The group went on to record several other hits, including “Money Honey ” and “White Christmas.
The combination proved successful and their first debut hit “The Way I Fell, ” reached number one on the R&B charts and sold in the millions. The group signed with Atlantic Records, but when the chemistry failed to emerge, McPhatter regrouped with Bill Pinkney of Jerusalem Stars, Andrew and Gerhart Thrasher of Thrasher Wonders, and Willie Ferbie. Band members included William Anderson, James Johnson, David Baughn, and David Baldwin, who chose the name “the Drifters ” from a bird book.
McPhatter tapped his former gospel group, The Mount Lebanon Singers. In 1953, however, McPhatter grew resistant to Ward ’s inflexibility and left the band with encouragement from Atlantic Record ’s Ahmet Ertegun, who promised him top billing and a recording contract with his own act. From 1950 to 1952, the group scored with hits “Do Something For Me, ” “I Am With You, ” and “Sixty-Minute Man, ” one of the first R&B singles to also score on the pop charts “Have Mercy Baby, ” reached number one on the R&B charts for ten weeks in 1952. Reservations about bringing the religious dramatics of gospel to the sexy, romantic secular tunes of the group led McPhatter to initially bill himself as Clyde Ward, claiming to be Billy ’s brother. At 18, McPhatter was asked to join vocal group Billy Ward & His Dominoes, the first consequential move of his career. Although neglected at the time of his death and unaware of his influence on music history, McPhatter had become one of the pioneer voices in rock.īorn a minister ’s son in Durham, North Carolina, on November 15, 1932, and raised in New Jersey, McPhatter spent much of his childhood in church, singing gospel in the choir and mastering the passion of the music. Although he continued to record hits like “A Lover ’s Question ” and “I Never Knew, ” his alcoholism eventually eclipsed his distinctive and magical sound and led to his death from a heart attack in 1972. After being drafted in 1954 and serving a short stint in the Army, McPhatter embarked on a solo career. His unparalleled vocal style and name recognition helped create one of the most notable vocal groups in R&B. Feeling stifled under the constraints of the Dominoes, McPhatter left in 1953 to form the Drifters. This winning combination reached beyond McPhatter ’s personal success to become a basic formula in R&B and soul music. McPhatter achieved mainstream popularity in the early 1950s as the lead singer for Billy Ward & His Dominoes, applying the intensity of his well-trained gospel tenor to the secular love songs of the group. A prominent singer in rock history, Clyde McPhatter ’s short life was marked by a steady stream of charttopping hits and unprecedented success.
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