There Was A Tear-The Drifters

[Gotsoul]

Is this thing cool or not? the great Johnny Moore poured on the soul here sounding as good as ever and that fade, fifties cool at it's best.

[Roburt]

Bits from Johnny Moore's obit (as published in the Independent) ............  

Born in Selma, Alabama, in 1934, Johnny Moore moved to Cleveland when he was a teenager. After singing in the church choir, he made his name with the Hornets, a doo-wop and gospel group. When the Drifters came to town, the young Johnny introduced himself backstage, showed off his falsetto and was hired on the spot. He was first heard with the group on "Adorable", a single recorded in September 1955 under the supervision of Nesuhi Ertegun in Los Angeles. The song was a big hit and Atlantic soon released "Ruby Baby", a Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller composition culled from the same session. Backing Moore at the time were Gerhard Trasher (tenor), his brother Andrew (baritone) and Bill Pinkney (bass). Johnny became just about the stalwart vocalist with the group (in terms of longevity). Over the course of a 45-year career, the Drifters had many line-up changes but, though he never attained the fame of the founder Clyde McPhatter or the lead singer Ben E. King, Moore was one of the few regular members. Indeed, he was the frontman when the Drifters hit a purple patch with eight British Top 10 hits in the mid-Seventies.

The reason I have posted the above is to give background to a discussion I was party to some years back (that links to another recent thread).

I have interviewed Lou Ragland many times in the 25+ years I have known him. We were once in discussion about Lou's young days (his school years) and Lou related how he was inspired to get into the music biz by the successes of a near neighbour. I asked who the guy was & Lou says 'Johnny Moore of the Hornets'. Oh, the guy who went on to lead the Drifters for so many years, I say. No. he was lead with the Hornets was Lou's response ..... I explained that it was one & the same guy & that Johnny had lived in the UK for many years and had made a good life here. Lou had just assumed that the Hornets had 'gone cold' after the doo-wop era and that Johhny & the group had faded into obscurity. He never linked the guy he knew to the guy leading the Drifters at all .... BUT THEN ... Lou was off making his own way in the music world & had just lost track of Johnny coz he was so busy himself. 

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