Tag: Ben E King

Artist Countdown: The Drifters Top 50 Hits 12pm ET

The_DriftersThe Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed to serve as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter (of Billy Ward & the Dominoes) in 1953.

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. There are two notable versions of the Drifters. The first classic Drifters, formed by Clyde McPhatter, was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as “The Drifters” or “The Original Drifters“. The second Drifters, featuring Ben E. King, was 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 classic Drifters, two from the second Drifters, and one from the post-Treadwell Drifters.

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 Hot 100 top 30 chart hits.  (Source: Wikipedia)

1 Save the Last Dance for Me
2 Dance with Me
3 I’ll Take You Home
4 At the Club
5 Under the Boardwalk
6 There Goes My Baby
7 Up on the Roof
8 On Broadway
9 This Magic Moment
10 Saturday Night at the Movies
11 Honey Love
12 Sweets for My Sweet
13 Please Stay
14 I’ve Got Sand in My Shoes
15 Ain’t It the Truth
16 (If You Cry) True Love, True Love
17 Some Kind of Wonderful
18 I Count the Tears
19 When My Little Girl Is Smiling
20 Lonely Winds
21 Come On Over to My Place
22 Kissin’ in the Back Row of the Movies
23 Money Honey
24 Adorable
25 Such A Night
26 Whatcha Gonna Do
27 There Goes My First Love
28 Steamboat
29 You’re More than a Number in My Little Red Book
30 Like Sister and Brother
31 Down on the Beach Tonight
32 Ruby Baby
33 Fools Fall in Love
34 Can I Take You Home Little Girl
35 I Gotta Get Myself a Woman
36 Hello Happiness
37 Every Night’s a Saturday Night With You
38 Love Games
39 Vaya Con Dios
40 Memories Are Made of This
41 Baby What I Mean
42 I’ll Take You Where the Music’s Playing
43 One Way Love
44 Drip Drop
45 Rat Race
46 Moonlight Bay
47 Room Full of Tears
48 Stranger on the Shore
49 Hypnotized
50 Follow Me