Fayrene 'Faye' Treadwell, Former Drifters Manager, Dead at 84

Fayrene "Faye" Treadwell, one of the first female African-American band managers, died May 22 at her Burbank, Calif. home, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 84-year-old former manager of R&B group the Drifters died of complications of breast cancer.

Treadwell began managing the Drifters after the band's manager, her husband George Treadwell, died in 1967. She then took up the reins for the 'This Magic Moment' singers, even winning them a long-running lawsuit that stopped promoters from infringing upon the group's trademark name.

Listen to the Drifter's 'This Magic Moment'
Her daughter Tina has said that her mother "kept the integrity of the sound and the style that my father put into form. She was very meticulous and specific about what the Drifters' sound and look was like. That was always a priority for her."

Treadwell is survived by Tina, her sisters Imogene Azora and Saundra Arterberry, her stepdaughter Merle Treadwell, her godson Adrian Parasram and her 107-year-old mother Sara Mae Johnson.