Rudy Lewis (born Charles Rudolph Harrell; August 23, 1936 – May 20, 1964) was an American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singer known for his work with

the Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/ soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed i ...

. In 1988, he was posthumously inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

Career

Lewis began his singing career in

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is co ...

. He was one of only two males to have sung with the Clara Ward Singers and sang with the gospel group right up to the day before he auditioned for George Treadwell at Philadelphia's Uptown Theater where he was hired on the spot. Lewis joined

as lead vocalist, replacing departed group member

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

, and ended up performing most of King's repertoire live in concert. Lewis was the lead vocalist for a string of hits: " Please Stay", " Some Kind of Wonderful", " Up On The Roof" and " On Broadway". He also featured on other tracks such as: "Another Night With The Boys", "Beautiful Music", "Jackpot", "Let The Music Play", "Loneliness Or Happiness", "Mexican Divorce", "Only In America", "Rat Race", "She Never Talked To Me That Way", "Somebody New Dancing With You", "Stranger On The Shore", "Vaya Con Dios" and "What To Do". In April 1963, Lewis recorded his solo single "Baby I Dig Love" along with the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"I've Loved You So Long". The record was released the following month, but never reached the charts. He was a member of the Drifters from late 1960 until his untimely death in 1964. In 1988, Lewis was inducted into the

as a member of the Drifters.

Personal life

Lewis was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at the age of 24 after joining the Drifters. According to Billy Vera, Lewis was a closeted homosexual, addicted to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...

and suffered from

binge eating disorder Binge eating disorder (BED) is an eating disorder characterized by frequent and recurrent binge eating episodes with associated negative psychological and social problems, but without the compensatory behaviors common to bulimia nervosa, OSFED, ...

. It was kept secret from the general public until the release of the liner notes of the CD box set ''Rockin & Driftin: The Drifters Box'' (1996).

Death

On May 21, 1964, when the group was due to record " Under the Boardwalk" which had been written for Lewis, he was found dead in his

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

hotel room from the previous night. Former lead vocalist Johnny Moore was brought back to perform lead vocals for the recording. The next day, the Drifters recorded "I Don't Want to Go On Without You" which was led by Charlie Thomas in tribute to Lewis. An autopsy was never performed and authorities ruled his death as a probable

drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

. However, close friends and family believe he died from a mixture of a

drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

asphyxiation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can ...

and a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. Dying at the age of 27 made Lewis an early member of the

27 Club The 27 Club is an informal list consisting mostly of popular musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27. Although the claim of a "statistical spike" for the death of musicians at that age has been refuted by scientific ...

Discography

Solo singles

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Rudy 1936 births 1964 deaths American soul singers Deaths by heroin overdose in New York (state) Drug-related deaths in New York City American gay musicians LGBT African Americans LGBT people from Pennsylvania American LGBT singers Musicians from Philadelphia The Drifters members Singers from New York City 20th-century African-American male singers Singers from Pennsylvania