The Drifters discography
This discography focuses solely on that of American vocal group the Drifters as managed by the Treadwell family.
Albums
Studio albums
| Album | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [1] | US R&B [1] | UK [2] | |||
| Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters |
| — | — | — | |
| Rockin' & Driftin' |
| — | — | — | |
| Save the Last Dance for Me |
| — | — | — | |
| Under the Boardwalk[a] |
| 40 | — | — | |
| The Good Life with the Drifters |
| 103 | — | — | |
| I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing |
| — | — | — | |
| The Drifters Now |
| — | — | — | |
| Love Games |
| — | — | 51 |
|
| There Goes My First Love |
| — | — | — | |
| Every Nite's a Saturday Night |
| — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||
Compilation albums
| Album | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [1] | US R&B [1] | UK [2] | |||
| Greatest Hits |
| — | — | — | |
| Up on the Roof – The Best of the Drifters |
| 110 | — | 12 | |
| The Drifters Golden Hits |
| 122 | 33 | 26 | |
| Their Greatest Recordings: The Early Years |
| — | — | — | |
| 24 Original Hits |
| — | — | 2 |
|
| The Very Best Of |
| — | — | 24 |
|
| The Definitive Drifters |
| — | — | 8 |
|
| The Very Best of the Drifters |
| — | — | 46 | |
| An Introduction to: The Drifters |
| — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||
Singles
| Title (A-side / B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated | Year | Lead singer | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [8][1] | US R&B [8][1] | US A/C [8] | UK [2][8] | |||||
| "Money Honey" / "The Way I Feel" (Non-album track) | 1953 | Clyde McPhatter | — | 1 | — | — | Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters | |
| "Lucille" / | 1954 | — | 7 | — | — | Non-album track | ||
| "Such a Night" | — | 2 | — | — | Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters | |||
| "Honey Love" / "Warm Your Heart" | — | 1 | — | — | ||||
| "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)" / "Bip Bam" (Non-album track) | A: Clyde McPhatter & Bill Pinkney B: Clyde McPhatter | — | — | — | — | |||
| "White Christmas" / "The Bells of St. Mary's" | A: Bill Pinkney & Clyde McPhatter B: Clyde McPhatter | 80 | 5 | — | — | |||
| "What'cha Gonna Do" / "Gone" (Non-album track) | 1955 | Clyde McPhatter | — | 2 | — | — | ||
| "Everyone's Laughing" / "Hot Ziggety" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |||
| "Adorable" / | Johnny Moore | — | 1 | — | — | Rockin' & Driftin' | ||
| "Steamboat" | Bill Pinkney | — | 5 | — | — | |||
| "Ruby Baby" / "Your Promise to Be Mine" | 1956 | A: Johnny Moore B: Gerhart Thrasher | — | 10 | — | — | ||
| "I Gotta Get Myself a Woman" / "Soldier of Fortune" | A: Johnny Moore & Bill Pinkney B: Johnny Moore | — | 11 | — | — | |||
| "Fools Fall in Love" / "It Was a Tear" | 1957 | Johnny Moore | 69 | 10 | — | — | ||
| "Drifting Away from You" / | Gerhart Thrasher | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Hypnotized" | Johnny Moore | 79 | — | — | — | |||
| "I Know" / "Yodee Yakee" | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Drip Drop" / | 1958 | Bobby Hendricks | 58 | — | — | — | ||
| "Moonlight Bay" | Group Ensemble | 72 | — | — | — | |||
| "There Goes My Baby" / "Oh My Love" | 1959 | Ben E. King | 2 | 1 | — | — | The Drifters' Greatest Hits | |
| "(If You Cry) True Love, True Love" / | Johnny Lee Williams | 33 | 5 | — | — | |||
| "Dance with Me" | Ben E. King | 15 | 2 | — | 17 | |||
| "This Magic Moment" / | 1960 | 16 | 4 | — | — | |||
| "Baltimore" | Charlie Thomas & Elsbeary Hobbs | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Lonely Winds" / "Hey Senorita" | Ben E. King | 54 | 9 | — | — | |||
| "Save the Last Dance for Me" / "Nobody but Me" | 1 | 1 | — | 2 |
| Save the Last Dance for Me | ||
| "I Count the Tears" / | 17 | 6 | — | 28 | ||||
| "Suddenly There's a Valley" | Tommy Evans & Bobby Hendricks | — | — | — | — | The Drifters' Greatest Hits | ||
| "Some Kind of Wonderful" / "Honey Bee" (Non-album track) | 1961 | A: Rudy Lewis B: David Baughn | 32 | 6 | — | — | Save the Last Dance for Me | |
| "Please Stay" / "No Sweet Lovin'" | A: Rudy Lewis B: Bill Pinkney | 14 | 13 | — | — | |||
| "Sweets for My Sweet" / "Loneliness or Happiness" (from Up on the Roof – The Best of the Drifters) | A: Charlie Thomas B: Rudy Lewis | 16 | 10 | — | — | |||
| "Room Full of Tears" / "Somebody New Dancin' with You" | 72 | — | — | — | ||||
| "When My Little Girl Is Smiling" / "Mexican Divorce" | 1962 | 28 | — | — | 31 | |||
| "Stranger on the Shore" / "What to Do" | Rudy Lewis | 73 | — | 19 | — | Up on the Roof – The Best of the Drifters | ||
| "Sometimes I Wonder" / "Jackpot" (from Save the Last Dance for Me) | A: Ben E. King B: Rudy Lewis | — | — | — | — | All Time Greatest Hits and More – 1959–1965 | ||
| "Up on the Roof" / "Another Night with the Boys" (from Up on the Roof – The Best of the Drifters) | Rudy Lewis | 5 | 4 | — | — | Our Biggest Hits | ||
| "On Broadway" / "Let the Music Play" | 1963 | 9 | 7 | — | — | |||
| "If You Don't Come Back" / | Johnny Moore | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Rat Race" | Rudy Lewis | 71 | — | — | — | |||
| "I'll Take You Home" / "I Feel Good All Over" | A: Johnny Moore B: Charlie Thomas | 25 | 24 | — | 37 | |||
| "Vaya con Dios" / "In the Land of Make Believe" | 1964 | A: Rudy Lewis B: Rudy Lewis & Johnny Moore | 43 | 10 | — | — | ||
