The Drifters arose from the ashes of another vocal group, the Dominoes. Clyde McPhatter and his band mates all studied with the respected vocal coach Billy Ward at the Juilliard School of Music; when Ward realized there was money to be made in rhythm and blues he recruited a number of his former students and created a doo-wop group. The group was enjoying tremendous success, but the members found Ward too controlling (and suspected he was shortchanging them financially), and one by one they quit. McPhatter was unquestionably the star of the group, and as soon as he quit Ahmet Ertegun signed him to the Chess label and encouraged him to assemble a new group.
Most of the Drifters were gospel quartet singers McPhatter had worked with in the 1940s. He tried several different combinations before he found the sound he was looking for. He also decided to employ instrumental accompaniment, unlike most vocal harmony groups; as it turned out, the Drifters' guitar player, Jimmy Oliver, was the most prolific composer in the group.
McPhatter quit the Drifters in late 1954; he felt that Ahmet and Neshui Ertegun interfered too much in creative matters. Rather than disband the group the Erteguns looked for a replacement, but this proved to be rather difficult. The Drifters had a fluctuating lineup for the next two years and had some modest successes, but they had not yet topped the charts. In 1956 every member of the band had quit, but rather than disband a group with name recognition owner George Treadwell recruited a successful Brooklyn group, the Five Crowns, and renamed them. He then assigned Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller to produce the first record, "There Goes My Baby"; they daringly added strings, horns, and Latin percussion to the mix, as was common in popular songs of the period. Though Jerry Wexler thought it sounded like a radio caught between classical and R&B stations he released it anyway, and the song was a smash hit. Extensive overdubbing and passionately delivered vocals that dealt with small, intimate scenes became the typical "Drifters sound" until the mid sixties.
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The Platters, the Ink Spots, the Orioles, Billy Ward and the Dominoes
Must Haves:
 "Up on the Roof"
"On Broadway"
"Save the Last Dance for Me"
"Under the Boardwalk"
"Some Kind of Wonderful"
The Cleftones, the Searchers, Jay and the Americans, the Temptations
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