The Drifters

The Drifters are a long-lived American doo wop/R&B band, originally formed by Clyde McPhatter (of Billy Ward & the Dominoes) in 1953.

Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records approach

The Drifters are a long-lived American doo wop/R&B band, originally formed by Clyde McPhatter (of Billy Ward & the Dominoes) in 1953.

Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records approached Clyde McPhatter after he left the Dominoes and signed him. McPhatter first recruited several members of his former group, the Mount Lebanon Singers: William “Chick” Anderson (tenor), David Baldwin (baritone), and James “Wrinkle” Johnson (bass), plus David “Little Dave” Baughan (tenor). This aggregation only lasted for a single session (from which "Lucille" was the only song released), after which Atlantic asked McPhatter to form a different group. He finally settled on Gerhart and Andrew Thrasher on baritone and second tenor, respectively, Bill Pinkney on high tenor, Willie Ferbee as bass, and Walter Adams on guitar. This is the group on the second session, which produced the group's first major hit: "Money Honey".