The Drifters discography
 | This list of songs or music-related items is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2021) |
This discography focuses solely on that of American vocal group the Drifters as managed by the Treadwell family.
Albums
[edit]| Year | Album | Label | Chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [1] |
US R&B [1] |
UK [2] | ||||
| 1956 | Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters | Atlantic | — | — | — | |
| 1958 | Rockin' & Driftin' | — | — | — | ||
| 1960 | Greatest Hits (compilation) | — | — | — | ||
| 1962 | Save the Last Dance for Me | — | — | — | ||
| 1963 | Up on the Roof – The Best of the Drifters (compilation) | 110 | — | 12 | ||
| 1964 | Under the Boardwalk[A] | 40 | — | — | ||
| 1965 | The Good Life with the Drifters | 103 | — | — | ||
| 1966 | I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing | — | — | — | ||
| 1968 | The Drifters Golden Hits (compilation) | 122 | 33 | 26 | ||
| 1971 | Their Greatest Recordings: The Early Years (compilation) | — | — | — | ||
| 1973 | The Drifters Now | Bell | — | — | — | |
| 1975 | 24 Original Hits | Atlantic | — | — | 2 |
|
| Love Games | Bell | — | — | 51 |
| |
| There Goes My First Love | — | — | — | |||
| 1976 | Every Nite's a Saturday Night | — | — | — | ||
| 1986 | The Very Best Of (compilation) | Telstar | — | — | 24 |
|
| 2003 | The Definitive Drifters (compilation) | Atlantic | — | — | 8 |
|
| 2006 | The Very Best of the Drifters (compilation) | Warner Music | — | — | 46 | |
| 2017 | An Introduction to: The Drifters (compilation) | Atlantic, Rhino | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
Notes
- ^ "Under the Boardwalk" is a retitled and slightly amended version of The Drifters' Our Biggest Hits album released in 1964. Title was changed and a new catalog number assigned when "Under the Boardwalk" became a hit.
Singles
[edit]| Year | Titles (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated |
Lead singer | Label | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8][1] |
US R&B [8][1] |
US A/C [8] |
UK [2][8] | ||||||
| 1953 | "Money Honey" b/w "The Way I Feel" (Non-album track) |
Clyde McPhatter | Atlantic | — | 1 | — | — | Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters | |
| 1954 | "Lucille" | — | 7 | — | — | Non-album track | |||
| "Such a Night" | — | 2 | — | — | Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters | ||||
| "Honey Love" b/w "Warm Your Heart" |
— | 1 | — | — | |||||
| "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)" b/w "Bip Bam" (Non-album track) |
A: Clyde McPhatter & Bill Pinkney B: Clyde McPhatter |
— | — | — | — | ||||
| "White Christmas" b/w "The Bells of St. Mary's" |
A: Bill Pinkney & Clyde McPhatter B: Clyde McPhatter |
80 | 5 | — | — | ||||
| 1955 | "What'cha Gonna Do" b/w "Gone" (Non-album track) |
Clyde McPhatter | — | 2 | — | — | |||
| "Everyone's Laughing" b/w "Hot Ziggety" |
— | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | ||||
| "Adorable" | Johnny Moore | — | 1 | — | — | Rockin' & Driftin' | |||
| 1956 | "Steamboat" | Bill Pinkney | — | 5 | — | — | |||
| "Your Promise to Be Mine" | Gerhart Thrasher | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Ruby Baby"
b/w "Your Promise to Be Mine" |
Johnny Moore | — | 10 | — | — | ||||
| "I Gotta Get Myself a Woman" b/w "Soldier of Fortune" |
A: Johnny Moore & Bill Pinkney B: Johnny Moore & Bill Pinkney |
— | 11 | — | — | ||||
| 1957 | "Fools Fall in Love" b/w "It Was a Tear" |
Johnny Moore | 69 | 10 | — | — | |||
| "Drifting Away from You" | Gerhart Thrasher | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Hypnotized" | Johnny Moore | 79 | — | — | — | ||||
| "I Know" b/w "Yodee Yakee" |
— | — | — | — | |||||
| "Drip Drop" | Bobby Hendricks | 58 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Moonlight Bay" | Group Ensemble | 72 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1959 | "There Goes My Baby" b/w "Oh My Love" |
