DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 5) -- Bill Pinkney, the
last survivor of the original members of the musical
group The Drifters, died Wednesday. He was 81.
Pinkney was found dead at the Hilton Daytona Beach
Oceanfront Resort, Daytona Beach Police spokesman
Jimmie Flynt said. The death was not considered
suspicious, he said.
Pinkney was scheduled to perform for Fourth of July
festivities there.
Pinkney's manager, Maxine Porter, declined to
discuss his cause of death, but said Pinkney had had
health problems.
The Drifters, whose hits include "Under the
Boardwalk," "Up on the Roof," and "Save the Last
Dance For Me," still performed Wednesday night. An
announcement about Pinkney's death was made after
the show, said the group's publicist, Donnie Lowery.
Classic Drifters
Pinkney, born in Dalzell, S.C., wasn't with The
Drifters when they recorded their biggest hits. He
left in the band in 1958 because of an argument over
cash. His distinctive bass voice can be heard on the
group's version of the holiday classic "White
Christmas."
Even though he left the group, Pinkney didn't let go
of The Drifters' name. He fought for laws allowing
performers or bands to claim an affiliation with a
classic group like The Drifters or The Coasters only
if at least one member recorded with the original
group.
The Drifters were inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1988.
Pinkney was a World War II veteran and pitched for
the New York Blue Sox of the Negro Baseball League
in the late 1940s and early '50s.
Porter said funeral arrangements were pending but
that he would be buried in South Carolina.
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Another Article
Last of original Drifters
dies at age 81
Thu Jul 5, 2007 2:00PM EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Rhythm and blues singer Bill
Pinkney, the last surviving
member of the original
lineup of The Drifters, was
found dead in his hotel room
hours before he was due to
perform in a July 4
celebration.
Police spokesman Jimmie
Flynt said 81-year-old
Pinkney was found dead on
Wednesday evening at the
Hilton Daytona Beach
Oceanfront Resort in
Florida. There was no
evidence of foul play, he
said.
Pinkney was scheduled to
perform with The Original
Drifters that night for U.S.
Independence Day
festivities.
His manager Maxine Porter
said Pinkney had been
suffering from heart
problems recently but that
it was too soon to say if
the cause of death was a
heart attack.
She said a funeral would
be held next week in Sumter
in Pinkney's home state of
South Carolina.
The Drifters were known
for such hits as "Money
Honey," "Under the
Boardwalk," and the 1954
cover version of "White
Christmas."
Pinkney, a World War Two
veteran and former pitcher
for the New York Blue Sox of
the Negro Baseball League,
was the only surviving
member of the original
lineup of the group that
formed in 1953. He left the
group in 1958 in a dispute
over money and set up The
Original Drifters.
Seven members of The
Drifters, including Pinkney,
were inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in
1988.