Every Thursday, when I was five, I had the same routine. I would walk home from school (back in the 80s, parents trusted their kids to do things like walking). I would do my homework. I’d have a snack. Then, around 4 o’clock, my father would pick me up for our court mandated visits. I’d climb into the back of his Pontiac, we’d pick up ‘the steps’ (mom, sister, and brother) and go out to eat. It was always somewhere cheap and forgettable, like Hardee’s or Roy Rogers, and then we’d go to visit my grandma in the nursing home.
The music selection was always limited in my old man’s car; the only cassette tapes my father owned were a few Statler Brothers albums and the best of Ray Stevens. But on Thursdays, we always listened to the radio. Oldies.
Without fail, every time, every-single-time, there were three songs that would play. After the five o’clock traffic and weather update, the DJ would remind everyone to drive safely. And then, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap would belt out, “Lady! Willpower, it’s now or never …”
Mind you, this was 1986, so it’s not like I could look up the lyrics on my phone. So for years, I thought he was saying “wheel power,” an obvious allusion to the traffic report. I figured it had something to do with being a grown up. But since I couldn’t drive, I didn’t care.
The next song was ‘Going to the Chapel of Love’ by The Shirelles. Every time. The third song to play was my favorite. I remember being upset if we arrived at the nursing home before this track ended. It reminded me of my favorite place in the world.
I grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. And when you live in Southeastern PA, there’s one place everybody goes for summer vacation: the Jersey Shore. Specifically, Wildwood. And the best part of Wildwood? Of course — the boardwalk.
‘Under the Boardwalk’ has been recorded many times by many different musicians, from Bette Midler to Billy Joel to The Beach Boys to John Mellencamp, back when he was Johnny Cougar. The Rolling Stones released their take as a B side, which hit #1 on the charts in Australia and South Africa, and #2 in Rhodesia, back when Rhodesia was still a country. And Bruce Willis, yes, that Bruce Willis, recorded a version in 1987 that hit #2 on the charts in the UK. I still struggle with that fact. But by far, without question, the greatest version, the model by which all others were judged, is the original 1964 release by The Drifters.
There was always one line that thoroughly confused my five year old mind. “We’ll be making love … under the boardwalk.” How was that even possible? I had seen under the boardwalk — it was just beach under a roof. Just sand and shells and seaweed. That was no place for love. I asked my stepmom for clarity. She told me they only meant that under the boardwalk is a place where teenagers “go to do some necking.” I imagined a group of super cool teenagers hanging out, listening to music, smoking, drinking, and then furiously rubbing their necks together. I figured it had something to do with being a grownup. But since I was five, I didn’t care.
The story of The Drifters should be a mini-series. There’s no way an article or even a full length movie can begin to explain their complex and complicated history. Since 1953, there have been over forty musicians who have been a member of the Drifters. The Drifters’ tale is tragic. It is heroic. It is American. And then there are the spin-offs. Some of the Drifters … drifted. They started their own ‘Drifters’.
Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters, aka The Original Drifters, aka The Drifters are still touring. In fact, they are playing May 16 at Miller Theater in Augusta.
Bill Pinkney was a lot of things. He was a veteran. Normandy. Served under Patton. He received a World War II Presidential Citation with five Bronze Stars. Bill Pinkney was a Negro Baseball League sandlot pitcher. He was awarded The Order of the Palmetto and commissioned as an Official State Ambassador of Music and Entertainment. Pinkney was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bill Pinkney was born and raised in Sumter County, South Carolina. And he was an original Drifter. Unfortunately, Bill Pinkney passed away on July 4, 2007.
But never underestimate a great spin-off. ‘Cheers’ gave us ‘Frasier.’ ‘Laverne and Shirley’ was spun from ‘Happy Days.’ And it was because of ‘All in the Family’ that the world has ‘Good Times’ and ‘The Jeffersons.’
May 16. It’s a Saturday. Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters: the group that Bill Pinkney formed when he left The Drifters. They’re not ‘All in the Family’ but they’re definitely ‘Good Times’.
It’s the type of music you already know, even if you’ve never heard it before. As my boomer parents would say when they were young, “The Drifters are the bees’ knees, daddy-o. It’s the cat’s meow. These groovy tunes are outta sight!”
It’s the type of music that has a certain magic. And if the mood is just right, it can take you back in time, to the feeling you had before you had a job or a mortgage or a paycheck. When you never had to worry about where your next meal came from and the world still had your grandma in it.
So when May rolls ‘round, and you’re looking for somethin’ more,
See you at Miller Theater; I think six o’clock is when they open the door.
Under the balcony,
Down aisle C, yeah,
On a date with my baby, is where I’ll be.
Visit millertheateraugusta.com for more information.
