An early and important exemplar of soul music, Clyde McPhatter was among the first singers to cross over from the church to the pop and R&B charts. McPhatter was a minister's son, born in North Carolina and raised in New Jersey, who made that passage at the tender age of 18, when he was invited to join singer Billy Ward's vocal group, the Dominoes (where he was initially billed as "Clyde Ward" and claimed to be Billy's brother). McPhatter's radiant, gospel-trained tenor exploded onto the R&B scene in the early Fifties on "Do Something for Me," "Have Mercy Baby," "The Bells" and other R&B hits by the Dominoes. On "Have Mercy Baby," which remained #1 on the R&B charts for ten weeks in 1952, McPhatter worked himself to the brink of tears.

Such vocal histrionics were the result of bringing gospel's emotionality to bear on the subject of secular love in a rhythm & blues setting, and they proved to be ingredients in a recipe for what would be called soul music in the Sixties.

Chafing under bandleader Ward's strict discipline, McPhatter left the Dominoes in 1953 and was offered a recording contract and star billing with his own group, the Drifters, by Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic Records. McPhatter cut a half-dozen R&B hits with the Drifters - including "Money Honey," "Honey Love" and a doo-wop version of the seasonal classic "White Christmas" - until he was drafted in 1954.

He resumed his career as a solo artist upon his discharge from the army two years later, enjoying a successful run at Atlantic during the latter half of the Fifties. (The Drifters, of course, continued without him, drafting a succession of lead singers.) In 1958, McPhatter scored the biggest hit of his career, "A Lover's Question," a doo-wop/R&B classic that captured his bright, distinctive voice at the peak of ripeness. The subsequent decade found him moving to other labels and scoring such hits as "Lover Please" and "Little Bitty Pretty One." During this time he headlined R&B venues such as Harlem's Apollo Theatre.

McPhatter, who battled alcoholism for much of his adult life, died of a heart attack at age forty. While his groundbreaking contributions as a soul/R&B vocalist remain undernoticed, his fervent voice and passionate delivery can be heard in the work of such artists as Smokey Robinson and Jackie Wilson, to name just two better-known artists whom he influenced.

November 15, 1932
Clyde McPhatter was born in Durham, NC.

August 1, 1953
The Drifters, featuring Clyde McPhatter on lead vocals, record "Money Honey" on Atlantic Records.

1954
Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters hit #2 on the R&B chart with the Atlantic records single "Such A Night."

1954
The Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter hit #1 on the R&B chart and #21 on the pop chart with "Honey Love" and #2 on the R&B chart with "White Christmas." Both singles are released on Atlantic records.

1955
The Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter hit #2 on the R&B chart with the Atlantic records single "What'cha Gonna Do."

1955
Ruth Brown & Clyde McPhatter hits #8 on the R&B chart with the Atlantic single "Love Has Joined Us Together".

June 30, 1956
Clyde McPhatter hits on the R&B chart with #2 "Seven Days" and #1 on the R&B chart and #16 on the pop chart with "Treasure Of Love." Both singles are released on Atlantic Records.

February 23, 1957
Clyde McPhatter hits #4 on the R&B chart and #19 (2/23) on the pop chart with "Without Love (There Is Nothing)", #6 on the R&B chart and #26 (7/15) on the pop chart with "Just Hold My Hand" and #1 on the R&B chart with "Long Lonely Night." All three singles are released on Atlantic records.

January 1, 1958
In 1958, Clyde McPhatter scored the biggest hit of his career, "A Lover's Question," a doo-wop/R&B classic that captured his bright, distinctive voice at the peak of ripeness.

1958
Clyde McPhatter hits #3 on the R&B chart with "Come What May" on Atlantic records.

September 12, 1960
Clyde McPhatter hits #7 on the R&B chart and #23 on the pop chart with the Atlantic records single "Ta Ta".

June 13, 1972
Clyde McPhatter died on June 13, 1972 in Teaneck, NJ.

1987
Clyde McPhatter is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.