John North Editor & Publisher

No doubt, the halls of rock ëní roll heaven are echoing with two new voices ó those of Bill Pinkney of the Drifters and Hank Medress of the Tokens.

Pinkney, 81, the last surviving member of the original version of the Drifters, died on the Fourth of July at the Hilton Daytona Beach (Fla.) Ocean Front Resort. His group, billed as Bill Pinkneyís Original Drifters, was to have performed at Daytona Beachís Independence Day festivities.
On June 18, Medress, 68, another pop-music pioneer, died of lung cancer in his Manhattan home. He was a backup singer on the Tokensí 1961 mega-hit ìThe Lion Sleeps Tonight,î which reigned for three weeks at No. 1 in the U.S. Medress was a founding member of the doo-wop band, which featured Jay Siegel as lead singer.

Only serious Drifters aficionados would know that Pinkney and the other originals were fired from the group in 1958 for asking for a raise on the rock-bottom salaries they were getting. The groupís owner did something unheard of at the time ó he replaced the entire band with another set of singers under the same name. The new version of the Drifters, led by Ben E. King, sang the songs that the group is best known for today, including ìUnder the Boardwalk,î ìUp on the Roofî and ìSave the Last Dance for Me.î

However, in my own estimation, the Drifters that included Pinkney (fronted by lead singer Clyde McPhatter) was a musical tour-de-force in its own right. The early Driftersí best-known hit that people today might recognize is its doo-wop version of ìWhite Christmas,î with Pinkneyís basso profundo booming soulfully in the background.

Pinkney was born in this region ó in Dalzell, S.C., between Columbia and Sumter ó and I saw him perform a few years ago in Greensboro. He sat in a chair on stage during some of the performance, but he showed impressive stamina while belting out songs and dancing vigorously with his group.

The crowd seemed to agree with my assessment and cheered constantly. In turn, Pinkney seemed to gain vitality from the audienceís enthusiasm. Word was that continuing to perform ó something that he obviously enjoyed doing ó was what kept him alive to an atypically advanced age for a pop vocalist.

As for Medress, his rÈsumÈ was no less stellar in its own right. After his success with the Tokens, he became producer of countless other pop groups that made it big, including The Chiffons (ìHeís So Fine,î ìOne Fine Dayî and ìSweet Talkiní Guyî) and the Tokens with the Happenings (ìSee You in Septemberî and ìI Got Rhythmî). With Dave Appell, he produced Tony Orlando and Dawn, which had smash hits that included ìCandida,î ìKnock Three Timesî and ìTie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree.î He also recorded Dan Hill, Melissa Manchester, Richard Simmons, Rick Springfield and David Johanson (as his alter ego, Buster Poindexter).

Medress also served as president of EMI Music from 1990 to 1992, and his Bottom Line Records released recordings of pioneering performances at the Bottom Line club in Greenwich Village as well as new work by emerging artists.

The Drifters charted its biggest hits way before I was old enough to slow dance, but I always have savored the groupís hauntingly romantic melodies and lyrics.

And while I loved rocking out to Jimi Hendrix. Eric Clapton, the Beatles, the Stones and others who were the stars of my prime, who among us could hear the Tokensí ìThe Lion Sleeps Tonightî and ever forget Siegelís piercing, ululating falsetto floating over the Zulu-like doo-wop chant of ìWimoweh?î
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John North, publisher and editor of the Daily Planet, may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .