Bev Harrell - Come On Over To Our Place (1967)

The Drifters - Come On Over To My Place (1965)

(Barry Mann - Cynthia Weil)
 USA
Original version
#40 UK

B-side on Atlantic. Reissued in UK in 1972 and charted again, peaking at #9.

Note the title change in Bev Harrell’s version, from my to our.

Vocal group The Drifters appear to have a history going back to 1953 with lead singer Clyde McPhatter, when they recorded some r&b classics that included Money Honey (1953), Such A Night (1954), and (with McPhatter’s main successor Johnny Moore) Ruby Baby (1956).

In fact, after McPhatter’s departure, and numerous personnel changes and disputes with management, a struggling group called The Crowns were recruited to move in as The Drifters in 1959. This marked a movement towards a more pop-oriented sound, when the new Drifters recorded There Goes My Baby (1959, #2 USA), with an an innovative sound produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song was co-written by Ben E. King, one of the new recruits, who would later follow a successful solo career.

Fourteen other Top 40 records followed for The Drifters 1959-64, along with further comings and goings in the line-up. Following There Goes My Baby, their biggest hits in the US were Save The Last Dance For Me (1960, #1), Up On The Roof (1962, #5), On Broadway (1963, #9,) and Under The Boardwalk (1964, #4).

Many of their best known songs were by major pop songwriters of the day, including Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman, Gerry Goffin & Carole King, and Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil.

---

Some Drifters originals are also known through versions by other artists:
• Such A Night (1954): a UK #1 by Johnnie Ray (1954), and a track on Elvis Presley’s Elvis is Back (1960) that was also released as a single (1964, #16 USA, #14 UK);
• Ruby Baby (1956): released on a hit single by Dion (1963, #2 USA);
• Under The Boardwalk (1964): The Rolling Stones’ version was on their album 12X5 (1964), and on a single in some countries including Australia (1965, #1).

---

The lead singer on Come On Over To My Place is Johnny Moore, who had sung lead with The Drifters on pre-There Goes My Baby records 1955-56 and rejoined in 1963. He is heard singing lead, for example, on Under The Boardwalk and on Saturday Night At The Movies (1964, #18 USA but a Top 10 hit in Australia).

Sources, further reading: The history of The Drifters is complicated, with two distinct phases and many members. 1. The definitive account is Bill Millar’s 1971 book The Drifters: the rise and fall of the black vocal group. It’s out of print but you can read a facsimile copy at the Internet Archive (free registration required). 2. Bill Eder’s Drifters biography at All Music covers all the essentials as succinctly as possible. 3. Wikipedia’s Drifters Discography is a handy reference in table form. 4. Phil Hardy & Dave Laing, The Encyclopedia of Rock, Volume 1: The Age of Rock’n’Roll (1976), entry on The Drifters. This is also of print: see facsimile copy of enlarged edition (1987) at Internet Archive (free registration required).