Faye Treadwell, third from left, took the unusual step of moving the Drifters to England.
Since a New York R&B vocal group calling themselves the Drifters performed together for the first time in 1953, more than 60 singers have passed through their ranks. For many years, the task of keeping track of the majority of them fell to Faye Treadwell, who has died of breast cancer, aged 84. A formidable businesswoman, Treadwell inherited the job of managing the group from her husband and fought numerous legal battles in order to hang on to the rights to a name that became, in effect, a franchise.
In the 1960s, when the group's reputation was riding high with such hits as Save the Last Dance for Me and Under the Boardwalk, several outfits calling themselves the Drifters toured the US and Europe. One British promoter sent out an act called the Fabulous Drifters who were, in fact, a lesser-known group called the Invitations, happy to learn the necessary repertoire.
More recently, a New York entrepreneur specialised in claiming the rights to famous names, the Drifters among them, and creating new groups to fit the identity. It was such apparent abuses of what would now be called intellectual property that Treadwell spent much of her life attempting to counter. The confusion was intensified by complicated bloodlines which entitled some of the splinter groups to a moral share of the trademark.
Black vocal groups were particularly frequent victims of this form of counterfeiting, and others to suffer included the Coasters, the Temptations and the Isley Brothers. This was long before the contemporary popularity of "tribute" bands, happy to acknowledge and trade on their inauthenticity.
The tangled saga of the Drifters has its origins in the day in 1954 when their founding lead singer, Clyde McPhatter, sold his half-interest in the group's name to George Treadwell, a manager whose clients had included Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. The Drifters had enjoyed hits with Money Honey and Such a Night, but McPhatter was intent on pursuing a solo career.
Johnny Moore joined the existing members, Bill Pinkney and the brothers Gerhart and Andrew Thrasher, all of whom were now, in effect, salaried employees, and the hits continued with Adorable and Ruby Baby. But disaffection at the low wages, combined with the effect of conscription into the services, led to further changes in personnel and a decline in the group's fortunes.
In 1957, George married Fayrene Johnson, the Arkansas-born daughter of a Baptist minister, whom he had met in Los Angeles. A year later, following a fight at the Apollo theatre in Harlem, New York, he fired the entire group and hired a new one, originally known as the Five Crowns, to fill their places. The lead singer, Ben E King, emulated McPhatter in bringing a distinctive voice to several of their biggest hits, including There Goes My Baby, which broke new ground by adding a string arrangement to an R&B record, and Save the Last Dance for Me. King's departure for a successful solo career two years later prefaced a further round of what would become an endless carousel of personnel changes followed by hits with Sweets for My Sweet, On Broadway and Up On the Roof.
When George died in 1967, Faye bought out his partners and took control of the group's fortunes. Pinkney had won a battle to lead a group under the name of the Original Drifters, but she managed to fight off other pretenders. In the early 1970s, their star having fallen out of sight in the US, she took the unusual step of moving the Drifters to England, where their hits – with Moore back as lead singer – included Kissing in the Back Row of the Movies. In 1993, during a brief return home, they performed for President Bill Clinton at the White House.
On her retirement in 2001, Treadwell moved back to Los Angeles. Five years later her daughter, Tina, licensed the group's name to a British entertainment company, but the court actions continued, most recently against the impresario Larry Marshak, who was found in contempt of court for ignoring an order to stop using the name.
Treadwell is survived by her mother, two sisters and her daughter.
• Fayrene Lavern Treadwell, music manager, born 5 September 1926; died 22 May 2011
In the 1960s, when the group's reputation was riding high with such hits as Save the Last Dance for Me and Under the Boardwalk, several outfits calling themselves the Drifters toured the US and Europe. One British promoter sent out an act called the Fabulous Drifters who were, in fact, a lesser-known group called the Invitations, happy to learn the necessary repertoire.
More recently, a New York entrepreneur specialised in claiming the rights to famous names, the Drifters among them, and creating new groups to fit the identity. It was such apparent abuses of what would now be called intellectual property that Treadwell spent much of her life attempting to counter. The confusion was intensified by complicated bloodlines which entitled some of the splinter groups to a moral share of the trademark.
Black vocal groups were particularly frequent victims of this form of counterfeiting, and others to suffer included the Coasters, the Temptations and the Isley Brothers. This was long before the contemporary popularity of "tribute" bands, happy to acknowledge and trade on their inauthenticity.
The tangled saga of the Drifters has its origins in the day in 1954 when their founding lead singer, Clyde McPhatter, sold his half-interest in the group's name to George Treadwell, a manager whose clients had included Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. The Drifters had enjoyed hits with Money Honey and Such a Night, but McPhatter was intent on pursuing a solo career.
Johnny Moore joined the existing members, Bill Pinkney and the brothers Gerhart and Andrew Thrasher, all of whom were now, in effect, salaried employees, and the hits continued with Adorable and Ruby Baby. But disaffection at the low wages, combined with the effect of conscription into the services, led to further changes in personnel and a decline in the group's fortunes.
In 1957, George married Fayrene Johnson, the Arkansas-born daughter of a Baptist minister, whom he had met in Los Angeles. A year later, following a fight at the Apollo theatre in Harlem, New York, he fired the entire group and hired a new one, originally known as the Five Crowns, to fill their places. The lead singer, Ben E King, emulated McPhatter in bringing a distinctive voice to several of their biggest hits, including There Goes My Baby, which broke new ground by adding a string arrangement to an R&B record, and Save the Last Dance for Me. King's departure for a successful solo career two years later prefaced a further round of what would become an endless carousel of personnel changes followed by hits with Sweets for My Sweet, On Broadway and Up On the Roof.
When George died in 1967, Faye bought out his partners and took control of the group's fortunes. Pinkney had won a battle to lead a group under the name of the Original Drifters, but she managed to fight off other pretenders. In the early 1970s, their star having fallen out of sight in the US, she took the unusual step of moving the Drifters to England, where their hits – with Moore back as lead singer – included Kissing in the Back Row of the Movies. In 1993, during a brief return home, they performed for President Bill Clinton at the White House.
On her retirement in 2001, Treadwell moved back to Los Angeles. Five years later her daughter, Tina, licensed the group's name to a British entertainment company, but the court actions continued, most recently against the impresario Larry Marshak, who was found in contempt of court for ignoring an order to stop using the name.
Treadwell is survived by her mother, two sisters and her daughter.
• Fayrene Lavern Treadwell, music manager, born 5 September 1926; died 22 May 2011
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