One of the most satisfying things for me about building an artist showcase is discovering the hidden history, the true-life events that make the person. Beyond just the music Bill Pinkney lived a fascinating and event filled life before he ever recorded his first vocal on a studio microphone. He was part of not one, but three major offensives during WWII serving under George Patton for which he received a presidential citation and four bronze stars for his courage and valor. Not stopping there, he returned home and pitched for two of the first all-black baseball leagues out of New York before finally starting his nearly 6-decade journey to becoming a singing and entertainment legend.

Whew!

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bill Pinkney…

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Willie "Bill" Pinkney was born in Dalzell, South Carolina on August 15, 1925, he was the son of Murray Pinkney Sr. and Katie Smith Pinkney. He was educated in the public schools of Sumter County South Carolina. He was raised in a Christian home and at an early age accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and joined Mount Olive AME Church. Later in life he joined St. Luke AME Church, where he remained a member until his passing.

 

He voluntarily enlisted in the United States Army at age 17 in April 1943, during World War II. He received numerous awards, including a presidential citation with four Bronze Stars for the battles of Normandy, Saint Lo, Rhine River and Bastogne under General George S. Patton. Returning from the war, Pinkney moved to New York where he pitched for the the Negro Baseball League's New York Blue Sox and New York Pelicans sandlot teams. He also began to sing again in various gospel choirs. It was there that he would meet and join with the men who became the original members of the Drifters.

 

Pinkney, brothers Andrew and Gerhart Thrasher, and bass singer, Willie Ferbie, were approached by Clyde McPhatter, who had just quit as the lead tenor of the popular R&B group, Billy Ward & the Dominoes. McPhatter proposed they create a new group to record for Atlantic Records. On their first record, "Money Honey," Pinkney, a natural bass-baritone with a multi-octave range, actually sang first tenor. After Ferbie left, Pinkney switched to the bass part, in which he was heard on "Honey Love," "White Christmas," "Adorable," "Ruby Baby" and many other early Drifters recordings. In 1954, the Drifters recorded their version of "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin. That version was featured in the 1990 movie, Home Alone. Pinkney can also be heard singing lead on the 1956 recording, "I Should Have Done Right," and in 1955’s, "Steamboat.” Pinkney worked with the group from 1956 through 1958, when the manager fired all of the individual Drifters, including Pinkney, and hired an entire new group of singers. They were from the Crowns (formally known as the Five Crowns), and they were signed under the Drifters' name.

 

Pinkney quickly created a group called the Original Drifters, made up of key members of the first (1953–58) group. Pinkney's Original Drifters were consistently popular throughout the southeastern United States. For decades their music was a staple of the "beach music" scene. Leaders such as President Bill Clinton and President Nelson Mandela of South Africa recognized Pinkney's contributions. He received many musical awards, including the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award, and was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the United Group Harmony Association, the South Carolina Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, and the Beach Music Hall of Fame. He received many more awards and recognition's for services rendered to his community and the state of South Carolina. He was an honorary Sumter County sheriff's deputy; he received an honorary fine arts doctorate from Coastal Carolina University; he was awarded The Order Of The Palmetto, and South Carolina has established a state park at his Dalzell birthplace along with naming a stretch of highway “Bill Pinkney of the Original Drifters Memorial Highway” in his honor.

 

Bill Pinkney died the evening of July 4, 2007 from a heart attack while in Florida to perform with The Drifters at the annual Daytona Beach 4th of July celebration, “Red, White & Boom”.