Monday, June 15, 2009

The Platters :

The Platters were a successful vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition, and the burgeoning new genre. The original group members were Alex Hodge, Cornell Gunther, David Lynch, Joe Jefferson, Gaynel Hodge and Herb Reed.

After signing with Buck Ram, the act went through several personnel changes before hitting the charts, with the most successful incarnation comprising lead tenor Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes



Twilight Time 1958



The Platters formed in Los Angeles in 1953 and were initially managed by Ralph Bass. The group had a contract with Federal Records but had found little success before meeting music entrepreneur and songwriter Buck Ram. The band recorded a series of singles backing Linda Hayes before Ram made some changes to the lineup, most notably the addition of lead vocalist Tony Williams (Linda Hayes' brother) and female vocalist Zola Taylor. Under Ram's guidance, the Platters recorded seven singles for Federal in the R&B/gospel style, scoring a few minor regional hits on the West Coast. One song recorded during their Federal tenure, Only You (And You Alone), originally written by Ram for the Ink Spots was deemed unreleasable by the label.

The Platters - Great Pretender, Only You (live) 1955



PJ actually sang with the Platters in 1985. It's a great story;
http://thebacksofmyeyelids.blogspot.com/2009/06/memory-for-monday_15.html

3 comments:

  1. Of course you can link to me. You can link to me any time you want to link to me. Love your Platters stuff! Great minds......

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  2. "Only You"....where is it? It's my fave!

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  3. it's in the last video after the great pretender

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