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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMcPHATTER, Clyde(b 15 November 1933, Durham NC; d 13 June 1972, Tea Neck NJ) One of the great lead singers of the 1950s, with a powerful influence on the following soul era. His father was a clergyman; he sang in church and turned pro at 14 with a gospel group; met Billy Ward and joined his Dominoes '50, who had their first top ten R&B hit with 'Do Something For Me', then smash no. 1 'Sixty Minute Man', top ten 'I Am With You', all '51; 'That's What You're Doing To Me' and no. 1 'Have Mercy Baby' followed in '52. Sonny Til's Orioles had been the biggest black vocal group, with their hit 'Cryin' In The Chapel' '53, but the Dominoes were stiff competition, and McPhatter replaced Til as the top black teen idol. 'Sixty Minute Man' was a salacious novelty in the tradition of 'Big Ten-Inch Record' and 'Open The Door, Richard', but its delivery was influential, with its hard backbeat and spikey guitar: rock'n'roll was just around the corner. McPhatter trained his successor, Jackie Wilson, and left the Dominoes to form the Drifters, recording for Atlantic: their instant classic no. 1 'Money Honey' '53 was followed by a two-sided top 10 'Such A Night'/'Lucille', 'Honey Love' (no. 1), 'Bip Bam' and 'What'cha Gonna Do' '54-5. Another hit was a lovely arrangement of 'White Christmas' with lead vocals by both McPhatter and bass Bill Pinkney. McPhatter was drafted; while on leave he recorded a solo 'Seven Days' for R&B hit '56, also his first pop chart entry at no. 44: on leaving the service he became a pop star in his own right as big R&B hits crossed over: 'Treasure Of Love' and 'Without Love (There Is Nothing)' reached pop top 20; other big ones included 'Just To Hold My Hand', 'Long Lonely Nights', 'Come What May'; 'A Lover's Question' was no. 1 R&B, no. 6 pop '58. He switched to MGM (with less appropriate songs and arrangements), then Mercury; his last big crossovers were 'Ta Ta' and 'I Never Knew'; 'Lover Please' '62 was his second and last pop top ten entry but did not make the R&B chart; 'Crying Won't Help You Now' '65 made the R&B chart but not pop. His classics were the sort of records which caused young people to discover black pop music, contributing to the explosion of rock'n'roll; he should have been a star of '60s soul music but his too-poppish career on Mercury left him relegated to the oldies circuit. |