Renaissance Marketplace – The legendary original Drifter Charlie Thomas, stopped for dinner at the Waterfront Crabhouse as guest of owner Roy Leitch, on his last night on the island.
Charlie was accompanied by singers Jerone Manning, Steven Brown & Louis Bailey, also his musicians and managers with Dee Dee Martin, & Tony Marshal among them.
The famous 50s/60s group, Hall of Fame honorees since 1988, performing under the name Charlie Thomas’ Drifters was booked for a few nights at the Crystal Theater as part of Showtime Aruba’s stellar lineup.
After sumptuous and much-enjoyed dinner, Charlie who is the only voice on all the Drifters recordings since 1958 surprised all locals and visitors strolling around the marketplace with a live, impromptu concert featuring all his hits, including the Drifters’ Under the Boardwalk, Up On the Roof & This Magic Moment, right on the plaza under the stars.
Early in the evening Leitch, a great fan of the music and the musician asked his dining room staff to stage a mock audition for Charlie, asking him to be the judge of their new hit song, one just written by the owner with a chance of perhaps becoming an international hit. Their rendition of “Under the Boardwalk,” Charlie swears, was among the best he’s ever heard.
Also accompanying the group to the Waterfront Crabhouse and enjoying the company and the cuisine, Pat Benti, whose friendship with the Drifters and Charlie Thomas made the Aruban performances possible.
