Columnist Jerry Fink: Acts have us drifting through confusion

Friday, April 18, 2003 | 8:44 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at jerry@lasvegassun.com at (702) 259-4058.

"Bobby Ruffin's Tribute to the Drifters" is wringing fond memories out of fans at Fitzgerald's second-floor showroom Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The Drifters were a doo-wop group formed in 1953 by Clyde McPhatter (lead singer), brothers Gerhart and Andrew Thrasher and Bill Pinkney. Within a year McPhatter and the Drifters had recorded "Money Honey," "Such A Night," and "Honey Love."

McPhatter was drafted into the Army in 1954 and Johnny Moore became the group's new lead singer. The first hit with Moore was "Ruby Baby."

Pinkney is the last of that original group, and continues to perform with his own singers -- "Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters," which is on a 50th anniversary tour and recently completed a three-week gig at Riviera.

Ruffin and Pinkney's Drifters are not to be confused with Beary Hobb's Drifters, who are part of a show at the Sahara that includes the Platters and Cornell Gunter's Coasters.

Confused?

What about Ben E. King and The Drifters and Cliff Richards and The Drifters, a white group that performs in England?

There are dozens of Drifters drifting around the world.

"It's very complicated," said Ruffin, who became a Drifter in 1971. "In a way it matters who the groups are, in a way it doesn't. In my case, I feel as though it is important for people to understand who they are paying to see perform.

"There are so many groups today, I feel like all of a sudden it's a McDonald's franchise. I'm not saying the groups don't have good singers, but people are not paying to hear renditions of songs by the Drifters, they come to hear the way the songs were originally recorded."

George Treadwell created the Drifters, and his widow owns the rights to the name.

Treadwell disbanded the original group in 1958 and brought in King as the lead singer, Rudy Lewis and Johnny Moore. A year later, the Drifters had their first No. 1 recording -- "There Goes My Baby."

Some of their most memorable songs were made by the second-generation Drifters, including such hits as "Dance With Me" ('59), "True Love" ('60), "Save the Last Dance for Me" ('60), "Sweets for My Sweet" ('61), "Up on the Roof" ('62), "On Broadway" ('63) and "Under the Boardwalk" ('64).

Among other members of the Drifters during the group's most productive period were Charlie Thomas, Don Green and Hobbs.

Ruffin's Drifters include himself, Russell Henry, Lamont Greenfield and Russell Watts.

The nostalgia group has been such a hit that on May 1 it expands to five nights a week, with shows at 7:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.

Tickets are $12.95, which may be one of the best bargains in town.

The 175-seat Events Center also offers free entertainment, including Craig Newell's tribute show to Elvis, impressionist Larry G. Jones and magician Arian Black.

Michael Lee, "The Singer of Memories," performs on the casino's first-floor stage from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursdays through Mondays.

"I take pride in reproducing the sound of the Drifters," Ruffin said.

The show opens with some of the biggest hits.

"Then we go down memory lane," Ruffin said. "We stop the music and get the people involved. We ask them what they were doing when they heard the records. What kind of cars were they driving? We jar their memories, take them back. Then they sing along with us. We have a good time singing together."

Ruffin, who spent about 15 years touring with his group in Europe in the late '70s and the '80s, says part of his show includes talking to the fans about the legacy of the Drifters.

"There's no such thing as going onstage and saying, 'We are the Drifters,' " he said. "The name has been so exploited by people who had nothing to do with the Drifters.

"What I do is tell them my part of the legacy. I tell them where I came into the history and what makes my little part so special. That's what I do with my show."

Lounging around

Another lounge act moves up a notch in the entertainment world: "Our Way," a Rat Pack tribute group, spent two years at the Tropicana's Celebration Lounge before taking a temporary gig at the Westward Ho in January as part of the venue's entertainment during the evening buffet. Apparently the act was a hit with diners. Beginning Saturday the group will perform five nights a week (dark Mondays and Thursdays). Showtimes are 8 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays and 9:15 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays. The price of admission is $19.95, which includes the buffet, show and a drink.

Wholesale clothier Fred Nassiri of Las Vegas continues to dabble in the entertainment field. Nassiri is producing his original song, "Love Sees No Color," for UNICEF. Proceeds will go to children who are victims of war and poverty, and also to the United Nations. Nassiri sang the song on a video shot at Red Rock Canyon last week. The video also will be used as part of a documentary about Nassiri and his music.

Two of Caesars Palace's lounges are featuring outstanding entertainers: vocalist Andrew James is at the Galleria Bar, and Ghalib Ghallab is in the Terrazza Lounge. James performs from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Ghallab performs from 5 p.m. to midnight Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Karaoke has been added to the entertainment lineup at the Bootlegger Bistro's lounge. Kelly Clinton hosts the singalong from 10 p.m. to midnight. Grammy award-winner Skip Martin performs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. and pianist Tommy Deering Wednesdays at 8 p.m., the Noel Freidline Quintet and Acoustical Jazz Band is on from 9 p.m. to midnight. Deering hosts Thursday night open-mike sessions beginning at 8 p.m. Friday nights are reserved for Blackie Hunt and Sonny King emceeing "Off the Cuff."

Saxophonist Tommy Alvarado hosts Sunday night jam sessions from 9 p.m. to midnight.