Myrtle Beach, SC 1976
The Drifters was the hottest group touring the Carolina's
in the 70's. The music is still popular today in the Beach
Circuit.
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Describe your photo briefly here.
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Bennie Anderson
& The Drifters
next show: September 17th @ Conyers, GA
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Bill Pinkney, last survivor of the original members of The Drifters, dies in US
at 81, July 4th, 2007.
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida: Bill Pinkney, the last survivor of the original
members of the musical group The Drifters, has died. He was 81.
Pinkney was found dead Wednesday at the Hilton Daytona Beach
Oceanfront Resort, Daytona Beach Police spokesman Jimmie Flynt said.
The death was not considered suspicious, he said.
Pinkney was scheduled to perform for U.S. Independence Day festivities
there.
The Drifters, whose hits include "Under the Boardwalk," "Up on the Roof,"
and "Save the Last Dance For Me," still performed Wednesday night. An
announcement about Pinkney's death was made after the show, said the
group's publicist, Donnie Lowery.
Pinkney, born in Dalzell, South Carolina, was not with The Drifters when they
recorded their biggest hits. He left in the band in 1958 because of an
argument over cash. His distinctive bass voice can be heard on the group's
version of the holiday classic "White Christmas."
Even though he left the group, Pinkney didn't let go of The Drifters' name.
He fought for laws allowing performers or bands to claim an affiliation with a
classic group like The Drifters or The Coasters only if at least one member
recorded with the original group.
The Drifters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
Pinkney was a World War II veteran and pitched for the New York Blue Sox
of the Negro Baseball League in the late 1940s and early '50s.
