Clyde McPhatter
Clyde McPhatter (* 15. November 1932 in Durham , North Carolina ; † 13. June 1972 in Teaneck , New Jersey ) was a renowned rhythm and blues - tenor of the 1950s and 60s.
biography
1930s / 40s
McPhatter was born the fourth of six children and grew up in Durham. As a young boy he became a soprano in the choir of the Mount Calvary Baptist Church, where his father George McPhatter preached and his mother Beulah McPhatter played the organ . In 1945 the McPhatters moved to New Jersey, where Clyde McPhatter founded his first gospel band that same year . Not long afterwards, the family moved again, this time to New York City . McPhatter joined the Mount Lebanon Singers there, a gospel band that was very popular on the east coast of America. He stayed there through the second half of the 1940s.
Billy Ward & the Dominoes
In late 1950, McPhatter then joined Billy Ward & the Dominoes , with whom he recorded Sixty Minute Man that same year . The song became the biggest R&B hit of 1951 and even made it into the top 30 (# 23) on the pop charts. McPhatter stayed with the Dominoes for some time, with whom he recorded a few hits, but felt too much overshadowed by Ward over time and left the band in early 1953.
The Drifters
Later that year, McPhatter and his manager George Treadwell founded The Drifters , which Ahmet Ertegün soon offered a contract with Atlantic Records . The group's career began in 1953 with Money Honey , the biggest R&B hit of 1953. A number of other hits followed, but in the same year McPhatter had to join the military. However, since he was posted within the United States, he was able to continue shooting with the Drifters. Nevertheless, he left the band in 1955 to start a solo career.
Atlantic Records
This began with Love Has Joined Us Together , a duet with Ruth Brown that made it to # 8 on the R&B charts. In early 1956, the solo single Seven Days followed , which even made it into second place. In the spring of that year, Treasure of Love came to the top of the R&B charts and up to number 16 on the pop charts, a rather rare success for an R&B song at the time. In 1957 he was able to continue his success with Just to Hold My Hand and Long Lonely Nights . In 1958 the two LPs Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters and Love Ballads were released , as well as his greatest hit on Atlantic, A Lover's Question , which topped the R&B charts and reached number 6 in the pop charts. 1959 followed three mini-hits and the LP Clyde McPhatter . His last hit for Atlantic Records was Lovey Dovey , then his contract expired and he left the label.
MGM and Mercury
McPhatter then signed with MGM Records , where he released a total of only one album and four singles (the most successful of them Let's Try Again ). In 1960 he moved to Mercury Records , where the singles Ta Ta and I Never Knew earned some success. Lover Please even made it into the top 10 of the pop charts in 1962. In the meantime, however, McPhatter became more and more addicted to alcohol, and his successes decreased noticeably. He graduated from Mercury in 1964 with the concert album Live at the Apollo . In the following years McPhatter released a few more singles on a few small labels, all of which flopped.
England and return to the USA
In the meantime, Bill Pinkney , a former member of McPhatters Drifters, had founded a new band, which made McPhatter's song material known through performances in England, which finally moved McPhatter to move there as well. There he sang in various clubs for some time until he decided to return to the USA in the early 1970s. He signed with Decca Records there and released Welcome Home in 1970 , which turned out to be a total flop. On June 13, 1972, McPhatter, who was now severely alcoholic, died of a heart attack in New York City. In 1987 he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .
Discography
literature
- Irwin Stambler: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul . 3rd revised edition, St. Martin's Press, New York City 1989, ISBN 0-312-02573-4 , pp. 457f.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McPhatter, Clyde |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American R&B singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 15, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Durham , North Carolina , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 13, 1972 |
| Place of death | Teaneck , New Jersey , United States |