Charlie Thomas, who as part of The Drifters kept alive such hits as ” There Goes My Baby” and “Under the Boardwalk” for brand-new generations, passed away on Jan. 31 at his house in Bowie, Md. He was 85.
His good friend, vocalist Peter Lemongello Jr., stated the cause was liver cancer.
Thomas was a Drifter for more than 60 years, exploring with the group up until the pandemic closed the club and show circuit. Thomas, a tenor, was an essential part of the group as they produced such hits as “There Goes My Baby,” “Under The Boardwalk,” “Up on the Roof,” and “Saturday Night at the Movies,” to name a few. “Save The Last Dance For Me” reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts, the group’s only chart-topper.
Thomas sang lead on “ Sweets for My Sweet,” which reached No. 16 on the Hot 100 in 1961, and ” When My Little Girl Is Smiling,” which peaked at No. 28 the next year.
As with many groups of the age, workers altered over the years and dissenting group declared to be the genuine successors of the initial members. Thomas ended his profession fronting Charlie Thomas’s Drifters.
Thomas is made it through by his other half, Rita Thomas; his children, Crystal Thomas Wilson and Victoria Green; his children, Charlie Jr., Michael Sidbury and Brian Godfrey, and lots of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
