27 Facts About Clyde McPhatter

Clyde Lensley McPhatter was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer.

Clyde McPhatter was the lead tenor of the Mount Lebanon Singers, a gospel group he formed as a teenager.

Clyde McPhatter was later the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes and was largely responsible for the initial success of the group.

Clyde McPhatter left a legacy of over 22 years of recording history.

Clyde McPhatter was the first artist to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, first as a solo artist and later as a member of the Drifters.

Clyde McPhatter was raised in a Baptist family, the son of Rev George McPhatter and his wife Beulah.

When he was 10, Clyde McPhatter was the soprano-voiced soloist for the choir.

In 1945, Rev McPhatter moved his family to Teaneck, New Jersey, where Clyde attended Chelsior High School.

Clyde McPhatter worked part-time as a grocery store clerk and was promoted to shift manager upon graduating high school.

The family then relocated to New York City, where Clyde McPhatter formed a gospel group, the Mount Lebanon Singers.

In 1950, after winning the coveted Amateur Night at Harlem's Apollo Theater contest, Clyde McPhatter returned to his job as a store manager, but was later recruited by Billy Ward and his Dominoes and was present for the recording of "Sixty Minute Man" for Federal Records, produced by Ralph Bass.

Clyde McPhatter was sometimes passed off as "Clyde Ward, Billy's little brother".

Clyde McPhatter announced his intention to quit the group, and Ward agreed to his leaving provided that McPhatter stayed long enough to coach a replacement.

Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records, and Jerry Wexler, eagerly sought Clyde McPhatter after noticing he was not present for an appearance by the Dominoes at Birdland, which was "an odd booking for the Dominoes", in Ertegun's words.

Clyde McPhatter promptly assembled a group and called them the Drifters.

The initial members of the Drifters Clyde McPhatter assembled were mostly members of the Mount Lebanon Singers.

In late 1954, Clyde McPhatter was inducted into the US Army and assigned to Special Services in the continental United States, which allowed him to continue recording.

The Drifters continued as a successful group, but with many changes in personnel, and the group assembled by Clyde McPhatter was long gone by the time their greatest successes were released after he left the group.

Just after his military discharge, Clyde McPhatter recorded his first solo hit, "Love Has Joined Us Together", with Ruth Brown.

Clyde McPhatter moved to other record labels and recorded more singles, including "I Never Knew" and his final top-10 hit, "Lover Please", written by country artist Billy Swan, which made it to number seven in 1962.

Clyde McPhatter turned to alcohol abuse, sporadically releasing recordings that failed to chart.

In 1968, Clyde McPhatter moved to England, where he still had something of a following, using the UK band ICE as backup.

Clyde McPhatter returned to the US in 1970, making a few appearances in rock-and-roll revival tours, but lived mostly as a recluse.

Clyde McPhatter was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, at the time of his death.

Clyde McPhatter was buried at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.

At the time of his death, Clyde McPhatter had one daughter, Deborah L McPhatter, born in April 1953.

Ruth Brown acknowledged in her later years that Clyde McPhatter was the father of her son Ronald, born in 1954.