Bill Pinkney

Willie "Bill" Pinkney (August 15, 1925 – July 4, 2007) was an American performer and singer. Pinkney was 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.

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. 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 that 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, 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, 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.

After Pinkney's permanent departure, The Drifters recorded hit classics such as "Under the Boardwalk", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "There Goes My Baby", "Up on the Roof", and "On Broadway", with a completely new line-up.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia.