 minutes of teasin, 15 minutes of squeezin and 15 minutes of blowing his top. It reached number one on the R&B charts and stayed there for 14 weeks. The song was a cross-over hit and for that reason it was banned in some markets, which made it that even more popular. Some people contend that Sixty Minute Man was the first Rock & Roll record.
Ward was a strict disciplinarian and failed to pay the members of the group well. This caused major conflicts. Ward and Marks owned the Dominoes name and had the right to hire and fire and paid the singers barely enough to live on. The group started to fall apart in 1951 when Brown and White left the group. They were replaced by James Laon, David McNeil.
In 1952 Alan Freed picked the Dominoes to appear at his Moondog Ball. The group had another big hit with "Have Mercy Baby" wich stayed on the charts for 10 weeks.
In 1953 Clyd McPhatter got fedup and left the group and soon formed a new group called The Drifters.
While McPhatter's leaving the Dominoes was not a good thing for the Dominoes, it was great for do-wop and R&B. The Drifters in their many incarnations became a major influence in R&B. And if that wasn't enough Clyde McPhatter's replacement was none other than Jackie Wilson.
The Dominoes continued to tour and record but never got back to their greatness. Their last hit was a pop hit that went number 13 in 1957. This was their only million seller.
The group toured until the mid sixties.
Biiy Ward played small clubs and did arrangements for other groups. Mr Ward died in February 2002.
Tomorrow we'll talk about the many variations of the Drifters. Many singers passed through the Drifters, but with the exception of Clyde McPhatter, and later Ben E. King, there were no standout singers to emerge form the many different groups.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Let's get started
In the late forties there were some popular Black groups that were becomming known around the country for their tight harmony; The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers, and The Orioles of Baltimore. The Orioles were one of the first groups to appear on TV, thanks to Auther Godfrey a white variaty show host. These groups were soon imitated by groups like The Platters, who were on of the first group that I can find that use the do-wop in the background of a song. The sound became popular with kids on the street that were trying to sing the popular songs of the day. They sang acapella, and their voices had to fill in where the insruments would have been. Do-wops and sha-booms became staples of the street music. Do-wop became so popular that as new groups started recoding they used the do-wop background even when they had instruments. As we move along with this blog we will highlight some of these groups and their contribution to do-wop and rock and roll.
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