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Platters
The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act has gone through multiple line-ups over the years, earning it the branding tag "Many Voices One Name", with the most successful incarnation comprising lead tenor Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, founder and naming member Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor. The group had 40 charting singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 between 1955 and 1967, including four number-one hits. In 1990, the Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Platters continue to perform around the world with Herb Reed Enterprises (an LLC set up by Reed in response to numerous fake Platters groups) owning the rights and trademark to the name. Band formation and early years The Platters formed in Los Angeles in 1952 and were initially managed by Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Only You (And You Alone)
"Only You (And You Alone)" (often shortened to "Only You") is a pop song composed by Buck Ram. It was originally recorded by The Platters with lead vocals by Tony Williams in 1955. The Platters versions The Platters first recorded the song for Federal Records on May 20, 1954, but the recording was not released. In 1955, after moving to Mercury Records, the band re-recorded the song (on April 26) and it scored a major hit when it was released in May. In November that year, Federal Records released the original recording as a single (B-side - "You Made Me Cry") which sold poorly. Platters bass singer Herb Reed later recalled how the group hit upon its successful version: "We tried it so many times, and it was terrible. One time we were rehearsing in the car... and the car jerked. Tony went 'O-oHHHH-nly you.' We laughed at first, but when he sang that song—that was the sign we had hit on something." According to Buck Ram, Tony Williams' voice "broke" in rehearsal, but they decide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Williams (singer)
Tony Williams (born Samuel Edward Williams; April 5, 1928 – August 14, 1992), was an American singer who was the lead vocalist of the Platters from 1953 to 1960. Life and career Williams was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the son of Bertha and Edward Williams. He served in the United States Army Air Forces around the end of World War II, rising to the rank of sergeant, and after leaving military service moved to Los Angeles, where he joined his older sister Bertha, who was developing a successful singing career under the name Linda Hayes. He worked in menial jobs such as parking lot attendant, while competing in evening talent shows. Laurence Staig, "Obituary: Tony Williams", ''The Independent'', 18 August 1992 Retrieved 15 September 202 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Pretender
"The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by The Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single in November 1955. The words and music were written by Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management. The song reached No. 1 on ''Billboard''s Top 100, and No. 5 on the UK charts. The song has been covered by a number of singers, most notably by Freddie Mercury, whose version reached No. 4 on the UK charts. Sam Cooke's cover of the song is believed to have inspired Chrissie Hynde to name her band The Pretenders. Platters' original Buck Ram, the manager of The Platters said that he wrote the song in about 20 minutes in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in order to have a follow up to the success of "Only You (And You Alone)". Ram had boasted to Bob Shad that he had an even better song than "Only You", and when pressed by Shad on the name of the song, and Ram quickly replied "The Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herb Reed
Herbert Reed (August 7, 1928 – June 4, 2012) was an American musician, vocalist, and founding/naming member of The Platters, known for timeless hits such as Only You (and You Alone) and The Great Pretender. Reed was the last surviving original member of the group, which he co-founded with Joe Jefferson, Alex Hodge, and Cornell Gunter (who later founded The Coasters). Reed is credited with creating The Platters' name. Reed thought of the group's name after noticing that DJs in the 1950s called their records "platters". Reed was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 as a member of the Platters. Reed was raised in poverty in Kansas City, Missouri and moved to Los Angeles when he was fifteen years old. He moved to the Boston area during the 1970s after the success of The Platters. He was the only member of The Platters who sang on all of the approximately 400 songs recorded by the group. His background vocals can be heard on The Platters' biggest hits, including "Smoke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonny Turner
Sonny Turner (September 24, 1939 – January 13, 2022) was an American singer. Turner hailed from Fairmont, West Virginia, and was best known for replacing Tony Williams as lead singer of The Platters. Life and career Prior to his work with The Platters, Turner was the lead singer of a local vocal group called The Metrotones. While performing in a local club in Cleveland as the opening act for Redd Foxx, Turner was approached by local DJ Bill Crane and asked if he would be interested in auditioning for The Platters, as their lead singer as Tony Williams was soon to be leaving the group. Turner was chosen out of 100 hopeful auditioners to replace Williams in late 1959. Turner, whose friend and mentor was Jackie Wilson, breathed new life into The Platters with three hit singles; "I Love You 1000 Times" in 1966, "With This Ring" in 1967 and "Washed Ashore" in 1968. He also re-recorded many of The Platters hits of the 1950s, and it is Turner's vocals that are heard on the soundt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zola Taylor
Zoletta Lynn Taylor (March 17, 1938 – April 30, 2007) was an American singer. She was the original female member of The Platters from 1954 to 1962, when the group produced most of their popular singles. Litigation Zola Taylor was a member of The Platters until 1962, when she was replaced by singer Barbara Randolph. Taylor was the second of Frankie Lymon's three wives. In 1984, on behalf of Emira Lymon, a lawyer and artists' agent sued to wrest the copyright of Frankie's hit song "Why Do Fools Fall in Love (song), Why Do Fools Fall in Love" away from the current owner. The case became confused when it looked like Lymon had a second and possibly a third widow. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. However, it turned out she had been married to someone else at the time. As Waters' claim went to court, Taylor claimed that she had been sexually active with Lymon as early as the "Biggest Rock "n" Roll Show of 1956" tour. She claimed to have married Ly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buck Ram
