The Drifters — Where to Listen on the Radio

The Drifters is a doo-wop, pop and soul artist from New York, United States, active since 1953. ArtisFind has detected 1 play of The Drifters on 1 radio station in Germany, most recently on ON Radio - ON 60s 23d ago. The song heard most often on air is “Under The Boardwalk”.

The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and led by Ben E. King, were originally an up-and-coming group named the Five Crowns. After 1965, members moved between both groups, and many of these formed other groups of Drifters as well. Over the succeeding decades, several different bands, all called the Drifters, can trace roots back to these original groups, but contain few—if any—original members.

According to Rolling Stone, the Drifters were the least stable of the great vocal groups, as they were low-paid musicians hired by George Treadwell, who owned the Drifters' name from 1955, after McPhatter left. The Treadwell Drifters line has had 60 musicians, including several splinter groups by former Drifters members (not under Treadwell's management). These groups are usually identified with a possessive credit such as "Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters" and "Charlie Thomas' Drifters".

The three golden eras of the Drifters were the early 1950s, the 1960s, and the early 1970s (post-Atlantic period). From these, the first Drifters, formed by Clyde McPhatter, were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as "The Drifters". The second Drifters, featuring Ben E. King, were separately inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as "Ben E. King and the Drifters". In their induction, the Rock…