| "One-Way Love" / "Didn't It" | Johnny Moore | 56 | 12 | — | — | |||
| "Under the Boardwalk" / "I Don't Want to Go On Without You" (from I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing) | A: Johnny Moore B: Charlie Thomas | 4 | — | — | 45 |
| Under the Boardwalk | |
| "I've Got Sand in My Shoes" / "He's Just a Playboy" | Johnny Moore | 33 | 21 | — | — | I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing | ||
| "Saturday Night at the Movies" / "Spanish Lace" (from I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing) | 18 | 8 | — | 3 (in 1972) |
| The Good Life with the Drifters | ||
| "The Christmas Song" / "I Remember Christmas" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |||
| "At the Club" / "Answer the Phone" | 1965 | 43 | 10 | — | 3 (in 1972) | I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing | ||
| "Come On Over to My Place" / "Chains of Love" | A: Johnny Moore B: Charlie Thomas | 60 | — | — | 9 (in 1972) | |||
| "Follow Me" / "The Outside World" | 91 | — | — | — | ||||
| "I'll Take You Where the Music's Playing" / "Far from the Maddening Crowd" | Johnny Moore | 51 | — | — | — | |||
| "Nylon Stockings" / "We Gotta Sing" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |||
| "Memories Are Made of This" / "My Islands in the Sun" | 1966 | 48 | — | 29 | 57 | |||
| "Up in the Streets of Harlem" / "You Can't Love Them All" | A: Johnny Moore B: Charlie Thomas | — | — | — | 52 | |||
| "Baby What I Mean" / "Aretha" | Johnny Moore | 62 | 37 | — | 49 | |||
| "Ain't It the Truth" / "Up Jumped the Devil" | 1967 | A: Johnny Moore B: Bill Fredericks | — | 36 | — | — | ||
| "Still Burning in My Heart" / "I Need You Now" | 1968 | 111 | — | — | — | |||
| "Steal Away" / "Your Best Friend" | 1969 | A: Bill Fredericks B: Johnny Moore | — | — | — | — | ||
| "You Got to Pay Your Dues" / "Black Silk" | 1970 | A: Johnny Moore B: Bill Fredericks | — | — | — | — | ||
| "A Rose by Any Other Name" / "Be My Lady" | 1971 | Johnny Moore | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Everynight" / "Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight)" | 1972 | — | — | — | — | The Drifters Now | ||
| "You've Got Your Troubles" / I'm Feeling Sad (and Oh So Lonely)" | 1973 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Like Sister and Brother" / "The Songs We Used to Sing" | A: Bill Fredericks B: Johnny Moore | — | — | — | 7 | Love Games | ||
| "Kissin' in the Back Row of the Movies" / "I'm Feeling Sad (and Oh So Lonely)" (from The Drifters Now) | 1974 | Johnny Moore | — | 83 | — | 2 |
| |
| "Down on the Beach Tonight" / "Say Goodbye to Angelina" (from The Drifters Now) | — | — | — | 7 | ||||
| "Love Games" / "The Cut Is Deep" | 1975 | — | — | — | 33 | |||
| "There Goes My First Love" / "Don't Cry on a Weekend" | — | — | — | 3 |
| There Goes My First Love | ||
| "Can I Take You Home Little Girl" / "Please Help Me Down" | — | — | — | 10 | ||||
| "Hello Happiness" / "I Can't Get Away from You" (from Love Games) | 1976 | — | — | — | 12 | |||
| "Every Nite's a Saturday Night with You" / "I'll Get to Know Your Name Along the Way" | — | — | — | 29 | Every Nite's a Saturday Night | |||
| "You're More Than a Number in My Little Red Book" / "Do You Have to Go Now" | A: Johnny Moore & Clyde Brown B: Johnny Moore | — | — | — | 5 |
| ||
| "Save the Last Dance for Me" / "When My Little Girl Is Smiling" | 1979 | A: Ben E. King B: Charlie Thomas | — | — | — | 69 | Save the Last Dance for Me | |
| "The Whole World" | 2013 | Michael Williams | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||
Billboard Year-End performances
| Year | Song | Year-End position |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | "There Goes My Baby" | 29 |
| 1960 | "Save the Last Dance for Me" | 26 |
| 1961 | "Please Stay" | 100 |
| 1963 | "Up on the Roof" | 64 |
| 1964 | "Under the Boardwalk" | 20 |
Notes
- ^ "Under the Boardwalk" is a retitled and slightly amended version of The Drifters' Our Biggest Hits album released in 1964. Title was changed and a new catalog number assigned when "Under the Boardwalk" became a hit.
References
- ^ a b c d e f "The Drifters – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 169. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Drifters – Love Games". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters: Up on the Roof – The Very Best Of". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – 24 Original Hits". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – The Best of the Drifters". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – The Definitive Drifters". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "The Drifters Songs Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography". Music VF. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- ^ "British certifications – Drifters – Save the Last Dance for Me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ "Drifters – Under the Boardwalk". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "British certifications – Saturday Night at the Movies". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ "Drifters – Kissing in the Back Row". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – There Goes My First Love". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
- ^ "Drifters – You're More Than a Number in My Little Red Book". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
External links
- The Drifters discography at Discogs
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