Biography
Within the Drifters’ storied past, Rudy Lewis remains a somewhat overlooked figure. He held the lead vocal position from the close of 1960 through 1964, later sharing duties at times with Johnny Moore. His performances appear on the chart successes “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Please Stay,” “On Broadway,” and “Up on the Roof,” along with lesser-known tracks such as “She Never Talked to Me That Way,” “Stranger on the Shore,” “Somebody New Dancing with You,” and “Mexican Divorce.” Arriving after Ben E. King had already reshaped the ensemble’s vocal style, Lewis never received comparable acclaim, even though he performed the bulk of King’s material on stage. His rich, silky tone could convey intense emotion with striking clarity and force, leading many devotees to rank him nearly alongside Clyde McPhatter or King. Philadelphia-born, Lewis began in gospel circles and performed with the Clara Ward Singers right up until his impromptu late-1960 audition for manager George Treadwell at the city’s Uptown Theater. The lineup had dwindled to a trio fronted by Charlie Thomas, and Lewis secured the role immediately. His time with the group ended abruptly during the night of May 20, 1964; he was discovered lifeless in bed the next morning, with reports attributing the death either to a drug overdose or to choking during sleep, a risk tied to his pattern of binge eating. That same morning, Johnny Moore took over at the scheduled session for “Under the Boardwalk,” becoming the Drifters’ principal vocalist for the remainder of their Atlantic years and afterward.