Clyde McPhatter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Clyde McPhatter (November 15, 1932, Durham, North Carolina – June 13, 1972) was an influential Afro American R&B singer.
Contents |
[edit] Life and career
McPhatter was raised in a religious Baptist family, and formed a gospel group in 1945 after his family moved to New Jersey. They soon relocated to New York City, and McPhatter joined the Mount Lebanon Singers, a popular gospel group.
In 1950, McPhatter joined Billy Ward & the Dominoes, and was present for the recording of "Sixty Minute Man" for Federal Records and produced by Ralph Bass, which was a huge hit in 1951, and was one of the earliest rock and roll records. After several more hits, including "Have Mercy Baby", McPhatter quit the group in 1953 because he made little money and gained virtually no fame, in spite of his voice being the lead on most of the group's songs. McPhatter then signed to Atlantic Records after forming a group, The Drifters. "Money Honey", "Such a Night", "Honey Love", "White Christmas" and "Whatcha Gonna Do" became huge hits.
In 1954, McPhatter was drafted but was assigned in the U.S., allowing him to continue recording. He soon left The Drifters and launched a solo career. His first solo hit occurred just after being discharged - "Love Has Joined Us Together" (with Ruth Brown). He released several R&B hits in the next few years, but made only one serious dent in the pop charts, with the Brook Benton-penned song "A Lover's Question", which made it to #6 in 1958. White groups usually covered his best compositions and achieved more widespread mainstream success. In spite of this, McPhatter became one of the most popular black musicians among white listeners. His 1956 recording "Treasure of Love" saw him enjoy his first solo #1 on the R&B charts and one week in the UK singles chart. The lack of any subsequent entry gave him the unenviable tag there of being a one hit wonder
McPhatter soon signed to MGM Records, and released several more hits. "I Told Myself a Lie" and "Think Me a Kiss" (1960) became minor pop hits, as was "Ta Ta", his first single for Mercury Records. "I Never Knew" and "Lover Please" (1962) became even bigger pop hits, but his career started suffering due to his alcoholism. Other black artists were following McPhatter's blueprint into pop audiences, including Rudy Lewis, Johnny Moore, Sam Cooke, and an all-new lineup of The Drifters. McPhatter's unreliability kept him from maintaining his career in the face of this competition. As the 1960s wore on, McPhatter's career kept falling in spite of a few minor hits.
In the late 1960s, McPhatter spent some time living in England, where he still had a significant audience, but this was short-lived. Back again in America, Clyde McPhatter died of complications of heart, liver, and kidney disease, and was buried at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.[1] [2]
[edit] Legacy and honors
In 1987 was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Rockabilly Hall of Fame recognized his pioneering efforts.
The Original Drifters were inducted in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
The United States Postal Service issued a stamp in his honor in 1993.
The song "Money Honey" (1953) was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
[edit] Singles
| Title | Peak Pop Billboard ranking |
Peak R&B Billboard ranking |
Year | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Love Has Joined Us Together /I Gotta Have You (with Ruth Brown) | - | 8 | 1955 | Atlantic |
| Seven Days | 44 | 2 | 1956 | Atlantic |
| Treasure of Love | 16 | 1 | Atlantic | |
| Without Love (There Is Nothing) | 19 | 4 | 1957 | |
| Just To Hold My Hand | 26 | 6 | ||
| Thirty Days | - | - | ||
| Long Lonely Nights | 49 | 1 | ||
| Rock and Cry | 93 | - | ||
| Come What May | 43 | 3 | 1958 | |
| A Lover's Question | 6 | 1 | 1958 | |
| Lovey Dovey | 49 | 12 | 1959 | Atlantic |
| I Told Myself a Lie | 70 | 1959 | MGM | |
| Since You've Been Gone | 39 | 14 | 1959 | Atlantic |
| Twice As Nice | 91 | 1959 | MGM | |
| You Went Back On Your Word | 72 | 13 | 1959 | Atlantic |
| Let's Try Again | 48 | 13 | 1959 | MGM |
| Just Give Me a Ring | 96 | 1960 | Atlantic | |
| Deep Sea Ball / Let the Boogie-Woogie Roll | - | - | Atlantic | |
| Think Me a Kiss | 66 | 1960 | MGM | |
| Ta Ta (Just Like a Baby) | 23 | 7 | 1960 | Mercury |
| This Is Not Goodbye / One Right After Another | - | - | 1960 | MGM |
| Tomorrow Is a-Comin | 103 | - | 1961 | Mercury |
| I'll Love You Til the Cows Come Home | 110 | - | ||
| A Whole Heap Of Love | - | - | ||
| I Never Knew | 56 | 17 | 1961 | |
| Same Time Same Place | - | - | 1961 | |
| Lover Please | 7 | - | 1962 | |
| Little Bitty Pretty One | 25 | - | 1962 | |
| Maybe / I Do Believe | - | - | ||
| The Best Man Cried | 118 | - | ||
| From One To One | 127 | - | 1963 | |
| Deep In the Heart of Harlem | 90 | 90 | 1963 | |
| Second Window, Second Floor | - | - | 1964 | |
| Baby Baby / Lucille | - | - | 1964 | |
| Crying Won't Help You Now | 117 | 22 | 1965 | |
| A Shot Of Rhythm and Blues / I'm Not Going To Work Today | - | - | 1966 | Amy |
| Sweet and Innocent / Lavender Lace | - | - | 1967 | Amy |
| Baby You Got It | - | - | 1968 | Deram |
| I'll Belong To You /Book Of Memories | - | - | 1970 | Decca |
| Why Can't We Get Together / Mixed Up Cup | - | - | 1970 | Decca |
No album he recorded ever appeared on the charts, even though all sold fairly well, because there were fewer chart positions in his day than now.
[edit] Music sample
Come What May:
[edit] References
- ^ Browse by Cemetery: George Washington Memorial Park, Find A Grave, accessed April 6, 2007
- ^ "Sometimes the Grave Is a Fine and Public Place", New York Times, March 28, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-08-21. "There's no shortage of dead musicians, either. Mickey Davis, who with three of her high school friends from Passaic started the Shirelles (Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?) died in 1982 and is buried in Passaic Memorial Cemetery. A decade before the Shirelles became famous, Clyde McPhatter started the Drifters. He had a heart attack and died at 40 in 1972; he's buried in George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus. David Prater, the Dave of Sam and Dave (Soul Man), is in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa."
