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 within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

singer known for his work with

the Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. 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 in 1959 and ...

. In 1988, he was posthumously inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also 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 the ...

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 vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

. 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

The Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. 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 in 1959 and ...

at Philadelphia's Uptown Theater. Drifters manager George Treadwell hired Lewis on the spot to be the group's lead vocalist, a position formerly held by Ben E. King. Lewis ended up performing most of King's repertoire live in concert. Lewis sang lead on a string of hits, including " Please Stay", " Some Kind of Wonderful", " Up On The Roof" and " On Broadway". He was also featured on other notable tracks including "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 record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

"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 ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at the age of 24 after joining the Drifters. According to

Billy Vera Billy Vera (born William Patrick McCord; May 28, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, and music historian. He has been a singer and songwriter since the 1960s, his most successful record being " At This Moment", a US number 1 ...

, Lewis was a closeted homosexual, addicted to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

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, OSFE ...

. Lewis's health problems were not publicly disclosed 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 ...

hotel room, where he had died 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. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.

. 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. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.

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 all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are ...

, and a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. 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, often expanded by 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 r ...

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 African-American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania American LGBTQ singers Singers from Philadelphia The Drifters members Singers from New York City 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers