Event Dime

Have Mercy Baby: The Life of Clyde McPhatter

When:

June 6, 2026 · 2:00 PM

Where:

SLW Meeting Room, Durham, NC

Source:

WNCT Community Calendar

A native of Durham NC, Clyde McPhatter first began singing in the Baptist church pastored by his father. After the family moved to New Jersey, McPhatter won an amateur night at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater and caught the attention of doo-wop singer Billy Ward, who invited McPhatter to join his 1950s powerhouse R&B group the Dominoes. His vocals on "Sixty Minute Man" and "Have Mercy Baby" helped transform doo-wop into a national sensation. At Atlantic Records, he not only led the Drifters to cha