Bill Pinkney, the last of the original Drifters, was found dead yesterday in his Daytona Beach hotel room. Bill was 81, and the voice on some of the early Drifters hits, including their version of White Christmas. Like a lot of the Drifters, he was fired when he asked for more money. As most here probably already know, the Drifters management would just let go of anyone who asked for more money, sometimes the entire group, and recruit another black performer or group to record under the Drifters' name.
Bill was still sometimes performing with his group of Drifters. I saw them about two years ago without Bill. Clyde McPhatter's son performs with this version of the group.
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Posted By: Bill Kline on: 07/05/2007 11:24:01 EDT