Died On This Date (July 4, 2007) Bill Pinkney / The Drifters
themusicsover Bill Pinkney
August 15, 1925 – July 4, 2007
Bill Pinkney is best remembered as a longtime member of the Drifters, one of the premier vocal groups of the doo wop idiom. He was and on-and-off member of the group between 1954 and 1958 and can be heard on such early recordings as “Money Honey,” “Honey Love,” “Maybe Baby,” and “White Christmas.” Unfortunately, Pinkney had left the group by the time they recorded their biggest hits, “Under the Boardwalk” and “Up On The Roof.” In 1958, the group’s manager replaced all the members of the group with new singers after which Pinkney formed the Original Drifters that included members of the early formation of the group. They remained a popular touring act for the better part of the next four decades. In 1988, Pinkney as the Drifters were elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bill Pinkney was 81 when he suffered a fatal heart attack on July 4, 2007. He and the Drifters were scheduled to perform later that day.
Donald McPherson was the founding lead singer of R&B vocal trio, the Main Ingredient. Formed in 1964, the group scored a few top 40 R&B hits during the late ’60s. Strickened with leukemia, Donald McPherson died just days short of his 30th birthday in 1971. He was replaced by Cuba Gooding, Sr. who sang lead on such later hits as “Everybody Plays The Fool.”
Mark Sandman was the one of indie rock’s earliest heroes. From 1989 until his death in 1999, he sang lead and played bass for the Boston based band, Morphine. What made Morphine unique and endeared them to fans was the fact they had no guitar in the band. The trio was made up of bass, saxophone and drums, giving them a murky low end sound as deep as their name would suggest. Sandman also moonlighted as a member of popular Boston blues band, Treat Her Right. Over the course of his career, Sandman released five proper Morphine albums. On July 3, 1999, Mark Sandman, 46, suffered a fatal heart attack while performing on stage with Morphine at a concert just outside of Rome.