Everyone knows "Up on the Roof." Everyone knows "On Broadway." Far fewer people know the man who sang them. Rudy Lewis — born Charles Rudolph Harrell on August 23, 1936, in Philadelphia — fronted The Drifters through their early-60s golden era, and his death at 27 is one of the most quietly heartbreaking stories in soul music.
From gospel to the Brill Building
Like so many great soul voices, Lewis came up through gospel, performing with the legendary Clara Ward Singers before crossing over to secular music. In 1960, he won the unenviable job of replacing Ben E. King as lead singer of The Drifters — the group King had just carried to immortality with "Save the Last Dance for Me."
Lewis didn't imitate King; he brought his own warmth and church-honed control, and the hits kept coming. Working with the cream of Brill Building songwriters — Goffin and King, Leiber and Stoller, Mann and Weil — he sang lead on "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Please Stay," "Sweets for My Sweet," and the twin monuments of his run: "Up on the Roof" (1962) and "On Broadway" (1963). His voice carried an ache of longing that made those songs of urban escape and ambition feel deeply personal — a working person dreaming above the noise of the city.
The night before "Under the Boardwalk"
On May 21, 1964, The Drifters were scheduled to record a breezy new summer song called "Under the Boardwalk." Lewis was found dead in his Harlem hotel room the night before. He was 27; the exact cause of his death was never conclusively established.
The session went ahead the next morning — the label refused to cancel — with fellow Drifter Johnny Moore singing lead. Listen closely to "Under the Boardwalk" and you can hear the melancholy underneath its summer shimmer; the group recorded it in mourning, and many believe the song's bittersweet ache is no accident.
Legacy
Rudy Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as a member of The Drifters. His leads remain fixtures of American music — "On Broadway" alone has been covered and sampled for six decades, most famously by George Benson. Though his name faded behind the ever-changing Drifters brand, singers and soul historians consider him one of the finest vocalists of his era: the bridge between gospel's fire and the sophisticated uptown soul that paved the way for Motown. He was among the earliest R&B members of what would later be called the 27 Club, decades before the term existed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who sang "Up on the Roof" and "On Broadway"? Rudy Lewis sang lead on both classics as frontman of The Drifters from 1960 to 1964, between the Ben E. King and Johnny Moore eras of the group.
What was Rudy Lewis's real name? He was born Charles Rudolph Harrell in Philadelphia on August 23, 1936, and performed under the stage name Rudy Lewis.
How did Rudy Lewis die? Lewis was found dead in a Harlem hotel room on May 21, 1964, at age 27, the night before The Drifters were scheduled to record "Under the Boardwalk." The cause of his death was never conclusively determined.
Is Rudy Lewis in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Yes — he was inducted in 1988 as a member of The Drifters.