The Platters–Videos
Prisoner Of Love By The Platters
THE PLATTERS – ONLY YOU
The Platters – Great Pretender, Only You (live)
Platters – Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
The Platters – Twilight Time
The Platters – He’s Mine
Remember When – The Platters
The Platters – To each his own
The Platters – Enchanted
i love you 1000 times – THE PLATTERS
The Platters “My Prayer” 1959
The Platters-I’m Sorry (for the things i’ve done)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix1eE1d8dFs
The Platters Unchained Melody
The Platters – You’ll Never Know
The Platters – Harbor Lights
The Platters Ebb Tide
“Red Sails in the Sunset” The Platters
The Platters – My Serenade from Schubert – Pictures Collection
The Platters – Summertime
The Platters – Rock all night
The Platters – Heart of stone
The Platters The Magic Touch
Background Articles and Videos
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. …”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Platters
The Platters
By Steve Walker
“…Tony Williams (lead tenor) (born 15 April, 1928, Elizabeth, New Jersey; died 14 August, 1992, Manhattan, New York City)
David Lynch (second tenor) (born 3 July, 1929; died 2 January, 1981)
Zola Taylor (contralto) (born 17 March, 1934 (some sources say 1938), died 30 April, 2007, Los Angeles, California)
Paul Robi (baritone) (born 20 August, 1931; died 1 February, 1989)
Herb Reed (bass) (born 7 August, 1928)
Part of the burgeoning Los Angeles rhythm & blues scene of the early 1950’s, the original Platters group consisted of Cornell Gunter, brothers Gaynel and Alex Hodge, Joe Jefferson and Curtis Williams. Formed in January 1953, the original line-up showed several early changes, with cab driver David Lynch replacing Joe Jefferson, Herb Reed (from the gospel group the Wings Over Jordan) replacing Curtis Williams and Tony Williams (introduced by his sister, Linda Hayes) replacing Cornell Gunter. Cornell Gunter went on to play an important part in the stories of the Flairs and the Coasters. His sister Shirley Gunter also sang with the Flairs and recorded with her own group, the Queens, on Modern.
They were signed by Ralph Bass to King subsidiary, Federal Records and, after an un-credited appearance behind Big Jay McNeely chanting the title on ‘Nervous Man Nervous’ (Federal 12141), the group appeared in the studio under their own name in October 1953. One of the songs they recorded was ‘Only You (And You Alone’), written by big-band arranger Buck Ram, who had penned the song for the group that he idolised, the Ink Spots [for more on Buck Ram, see http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/buckram.txt and http://www.thegoldenplatter.com/buckram.html ]
The Platters’ early attempt at ‘Only You’ was considered by label supremo Syd Nathan to be unsuitable for release and was held in the can until late 1955, when it was marketed as a spoiler following the runaway success of the Mercury hit version. Buck Ram had, by this time, become the group’s manager – he also managed other local acts – the Penguins, the Flairs, the Colts, Young Jessie and Linda Hayes. It was his idea to augment the male quartet with the addition of a perky female member of Shirley Gunter’s Queens, Zola Taylor, in early 1954. Shortly thereafter, Paul Robi replaced Alex Hodge, (Gaynel Hodge had already quit the group), and the ‘classic’ Platters’ line-up was in place. …”
“…In 1990 the Platters were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
To quote from Marv Goldberg’s ‘R&B Notebooks’: “What were the secrets of this remarkable success? The Platters’ sound was crisp and clear and, above all, understandable. They specialized in adult ballads and soulful renditions of pre-rock standards. Their lush harmonies were framed by string-laden arrangements and benefited from Mercury’s state-of-the-art recording technology”.
And Jay Warner writes in ‘American Singing Groups’: “By the time their recording days were done, they’d amassed 16 gold singles and three million-selling LPs. They performed in cities and countries that most Americans never dreamed had even heard a Platters disc, taking American music to appreciative audiences all over the world.”
They had The Magic Touch.
http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/platters.htm
The Platters
“…Contributions to music:
- The biggest-selling vocal group of their era
- Considered the ultimate in Fifties “make-out music”
- Helped bring pop vocal into the rock and roll era
- Lead singer Tony Williams is one of pop’s all-time great tenors
- First African-American group to hit Number One in the rock era
- Were the first black group to beat out a white group’s rendition of their song on the pop charts
- Considered the classiest of pop acts, then and now
http://oldies.about.com/od/50srockers/p/platters.htm
http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/platters.htm
The Platters VERY RARE INTERVIEW WITH RARE PICTURES
Sonny Turner of The Platters Interview
