Willie "Bill" Pinkney (August 15, 1925 – July 4, 2007) was an American performer and singer. Pinkney was often said to be the last surviving original member of The Drifters, who achieved international fame with numerous hit records. He was chiefly responsible for its early sounds. The Drifters have had a strong influence on soul, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll music. As an original group member, Bill Pinkney was a 1988 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Drifters.
Early life
Born Willie Pinkney in Dalzell, South Carolina, Pinkney grew up singing his favorite music, gospel, in his church choir. He was raised in a Christian home, and was a member of Mount Olive AME Church.[1] He served in the United States Army in World War II. He earned a Presidential Citation with five service stars (for battles including Normandy and Bastogne under General Patton). Returning from the war, Pinkney began to sing again in various gospel choirs. There he met and joined with the men who became the original members of the Drifters.
Bill Pinkney, brothers Andrew and Gerhart Thrasher, and bass singer Willie Ferbee were approached by Clyde McPhatter, who had just quit as the lead tenor of the popular R&B group, Billy Ward and his Dominoes. McPhatter proposed they create a new group to record for Atlantic Records. On their first record, "Money Honey", Pinkney, a natural bass-baritone with a multi-octave range, actually sang first tenor.
After Ferbee left, Pinkney switched to the bass part, in which he was heard on "Honey Love," "White Christmas", "Adorable", "Ruby Baby", and many other early Drifters recordings. In 1954, the Drifters recorded their version of "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin. That version was featured in the 1990 movie Home Alone,[2] as well as the 1994 movie The Santa Clause. Pinkney can also be heard singing lead on the 1956 recording "I Should Have Done Right" and 1955's "Steamboat". Pinkney was in and out of the group from 1956 through 1958. He did not participate in the recording of later hits like "Fools Fall in Love" and "Drip Drop", which featured bass singer Tommy Evans.
In 1958, George Treadwell, the group manager fired all of the individual Drifters and hired all new singers, The Crowns (formally known as the Five Crowns), signing them under the Drifters' name. Pinkney was forced to leave. Pinkney quickly created a group called the Original Drifters, made up of key members of the first (1953–58) association. Pinkney's Original Drifters was consistently popular throughout the southeastern United States. For decades their music was a staple of the "beach music" scene.
^"Past Honorees". South Carolina African American History Calendar. South Carolina Department of Education. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
Note
According to the following sources Pinkney was born in Sumter, SC: Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, page 286 (also states that his name was spelled both as Pinckney and Pinkney); Rock Movers and Shakers, page 162; Peoples Almanac 2000, page 517.
