DRIFTERS, THE

American rhythm-and-blues vocal group that produced a series of chart-topping hits from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s. The Drifters were actually two groupsone built around lead singer Clyde McPhatter, the other an entirely different group that took the name Drifters, to which manager George Treadwell held the copyright, after he dismissed the original contingent. The principal members of the first incarnation were Clyde McPhatter (b. Nov. 15, 1932, Durham, N.C., U.S.d. June 13, 1972, New York, N.Y.) ,Billy Pinckney (also spelled Billy Pinkney; b. Aug. 15, 1925, Sumter, S.C.), Andrew Thrasher , (b. Wetumpka, Ala.), Gerhart Thrasher , (b. Wetumpka), Little David Baughan (b. , New Yorkd. 1970), and Johnny Moore (b. 1934, Selma, Ala.). Principal members of the second incarnation included Ben E. King (original name Benjamin Earl Nelson; b. Sept. 28, 1938, Henderson, N.C.), Charlie Thomas, Elsbeary Hobbs, Rudy Lewis, and Moore. The Drifters were formed in 1953 at the behest of Atlantic Records cofounder Ahmet Ertegun, who approached McPhatter when the popular vocalist was dropped from Billy Ward and the Dominoes. After serving in the army, McPhatter left the Drifters in 1955 to pursue a solo careerbut not before the group had reached number one on the rhythm-and-blues charts with Money Honey (1953) and scored several other hits, including White Christmas (1954). Three lead singers later, in 1959, Treadwell replaced the entire group with another ensemble, the Five Crowns, led by King. Still recording for Atlantic, now under the guidance of writer-producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the Drifters cracked the pop Top Ten in 1959 with There Goes My Baby (remembered for its innovative use of strings and Latin rhythms) and took Save the Last Dance for Me (1960) to number one. King, too, left and became a successful soloist, scoring hits with Spanish Harlem (1960) and Stand by Me (1961). However, the Drifters continued their string of hits, benefiting from the Brill Buildingstyle songwriting prowess of teams such as Carole King and Gerry Goffin and Mort Shuman and Doc Pomus. Lewis sang lead on Up on the Roof (1962) and On Broadway (1963), while Moore took the lead on Under the Boardwalk (1964). Although the group's popularity waned in the mid-1960s, a changing membership carried the Drifters' gospel-tinged sound into the 1990s. The Drifters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.