How 3 men from York, PA helped Charlie Thomas keep the Drifters alive
![](https://www.ydr.com/gcdn/presto/2023/02/09/PPYR/4b093131-8f6d-4e32-9549-2ab0a960ba43-fb0ad826-a65c-4acf-907d-44ec559614f6_thumbnail.png?width=1280&height=720&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/03/21/arts/20clapton-letters-top/20clapton-letters-top-thumbLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)
Charlie Thomas, a Drifter in Song Nearly All His Life, Dies at 85
![](https://www.legacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Charlie-Thomas-1000x667-1.jpg)
Charlie Thomas obituary: Drifters singer dies at 85 –
![](https://i2-prod.irishmirror.ie/incoming/article29151288.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_The-Drifters-With-Ben-E-King.jpg)
The Drifters singer and rock and roll hall of famer Charlie Thomas
![](https://www.ydr.com/gcdn/presto/2023/02/09/PPYR/9dde84f3-52f5-47bc-a35b-cf2b9d943f4f-020623-pmk-drifters-5.jpg)
How 3 men from York, PA helped Charlie Thomas keep the Drifters alive
![](https://people.com/thmb/QRYQZlP86VpBWrevhDrATezP_HI=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/charlie-thomas-the-drifters-2018-long-island-music-hall-of-fame-induction-ceremony-020723-1-1a0e2c346ec6416ba79dfcfe51f12755.jpg)
Charlie Thomas of the Drifters Dies at 85, drifters
![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/02/07/multimedia/03thomas3-fwvc-print2/03thomas3-fwvc-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)
Charlie Thomas, a Drifter in Song Nearly All His Life, Dies at 85
![](https://www.etonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/720x720/public/images/2023-01/GettyImages-476557042%20%281%29.jpg?h=c673cd1c)
The Drifters' Charlie Thomas dead at 85
![](https://images.podpage.com/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fredwood-labs%2Fshowpage%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2F77cbb4015591432493893c6667c5fadf.jpg?auto=format&fill=blur&fit=fill&h=628&w=1200&s=28b6d2b78cc065c0cd255c7e7c44cc40)
The Drifters A History
![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/09/16/business/1619-podcast-episode3-sub2/1619-podcast-episode3-sub2-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600-v2.jpg?year=2019&h=901&w=1600&s=d99c10b9565752a13b708c03bad915c770f9d96d2645d335774146b6bcc2ae2d&k=ZQJBKqZ0VN&tw=1)
Episode 3: The Birth of American Music - The New York Times
Richard Manning's Instagram, Twitter & Facebook on IDCrawl
![](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/1*41XB_-i-GlVpdwjf4oPnYA.jpeg)
Charlie Thomas of the Drifters Dies at 85, drifters
![](https://jacksonfreepress.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2015/04/29/Willie_Jerome_Manning_mugshot_web_t320.jpg?fa67021387348b8667950d2a49bd5d6642c5ab68)
Jerome Manning's Instagram, Twitter & Facebook on IDCrawl
Charlie Bailey's Instagram, Twitter & Facebook on IDCrawl
![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/02/07/multimedia/02thomas2-tcvm-print1/02thomas2-tcvm-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg)
Charlie Thomas, a Drifter in Song Nearly All His Life, Dies at 85