The Drifters | The Official Web Site of The Drifters

A second Drifters LP, Rockin' & Driftin', was released in late 1958, comprised entirely of single tracks recorded by the 1955-58 lineup. Ironically, in all their 19-year history with Atlantic Records, The Drifters, in any incarnation, never recorded an actual "album" session; every one of their LPs was compiled from existing single tracks and B-sides and all have a mix-and-match feel due to the inclusion of different line-ups and singers.

The group still had a recording contract with Atlantic Records and the hits kept coming including “There Goes My Baby, "Dance With Me," "This Magic Moment," "I Count the Tears," and "Save the Last Dance for Me," followed. Ben E King was replaced by Johnny Williams, who exited suddenly in late 1960 but was replaced by Rudy Lewis, who took the lead on "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Up on the Roof" and "On Broadway" among others.

Lewis, tragically, was not the longest serving of the group's lead vocalists but his time with The Drifters, following King's, arguably constituted the second golden age in their history. Success followed in the 1960’s notably in 1964 with a song by composers Art Resnick and Kenny Young, called "Under the Boardwalk." In 1964. Tragically, just hours before a recording session began, Rudy Lewis was found dead in his apartment under circumstances that are still in dispute.

The death of George Treadwell in 1967 proved to be yet another stumbling block for The Drifters' continuation as a going concern. George’s wife Faye Treadwell took over the reins and took the group to England, where they nurtured a relationship of a further 15 years under the Bell Arista label. Releases included "Come on Over to My Place" "Like Sister And Brother", "Kissing In The Back Row Of The Movies", "There Goes My First Love", "Your More Than A Number In My Little Red Book", "Saturday Night At The Movies" and many more.

The Drifters became a dance-disco outfit for a time during the late '70s, focussing on stage presentation and fabulous showmanship and eventually developed their act to cover all eras of their glittering career. Thereafter, the band earned a reputation as one of the finest live acts in the world and even Ben E. King returned to the line-up for a tour in the late '80s.

Today, The Drifters are one of the longest running pop groups in history and are still, to this day owned by The Treadwell Family. The group has collated a huge catalogue of over 50 hits, selling over 214 million singles and 114 million albums across the world. In 2003 ‘The Definitive Drifters’ album was released in the UK and went gold in three weeks and was in the album charts for over four months illustrating the bands timeless appeal.

The current line up includes Maurice Cannon, Steve King, Damion Charles and Michael Williams. The music continues to go from strength to strength with the release of a brand new album, entitled ‘The Drifters: Five Decades and Moore’ which will be released in 2008 in memory of the late great Johnny Moore, who died in 1998.

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