Funky16Corners

The Drifters – At the Club

By Larry, June 26, 2012 1:11 pm

The Drifters

~~Listen/Download The Drifters – At the Club~~

Greetings all.

The middle of the week is here, and so are some groovy sounds.

One of my favorite things – at least as far as soul 45s go – is finding groups associated with a slightly earlier era placing records on the R&B charts well into the soul era.

Here at Funky16Corners, whether in mixes of individually, we’ve seen cuts by groups like the Rivingtons, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Platters and others.

The cut I bring you today, ‘At the Club’ by the Drifters is another great example of the trend.

Written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, arranged by Teacho Wiltshire and produced by Bert Berns (misspelled here as ‘Burns’), ‘At the Club’, which made it into the R&B Top 10 in February of 1965 was the last Drifters record to make it that high in the charts (they would only chart two more times in the 60s).

With a lead vocal by Johnny Moore (who would, over the course of two stints in the group become their longest serving member) , ‘At the Club’ has an underpinning of Latin percussion, tastefully employed horns and strings (and an unusually loud cowbell).

There’s enough rhythmic momentum to keep the dancers moving, while retaining the stylish, urban gloss of their earlier hits.

‘At the Club’ was also popular on the dance floors of the UK, with the Drifters appearing at the Twisted Wheel several times in the mid-to-late 60s.

I hope you dig the cut, and a I’ll see you all on Friday.

Keep the faith

Larry

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