Tuesday October 19th 1976

The 1970s saw a proliferation of acts trading on the Drifters name as the rock & roll revival suddenly made the group's classic repertory profitable again.

Founding member Bill Pinkney led a group sometimes called "the Original Drifters" while Charlie Thomas led another version and Johnny Moore kept the fully authorized group under the auspices of Treadwell's widow Faye.

The result was a series of lawsuits that ultimately saw the various claimants divide different territories within the United States between them, while the Faye Treadwell-authorized group, led by Johnny Moore, moved to England, where they enjoyed a Top Ten hit in 1972 ("Come on Over to My Place"), falling under the influence of the Roger Cook/Roger Greenaway songwriting team.

This incarnation of the group, no longer signed to Atlantic after 1972, was signed to Bell Records. The British-based version of the Drifters became a dance-disco outfit for a time in the late '70s, virtually irrelevant to the group's history, while Pinkney and Thomas maintained contact with the Drifters' roots, and even Jimmy Ricks, who was only in the group for a few months, turned up at some point leading a combo using the name. Ben E. King even returned to the lineup for a tour in the late '80s.

Sourced from www.answers.com

Treadwell Drifters Post-Atlantic career and move across the Atlantic

After this, the Drifters moved to England and continued with unstable personnel lineups.
Although early lineups included golden era singers Moore and Lewis, and later Ben E. King, having left the US, they virtually fell off the radar, but continued to have UK chart successes, notably "Kissing in the Back Row of the Movies", "There Goes My First Love" and "You're More Than a Number in My Little Red Book".
Along with Moore and Fredricks, Butch Leake and former Ink Spot Grant Kitchings were members initially. Fredricks was replaced by Clyde Brown the next year, and Kitchings by Billy Lewis the year after.
Leake was replaced by Joe Blunt in 1976, making the lineup Johnny Moore, Clyde Brown, Joe Blunt, and Billy Lewis. This year, Faye Treadwell renamed the group's management company Treadwell Drifters Inc.

Moore left in 1978 and was replaced by Ray Lewis. Blunt and Billy Lewis left in 1979 and were replaced by the returning Johnny Moore and former Temptations lead Louis Price.
Moore left again in late 1982, along with Clyde Brown. They were replaced by two returning members, Benjamin Earl Nelson (a.k.a. Ben E. King) and Bill Fredricks.

In 1979 the group was Pinkney, Andrew Lawyer, Chuck Cockerham, Harriel Jackson, and Tony Cook. Their 1995 album Peace in the Valley, on Blackberry Records, credited vocals to Pinkney, Cockerham, Richard Knight Dunbar, Vernon Young, and Greg Johnson.

Scourced from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drifters

The Drifters (Johnny Moore Group)

Come on over to my place
Released 26th August 1972
Reached No.9 11wks in charts

Like Sister And Brother
Released 4th August 1973
Reached No.7 12wks in charts

Kissin' In The Back Row Of The Movies
Released 15th June 1974
Reached No.2 13wks in charts

Down On The Beach Tonight
Released 12th October 1974
Reached No.7 9wks in charts

Love Games
Released 6th September 1975
Reached No.3 12wks in charts

There Goes My First Love
Released 6th September 1975
Reached No.3 12wks in charts

Can I Take You Home Little Girl
Released 29th November 1975
Reached No.10 10wks in charts

Hello Happiness
Released 13th March 1976
Reached No.12 8wks in charts

Every Night's A Saturday Night With You
Released 11th September 1976
Reached No.29 7wks in charts

You're More Than A Number In My Little Red Book
Released 18th December 1976
Reached No.5 12wks in charts

Sourced from www.soulfulkindamusic.net

06.07.2008. 19:08

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