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“P” is for Pinkney, Bill (1925-2007)

“P” is for Pinkney, Bill (1925-2007). Musician. A native of Dalzell, Pinkney began singing gospel songs as a child working in South Carolina’s cotton fields. As a pitcher with the New York Blue Sox of the Negro Baseball League, in 1949 he met a fellow gospel singer, Clyde McPhatter. That relationship evolved into a new musical group, the Drifters. In 1953 the Drifters signed a contract with Atlantic Records and became the “all time greatest Atlantic recording group.” Moving beyond their gospel origins, the Drifters became internationally famous, creating a unique sweet soul sound that expanded the Rhythms and Blues (R&B) genre. In 1988 members of the Drifters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Well into the twenty-first century, Bill Pinkney continued to perform with the Original Drifters, a permutation of the legendary group.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.