Death
McPhatter returned to America in 1970, making a few appearances in rock 'n roll revival tours, but remaining mostly a recluse. Hopes for a major comeback with a Decca album were crushed on June 13, 1972, when Clyde McPhatter died in his sleep at the age of 39 from complications of heart, liver, and kidney disease, brought on by alcohol abuse - abuse that had been fueled by a failed career and the resentment he harbored towards the fans he felt deserted him. In a 1971 interview with journalist Marcia Vance, McPhatter told Vance "I have no fans." Clyde McPhatter died at 1165 East 229th Street, Bronx, N.Y. He was living with Bertha M. Reid. They traveled together as he was trying to make a comeback.
McPhatter was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey at the time of his death. He was buried at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, New Jersey.
Ruth Brown acknowledged in her later years that McPhatter was the actual father of her son Ronald, born in 1954. Ron now tours occasionally with a show of Drifters songs.
Read more about this topic: Clyde McPhatter
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“She sought her happiness exclusively in the happiness of others. Death gave her her own.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“For in the word death
There is nothing to grasp; nothing to catch or claim;
Nothing to adapt the skill of the heart to, skill
In surviving, for death it cannot survive,
Only resign the irrecoverable keys.
The wave falters and drowns. The coulter of joy
Breaks. The harrow of death
Depends. And there are thrown up waves.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)