Clarence Tex Walker
Clarence "Tex" Walker was an American rhythm and blues musician, who was the lead singer with Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters and The Coasters. After touring Europe with Big Joe Turner, Walker appeared at the Bishopstock Blues Festival, before forming his own group in London, The Walker Street Blues Band, and recording Blues in Black, which was released to critical acclaim in Britain. Walker made the UK his home and performed numerous gigs and concerts there. In his later years he lived in Oxford, England. Walker died of a heart attack on August 8, 2007. He had the attack in the King's Arms Hotel at Woodstock, Oxfordshire, and died four days later.
A rock and roll original
Walker's family were talented and musically gifted. As a child he became a leading voice in the gospel choir of his hometown congregation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In his teens, he joined his brother's group and appeared with Wilson Pickett.Vietnam to the Original Drifters
During the 1960s, Walker served in Vietnam. When he returned to the United States, he was invited to join Bill Pinkney's group, the Original Drifters as the lead vocalist.Walker fronted the group on several appearances on Jerry Lewis' Telethon. In Las Vegas, Walker appeared with the Drifters who worked in the same venues with Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and many major rock, blues and jazz artists including: The Rolling Stones; The Beatles; B.B. King; Aretha Franklin; Louis Armstrong; Count Basie; Herbie Hancock; Miles Davis; Ray Charles and Nat King Cole.