Charlie Thomas, Longtime Member of the Drifters, Dies at 85
Vocalist Charlie Thomas, who was a member of the basic doo-wop group the Drifters for greater than six a long time, has died. Thomas’ pal, singer Peter Lemongello Jr., confirmed the information to The New York Occasions, saying that Thomas died of liver most cancers on January 31 at his dwelling in Bowie, Maryland. He was 85 years outdated.
Thomas was born in 1937 in Lynchburg, Virgina. He was drastically influenced by the music at his native church, the place his father was the minister, in addition to his mom, who sang incessantly round the home. Thomas, who was a tenor, joined the Drifters in 1958, when he was plucked from a special vocal group known as the Crowns by the Drifters’ supervisor George Treadwell.
Throughout his tenure with the group, Thomas sang on classics like “Below the Boardwalk,” “There Goes My Child,” “This Magic Second,” “Up on the Roof,” and “Save the Final Dance for Me.” He usually sang backup harmonies, however recorded lead vocals for “Sweets for My Candy,” which climed to No. 15 on the Sizzling 100 chart in 1961. He additionally helmed the songs “When My Little Lady Is Smiling” and “I Don’t Need to Go On With out You.”
In 1988, the Drifters had been inducted into the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame. Thomas was inducted together with six further members of the group—the unique 1953-1958 lineup, and vocalists who had carried out with the group within the following years. Extra lately, Thomas began a gaggle known as Charlie Thomas’s Drifters. He was touring with them steadily till the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.