Pinkney was last original member of The Drifters

Bill Pinkney, the last survivor of the original members of the musical group The Drifters, died Wednesday. He was 81.

Pinkney was found dead at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, Daytona Beach, Fla., police spokesman Jimmie Flynt said. The death was not considered suspicious, he said.

Pinkney was scheduled to perform for Fourth of July festivities there.

The Drifters, whose hits include “Under the Boardwalk,” “Up on the Roof” and “Save the Last Dance For Me,” still performed Wednesday night. An announcement about Pinkney’s death was made after the show, said the group’s publicist, Donnie Lowery.

Jazz singer Melly, 80

George Melly, a flamboyant, gravel-voiced jazz singer, critic and raconteur, died Thursday, his wife said. He was 80 years old.

Though suffering from lung cancer and dementia, Melly continued performing nearly until the end. He gave his last concert on June 10. He died at home in London, Diana Melly said.

Melly was noted for loud suits, louder ties and the image he cultivated of a hard-drinking throwback to the jazz age.

After his naval service in World War II, Melly relished the life of a peripatetic musician. “Hard drinking and squalid digs, but absolutely no regrets,” he recalled.

From Herald news services