The Drifters' Golden Hits
| The Drifters' Golden Hits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greatest hits album by The Drifters | ||||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 1959–1966 | |||
| Genre | R&B Doo-wop | |||
| Length | 29:47 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Bert Berns, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | |||
| The Drifters chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
The Drifters' Golden Hits is a 1968 compilation album by American doo-wop/R&B vocal group The Drifters.
The album was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[2] In 2012, Rolling Stone listed the album at #459 in its list of "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[3] Originally released on the Atlantic label, the album has been re-released on CD by Atlantic. A Drifters' compilation by the same name was released by Intercontinental records in 1996, but it has a different track listing.
Chart performance
The collection of the bands' later hits peaked at No. 22 on Billboard's Hot R&B LP's chart,[4] and also reached No. 122 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, during an eight-week run on it.[5]
Track listing
| Title | Composer(s) | Time | Previous album release | Charts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1."There Goes My Baby" | Benjamin Nelson, Lover Patterson, George Treadwell | 2:13 | The Drifters' Greatest Hits (1960) |
#1 Black Singles |
| 2."(If You Cry) True Love, True Love" | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | 2:23 | The Drifters[6] (1964) |
|
| 3."Dance with Me" | Lewis Lebish, Jerry Leiber, Irving Nahan, Mike Stoller, Treadwell | 2:26 | The Drifters' Greatest Hits | #2 "Black Singles" #17 UK Singles[7] |
| 4."This Magic Moment" | Pomus, Shuman | 2:30 | The Drifters' Greatest Hits | #4 "Black Singles" |
| 5."Save the Last Dance for Me" | Pomus, Shuman | 2:30 | The Drifters' Greatest Hits | #1 "Black Singles" #2 UK[7] |
| 6."I Count the Tears" | Pomus, Shuman | 2:15 | Save the Last Dance for Me (1962) |
#28 UK[7] |
| 7."Some Kind of Wonderful" | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | 2:38 | Save the Last Dance for Me | |
| 8."Up on the Roof" | Goffin, King | 2:38 | The Drifters | #4 "Black Singles" #5 "Pop Singles"[8] |
| 9."On Broadway" | Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann, Leiber, Stoller | 3:02 | The Drifters | #7 "Black Singles" #9 "Pop Singles"[8] |
| 10."Under the Boardwalk" | Arthur Resnick, Kenny Young | 2:42 | The Drifters | #4 "Black Singles" #4 "Pop Singles"[8]#45 UK[7] |
| 11."I've Got Sand in My Shoes" | Resnick, Young | 2:49 | Where the Music's Playing[9] | |
| 12."Saturday Night at the Movies" | Weil, Mann | 2:29 | The Drifters | #18 "Black Singles" #18 "Pop Singles"[8] |
Personnel
Performance
The Drifters
- Ben E. King – lead vocals (tracks 1, 3 – 6); backing vocals (track 2)
- Johnny Lee Williams – lead vocals (track 2); backing vocals (tracks 3–6)
- Rudy Lewis – lead vocals (tracks 7 – 9)
- Johnny Moore – lead vocals (tracks 10 – 12)
- Charlie Thomas – backing vocals (all tracks)
- Dock Green – backing vocals (tracks 1 – 8)
- Gene Pearson – backing vocals (tracks 9 – 12)
- Elsbeary Hobbs – backing vocals (tracks 1 – 6)
- Tommy Evans – backing vocals (tracks 7 – 9)
- Johnny Terry – backing vocals (tracks 10 – 12)
- Abdul Samad – guitar (tracks 2 – 12)
- Reggie Kimber – guitar (track 1)
Other personnel
- Doris Troy – additional backing vocals (tracks 5 – 7)
- Dee Dee Warwick – additional backing vocals (tracks 5 – 7)
- Dionne Warwick – additional backing vocals (tracks 5 – 7)
- Cissy Houston – additional backing vocals (tracks 5 – 7)
Production
- Stan Applebaum – arranger
- Bert Berns – producer
- Charlie Brown – liner notes
- Ray Ellis – arranger
- Loring Eutemey – design
- Jerry Leiber – producer
- Jonny Meadow – research
- Zal Schreiber – mastering
- Garry Sherman – arranger
- Mike Stoller – producer
- Teacho Wiltshire – arranger
Charts
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Top LPs[5] | 122 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B LPs[4] | 33 |
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ a b "The Drifters – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1955–1972. Record Research. p. 46. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ^ (If You Cry) True Love, True Love at AllMusic
- ^ a b c d Roberts, David (2002). Guinness World Records British Hit Singles (15th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-187-X., p.189
- ^ a b c d The Drifters Billboard singles at AllMusic
- ^ Where the Music's Playing at AllMusic
- ^ The Later Drifters Article by Marv Goldberg. Accessed 9 July 2018.
- ^ The Family Tree. Official Drifters website. Accessed October 11, 2007.