Samuel "Buck" Ram (November 21, 1907 – January 1, 1991) was an American songwriter, and popular music producer and arranger. He was one of BMI's top five songwriters/air play in its first 50 years, alongside Paul Simon, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Webb, and Paul McCartney. He is best known for his long association with The Platters and also wrote, produced and arranged for the Penguins, the Coasters, the Drifters, Ike and Tina Turner, Ike Cole, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others. He was also known as Ande Rand, Lynn Paul or Jean Miles. Biography He was born Samuel Ram in Chicago, Illinois in 1907, to Jewish parents. Ram was a talent manager with his own firm, Personality Productions and an A&R man when Tony Williams, the brother of singer Linda Hayes, auditioned for him. Ram was looking for a group to sing the songs he wrote and found the voice he was looking for in Williams. He transformed the Platters and changed their rhythm and blues style, buil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enchanted (The Platters Song)
"Enchanted" is a song written by Buck Ram and performed by The Platters. It reached No. 9 on the U.S. R&B chart and No. 12 on the U.S. pop chart in 1959. The song was produced by Jerry Wald Productions. The song ranked No. 64 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 100 singles of 1959. In other media *"Enchanted" has been well known for appearing in the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise where it first played when Jesse Pinkman shoots heroin with Jane Margolis for the first time in "Mandala". A cover version performed by American sister duo Chloe x Halle Chloe x Halle are an Contemporary R&B, R&B duo composed of sisters Chloe Bailey, Chloe and Halle Bailey. At a young age, the sisters performed in minor acting roles before moving from Mableton, Georgia, to Los Angeles in 2012. The two began post ... was featured in the recap montage of Jesse's arc leading up to '' El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie''. References 1959 songs 1959 singles Songs written by Buck Ram The Platters son ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Prayer
"My Prayer" is a 1939 popular song with music by salon violinist Georges Boulanger and lyrics by Carlos Gomez Barrera and Jimmy Kennedy. It was originally written by Boulanger with the title ''Avant de mourir'' (Before dying) 1926. The lyrics for this version were added by Kennedy in 1939. Glenn Miller recorded the song that year for a number two hit and The Ink Spots' version featuring Bill Kenny reached number three, as well, that year. It has been recorded many times since, but the biggest hit version was a doo-wop rendition in 1956 by The Platters, whose single release reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Top 100 in the summer, and ranked four for the year. This version also went to #1 on both the R&B Airplay and R&B Juke Box chart. The Platters recording features in the 2008 film '' The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'', in the 1985 film ''Mischief'', in the 1999 film ''October Sky'', and in two episodes of the 2017 series of ''Twin Peaks.'' The Ink Spots' version of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
(You've Got) The Magic Touch
"(You've Got) The Magic Touch" is a song written by Buck Ram, and performed by The Platters. It reached #4 on both the U.S. pop chart and the U.S. R&B chart in 1956. The song was ranked #36 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 50 singles of 1956. Other versions *The song was sampled in the 1956 novelty song "The Flying Saucer" by Bill Buchanan and Dickie Goodman Richard Dorian Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989), known as Dickie Goodman, was an American music and record producer born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the "break-in", an early precur .... *Buck Ram and His Orchestra released a version on their 1959 EP ''The Magic Touch''. * Billy Walker released a version as a single in 1977, but it did not chart. References 1956 songs 1956 singles 1977 singles The Platters songs Billy Walker (musician) songs Mercury Records singles Songs written by Buck Ram Song recordings produced by Ray Pennington ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Randolph
Barbara Randolph (May 5, 1942July 15, 2002), also known as Barbara Ann Sanders, was an American soul singer and actress who recorded for Motown Records in the 1960s. Biography She was born in Detroit and was adopted by the actress Lillian Randolph, who appeared in ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) and many other movies. Her show business career beganunder the name Barbara Ann Sanders, having taken the name of Lillian's second husband – when she was 8 years old, playing the part of Tanya in the 1953 feature film ''Bright Road''. In 1957, both her mother and she joined Steve Gibson's vocal group, The Red Caps, as singers. For a number of years, a common but mistaken belief held that her mother and Steve were siblings, making him Randolph's uncle (although she may have affectionately referred to him as such). James "Jay" Price, a member of the Red Caps from 1952 to 1958, explained that Steve and Lillian only jokingly called each other "sister" and "brother", but they were not rela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Around The Clock (film)
''Rock Around the Clock'' is a 1956 musical film featuring Bill Haley and His Comets along with Alan Freed, the Platters, Tony Martinez and His Band and Freddie Bell and His Bellboys. It was produced by B-movie king Sam Katzman (who would produce several Elvis Presley films in the 1960s) and directed by Fred F. Sears. The film was shot over a short period of time in January 1956 and released in March 1956 to capitalize on Haley's success and the popularity of his multimillion-selling recording "Rock Around the Clock," which had played over the opening credits of the 1955 teen flick ''Blackboard Jungle'' and is considered the first major rock and roll musical film. The same recording was used for the opening of ''Rock Around the Clock'', marking a rare occasion in which the same song opens films released in a short interval (the recording would be used once again to open the 1973 film ''American Graffiti''). Plot ''Rock Around the Clock'' tells a highly fictionalized rendition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |