The Drifters’ ‘White Christmas’
An Appreciation of the Influential Vocal Group
Thanksgiving is immediately followed by a brutal month of Christmas music overload. It’s inescapable; every radio station, department store, and building lobby pummels us with treacly tunes of the season. So when a great song rises above the holiday hype, it deserves recognition.
Most know the Drifters as the smooth and soulful group of the early 1960s that featured singers like Ben E. King, Charlie Thomas, Johnny Moore, and Rudy Lewis. “This Magic Moment,” “Under the Boardwalk,” “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “On Broadway” and “Up on the Roof” were all Top 10 hits by the group.
But an entirely different band of singers, led by tenor Clyde McPhatter, formed as the Drifters in 1953. Backed by Bill Pinkney, Willie Ferbee and brothers Gerhart and Andrew Thrasher, the Drifters topped the R&B charts with songs like “Money Honey,” “Ruby Baby” and “Honey Love.” For many, the songs went unnoticed; the racism of the era meant that pop stations, which catered to white audiences, wouldn’t play R&B records.
