Great Rhythm and Blues Sound

The Drifters

It’s real nice music and it has the American doo-wop sound. The Drifters are an American doo-wop and R&B soul vocal group. Having a rough time at the beginning they gave the public 13 hits which became a part of the Hot 100 Top 30 Chart hits.

The first lineup of The Drifters were vocalists who sang gospel. They were Bill Pinkney first tenor, Andrew Thrasher second tenor, Gerhart Thrasher baritone , Willie Ferbee bass, and Walter Adams guitar. In 1953 they came out with the group’s first major hit “Money Honey”.

After certain changes in their lineup other hits followed including “Such a Night”, “Honey Love”. “Bip Bam”, and “What’cha Gonna Do”.

At one point the Drifters were disbanded and reformed with the lead singer being Ben E. Nelson who later took the stage name of Ben E. King. The others included Charlie Thomas tenor, Dock Green baritone, and Elsbeary Hobbs bass. This new lineup brought this group into the golden limelight and produced a string of hits. Reaching number 1 on the U.S. pop charts was “Save the Last Dance for Me” which was followed by another hit “I Count the Tears”. In 2000 they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as Ben E. King and the Drifters.

In the 1970s The Drifters moved on over to England and had a string of U.K. chart toppers like “Like Sister & Brother”, “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”.

With a bit of change in their lineup The Drifters had the honor to perform at Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Farewell Party in London in 2007. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them number 81 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004.

The Four Tops

The Four Tops were an American vocal quartet which used a combination of soul music, R&B, doo-wop, jazz, adult contemporary and show tunes. The group consisted of Levi Stubbs lead singer, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson and Lawrence Payton. They performed from 1953 to 1997.

They were part of the groups which helped to define the Motown Sound in the 1960s. Two of their number one hits which hit the Billboard Hot 100 were “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There”.

These hits helped The Four Tops to achieve popularity. One of their greatest hits was “It’s the Same Old Song”.

Then in August of 1966 they came out with one of their biggest hits of all time “Reach Out I’ll Be There” which rose to number one on the U.S. pop charts and became their signature song.

This was followed by “Standing in the Shadows of Love”, “Bernadette”, and “7 Rooms of Gloom” making the Four Tops practically unbeatable and second in popularity to The Temptations.

Their first major hit in the 1970s was “It’s All in the Game”. They went on a European tour in 1988. The Four Tops also worked on TV and the movies. They performed a song for the 1982 movie Grease 2. Levi Stubs did the vocals for the man-eating plant Audrey II in the musical film Little Shop of Horrors in 1986 and the voice of the evil Mother Brain in the NBC Saturday Morning cartoon Captain N: The Game Master.

Since the late 1980s the Four Tops have continued touring and giving live performances. In 1995 they recorded the album Christmas Here with You. In June of 1997 Lawrence Payton died from cancer after 44 years of singing with the group. Stubbs, Benson, and Fakir continued touring as a trio. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them at number 79 on the list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Benson died in 2005 and lead singer Stubbs died in 2008.

The Fifth Dimension

Among their reportoir The Fifth Dimension had a mixture of pop, R&B, soul, and jazz. They went on to become a popular American vocal group. Originally they called themselves The Hi-Fi’s and then in 1966 changed to The Fifth Dimension. They were very well-known from the late 1960s to the early 1970s.

The original members of The Fifth Dimension were Bill Davis Jr, Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore, and Ron Townson. They sang the songs of well-known songwriters such as Burt Bacharach and Hal Davis. In early 1966 the group began working as The Versatiles however the first song they recorded didn’t make a stir. Then they chose to record a song by The Mamas & Papas “Go Where You Wanna Go”.

Their debut album was Up Up and Away and it included the popular song by the same name as the album. When a young and upcoming songwriter joined the group Jimmy Webb gave the group one of their greatest hits “Up, Up, and Away” which later won five Grammy Awards.

Their second album ‘Magic Garden” included a song by The Beatles ‘Ticket to Ride”.

The Fifth Dimension’s fourth album was The Age of Aquarius with another really great hit from the musical Hair hitting the top of the charts “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”.

Their fifth album Portrait included another popular song “One Less Bell to Answer”. Other hits that the group had were “Love’s Lines, Angles and Rhymes” which was on their sixth album by the same name.

The Fifth Dimension had an entire Ed Sullivan Show dedicated to them in February of 1971 for their fifth anniversary and sang all of their greatest hits. They briefly reunited in 1990 and 1991 for a tour. At present The Fifth Dimension is touring as The Fifth Dimension featuring Florence LaRue. They got their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 2010 and were induced into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.