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
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 ac ...
.
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 soundtracks for films such as ''
The Nutty Professor 2'' and ''
Hearts in Atlantis''. Turner died from throat cancer in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
on January 13, 2022, at age 82.
=Discography=
Albums
*Standing Ovation (1974)
*Celebrate The New Year At Harvey's Lake Tahoe (1983)
*Sings At Lake Tahoe (1983)
*Celebrate The New Year '88 At Harvey's, Lake Tahoe (1988)
Singles and EPs
*Atlanta / Interstate 65 (1969)
*Chicago Woman / Now That You're Gone (1972)
*I Want A Guarantee / Now That You're Gone (2016) with Maxine Brown
*That's Why (I Love You So)
*The Touch
*Special Little Woman
*I'll Be Around (2020)
References
External links
Sonny Turner (of ''The Platters'') Bio.The Platters: ''A Biography'' from enotes.com
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Sonny
1939 births
2022 deaths
20th-century African-American singers
21st-century African-American singers
African-American male singers
People from Fairmont, West Virginia
The Platters members
Singers from West Virginia
Deaths from cancer in California
Deaths from throat cancer