Ben E. King | 2 | 1 | — | — | The Drifters' Greatest Hits | ||
| "(If You Cry) True Love, True Love" | Johnny Lee Williams | 33 | 5 | — | — | ||||
| "Dance with Me" | Ben E. King | 15 | 2 | — | 17 (As A-side) | ||||
| 1960 | "This Magic Moment" | 16 | 4 | — | — | ||||
| "Baltimore" | Charlie Thomas & Elsbeary Hobbs | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Lonely Winds" b/w "Hey Senorita" |
A: Ben E. King B: Ben E. King |
54 | 9 | — | — | ||||
| "Save the Last Dance for Me" b/w "Nobody but Me" |
Ben E. King | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
|
Save the Last Dance for Me | ||
| "I Count the Tears" | 17 | 6 | — | 28 | |||||
| "Suddenly There's a Valley" | Tommy Evans & Bobby Hendricks | — | — | — | — | The Drifters' Greatest Hits | |||
| 1961 | "Some Kind of Wonderful" b/w "Honey Bee" (Non-album track) |
A: Rudy Lewis B: David Baughn |
32 | 6 | — | — | Save the Last Dance for Me | ||
| "Please Stay" b/w "No Sweet Lovin'" |
A: Rudy Lewis B: Bill Pinkney |
14 | 13 | — | — | ||||
| "Sweets for My Sweet" b/w "Loneliness or Happiness" (from Up on the Roof – The Best of the Drifters) |
A: Charlie Thomas B: Rudy Lewis |
16 | 10 | — | — | ||||
| "Room Full of Tears" b/w "Somebody New Dancin' with You" |
A: Charlie Thomas B: Rudy Lewis |
72 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1962 | "When My Little Girl Is Smiling" b/w "Mexican Divorce" |
28 | — | — | 31 | ||||
| "Stranger on the Shore" b/w "What to Do" |
Rudy Lewis | 73 | — | 19 | — | Up on the Roof – The Best of the Drifters | |||
| "Sometimes I Wonder" b/w "Jackpot" (from Save the Last Dance for Me) |
A: Ben E. King B: Rudy Lewis |
— | — | — | — | All Time Greatest Hits and More – 1959–1965 | |||
| "Up on the Roof" b/w "Another Night with the Boys" (from Up on the Roof – The Best of the Drifters) |
Rudy Lewis | 5 | 4 | — | — | Our Biggest Hits | |||
| 1963 | "On Broadway" b/w "Let the Music Play" |
9 | 7 | — | — | ||||
| "If You Don't Come Back" / | Johnny Moore | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Rat Race" | Rudy Lewis | 71 | — | — | — | ||||
| "I'll Take You Home" b/w "I Feel Good All Over" |
A: Johnny Moore B: Charlie Thomas |
25 | 24 | — | 37 | ||||
| 1964 | "Vaya con Dios" b/w "In the Land of Make Believe" |
A: Rudy Lewis B: Rudy Lewis & Johnny Moore |
43 | 10 | — | — | |||
| "One-Way Love" b/w "Didn't It" |
Johnny Moore | 56 | 12 | — | — | ||||
| "Under the Boardwalk" b/w "I Don't Want to Go On Without You" (from I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing) |
A: Johnny Moore B: Charlie Thomas |
4 | — | — | 45 |
|
Under the Boardwalk | ||
| "I've Got Sand in My Shoes" b/w "He's Just a Playboy" |
Johnny Moore | 33 | 21 | — | — | I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing | |||
| "Saturday Night at the Movies" b/w "Spanish Lace" (from I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing) |
18 | 8 | — | 3 (in 1972) |
|
The Good Life with the Drifters | |||
| "The Christmas Song" b/w "I Remember Christmas" |
— | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | ||||
| 1965 | "At the Club" b/w "Answer the Phone" |
43 | 10 | — | 3 (in 1972) | I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing | |||
| "Come On Over to My Place" b/w "Chains of Love" |
A: Johnny Moore B: Charlie Thomas |
60 | — | — | 9 (in 1972) | ||||
| "Follow Me" b/w "The Outside World" |
91 | — | — | — | |||||
| "I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing" b/w "Far from the Maddening Crowd" |
Johnny Moore | 51 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Nylon Stockings" b/w "We Gotta Sing" |
— | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | ||||
| 1966 | "Memories Are Made of This" b/w "My Islands in the Sun" |
48 | — | 29 | 57 | ||||
| "Up in the Streets of Harlem" b/w "You Can't Love Them All" |
A: Johnny Moore B: Charlie Thomas |
— | — | — | 52 | ||||
| "Baby What I Mean" b/w "Aretha" |
Johnny Moore | 62 | 37 | — | 49 | ||||
| 1967 | "Ain't It the Truth" b/w "Up Jumped the Devil" |
A: Johnny Moore B: Bill Fredericks |
— | 36 | — | — | |||
| 1968 | "Still Burning in My Heart" b/w "I Need You Now" |
A: Johnny Moore B: Bill Fredericks |
111 | — | — | — | |||
| 1969 | "Steal Away" b/w "Your Best Friend" |
A: Bill Fredericks B: Johnny Moore |
— | — | — | — | |||
| 1970 | "You Got to Pay Your Dues" b/w "Black Silk" |
A: Johnny Moore B: Bill Fredericks |
— | — | — | — | |||
| 1971 | "A Rose by Any Other Name" b/w "Be My Lady" |
Johnny Moore | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1972 | "Everynight" b/w "Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight)" |
Bell | — | — | — | — | The Drifters Now | ||
| 1973 | "You've Got Your Troubles" b/w "I'm Feeling Sad (and Oh So Lonely)" |
— | — | — | — | ||||
| "Like Sister and Brother" b/w "The Songs We Used to Sing" |
A: Bill Fredericks B: Johnny Moore |
— | — | — | 7 | Love Games | |||
| 1974 | "Kissin' in the Back Row of the Movies" b/w "I'm Feeling Sad (and Oh So Lonely)" (from The Drifters Now) |
Johnny Moore | — | 83 | — | 2 |
| ||
| "Down on the Beach Tonight" b/w "Say Goodbye to Angelina" (from The Drifters Now) |
— | — | — | 7 | |||||
| 1975 | "Love Games" b/w "The Cut Is Deep" |
— | — | — | 33 | ||||
| "There Goes My First Love" b/w "Don't Cry on a Weekend" |
— | — | — | 3 |
|
There Goes My First Love | |||
| "Can I Take You Home Little Girl" b/w "Please Help Me Down" |
— | — | — | 10 | |||||
| 1976 | "Hello Happiness" b/w "I Can't Get Away from You" (from Love Games) |
— | — | — | 12 | ||||
| "Every Nite's a Saturday Night with You" b/w "I'll Get to Know Your Name Along the Way" |
— | — | — | 29 | Every Nite's a Saturday Night | ||||
| "You're More Than a Number in My Little Red Book" b/w "Do You Have to Go Now" |
A: Johnny Moore & Clyde Brown B: Johnny Moore |
Arista | — | — | — | 5 |
| ||
| 1979 | "Save the Last Dance for Me" b/w "When My Little Girl Is Smiling" |
A: Ben E. King B: Charlie Thomas |
Lightning | — | — | — | 69 | Save the Last Dance for Me | |
| 2013 | "The Whole World" | Michael Williams | Neon | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||
Billboard Year-End performances
[edit]| Year | Song | Year-End position |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | "There Goes My Baby" | 29 |
| 1960 | "Save the Last Dance for Me" | 26 |
| 1961 | "Please Stay" | 100 |
| 1963 | "Up on the Roof" | 64 |
| 1964 | "Under the Boardwalk" | 20 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "The Drifters – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 169. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Drifters: Up on the Roof – The Very Best Of". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – 24 Original Hits". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – Love Games". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – The Best of the Drifters". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – The Definitive Drifters". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "The Drifters Songs Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- ^ "British certifications – Drifters – Save the Last Dance for Me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ "Drifters – Under the Boardwalk". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "British certifications – Saturday Night at the Movies". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ "Drifters – Kissing in the Back Row". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – There Goes My First Love". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – You're More Than a Number in My Little Red Book". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
External links
[edit]- The Drifters discography at Discogs
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| Compilation albums | |
| Songs |
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