Charlie Thomas was so choked up he could barely sing.
But with a little coaxing from the star-struck senators in Annapolis, the 70-year-old lead tenor for the Drifters launched into one of the legendary doo-wop group's signature songs, "Up on the Roof":
"When this old world starts getting me down,
and people are just too much for me to face ... "
Then he broke off, apologizing for his tears.
It wasn't the lawmakers whom Thomas couldn't stand to face. It was the young impostors, he explained, who have stolen his livelihood and his place on the stage, doing the music that made him a household name for decades.
Thomas, one of only two early members of the group who is still alive, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee yesterday to appeal for the state's help in stamping out counterfeit musical acts performing under the famous names of groups like his.
"It hurts to see young people come along and step in my shoes," he told members of the committee. "I love traveling, and this has been my whole life."
He still tours with his own group, Charlie Thomas' Drifters. Though not one of the original Drifters, he became lead tenor in the second-generation group formed after the manager fired the first bunch in 1958. He and Ben E. King, the only other survivor - famous as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me" - were with a group called the Five Crowns that took up the name and carried on.
A Web site for Charlie Thomas' group says he is "the only real Drifter" still singing such 1950s and '60s hits as "There Goes My Baby" "Save the Last Dance for Me," "Some Kind of Wonderful," "On Broadway," and "Under the Boardwalk."
But promoters seeking to capitalize on the popularity of those and other classic songs have launched traveling acts all over the country to perform under the original groups' names, without permission, royalties or acknowledging that they aren't the real McCoys.
So Thomas asked lawmakers to approve the "Truth in Music Advertising Act," making it illegal to promote or perform live music in the state while falsely or misleadingly claiming a connection to other performing groups.
Thomas, who lives in Washington, came to Annapolis with another familiar performer, Jon "Bowzer" Bauman, formerly with Sha Na Na, to urge Maryland to join 18 other states in stopping what Bauman called "a sophisticated form of identity theft."
They were introduced to the committee by Sen. Mike Lenett, the bill's chief sponsor, who relished his role as emcee of one of the more unusual hearings of this year's legislative session.
Lenett, a Montgomery County Democrat, explained, "This fraud has especially involved the legendary doo-wop groups of the 1950s and '60s who recorded many popular and familiar songs before the era of major lucrative contracts and endorsement deals, and before the media surge that made top performers' faces familiar to the public at large."
Bauman, representing the Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation, said some original performers have spent thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal bills in attempts to stop the copycats.
The measure would authorize the attorney general to seek an injunction against impostor groups, seek restitution and impose penalties of up to $15,000 per violation. The legislation would not prevent tribute bands or groups performing with one or more original members, or with the permission or legal rights to use the original group's name.
Recalling a refrain from Sha Na Na's theme song, Bauman told the senators, "The people who put out these impostor groups and the impostor groups themselves simply need to:
"yip-yip-yip-yip-yip-yip-yip-yip
mum-mum-mum-mum-mum
get a job."
It was Thomas, though, who brought down the house with his emotional plea.
"The money I get when I go to court is gone. This is my life. I'm an entertainer, and I'm a Drifter, so the only thing I can ask you to do is help," he said.
"I'm sorry for my tears, but it hurts inside," he explained.
Then, with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller on hand as a spectator, the committee - used to wrestling for hours over arcane financial legislation - was moved to take action on the spot.
Sen. George W. Della Jr., a Baltimore City Democrat, moved to send the bill to the Senate floor. Sen. Catherine E. Pugh, another city Democrat, seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
tim.wheeler@baltsun.com