The Drifters’ Charlie Thomas dies, aged 85

7 February, 2023

Charlie Thomas

Charlie Thomas of The Drifters has died from liver cancer at the age of 85.

The singer passed away last week, The New York Times has reported. He was a member of the R&B and soul group during their commercial success in the early 1960s.

Thomas, who was born in Virginia, US in 1937, joined the band in the late 1950s after The Drifters’ manager George Treadwell fired all the existing bandmembers following a disastrous concert at the Apollo in Harlem, New York City.

Although Thomas was singing in a band called The Five Crowns at the time, he joined the group and went on to score their only Billboard Number One hit, ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’. Ben E. King was also in The Drifters.

Later, he sang on at least two of The Drifters’ bigger hits including ‘Sweets For My Sweet’ (1962) and ‘When My Little Girl Is Smiling’ (1962).

The Drifters
The Drifters pictured in 1958. Left to right: Charlie Thomas, Ben E. King, Dock Green and Elsbeary Hobbs. CREDIT: Gilles Petard/Redferns

Thomas left the new iteration of The Drifters in 1967 but continued to perform with members of the extended Drifters family over the following few decades, sometimes as part of a group called The Original Drifters but more often as a group bearing his name, Charlie Thomas’ Drifters.

Alongside members of The Original Drifters, Thomas was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1988.

Tributes have poured in for the late singer after news of his death emerged. Some tributes were posted closer to the time of his death last week (seemingly on Tuesday, January 31), however, mainstream news outlets have only reported on his passing this week.

The Rock Hall wrote on Twitter: “Charlie Thomas’ elegant tenor vocals helped bridge gospel with R&B and blues and laid the foundation for 1960s soul music. His work with The Drifters ushered in a golden age of enduring hits like ‘There Goes My Baby,’ ‘Sweets for My Sweet,’ ‘When My Little Girl Is Smiling,’ and ‘Save the Last Dance for Me.’

“Charlie Thomas’ suave, sophisticated voice elevated everyday joys and loves, striking a universal chord in listeners everywhere.”

Veteran R&B and rock’n’roll singer Gary U.S. Bonds also paid tribute. “Sadly, we lost another good friend today, Charlie Thomas of the Drifters. Rest in peace, Charlie. We will miss you. #rocknroll #legend,” he wrote on Twitter.

Session musician Ivan “Funkboy” Bodley, who has played with acts including Sting, Elvis Costello, The Temptations, and The Drifters’ Ben E. King, said: “Rest well, sweet Charlie Thomas (The Drifters), R&R Hall of Famer, cherished friend. Years ago, he said, ‘Remember, Ivan, wherever you go in this world, you’ve got Charlie Thomas with you.’ It stayed with me ever since. He was right. I will always have Charlie Thomas with me.”

See more tributes below.

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