The Platters are a musical group from Los Angeles that appeared on the scene in 1953. The original team was not only a performer of their own songs, but also successfully covered the hits of other musicians.
The beginning of the band's career The Platters
In the early 1950s, the doo-wop music style was very popular among black performers. A characteristic feature of this young style is the many-voiced sing-alongs that sound during the composition, creating a background for the main voice of the soloist.
Such songs could be performed even without musical accompaniment. Instrumental support only complemented and enhanced the effect of the performance. The prominent representatives of this style were the American group The Platters. In the future, she gave music lovers soulful and romantic ballads about love, life and happiness.
The debut appearance of the musicians took place on the television program Ebony Showcase, where the musicians performed a cheerful composition Old MacDonald Had A Farm. The musicians continued to perform in a perky style until they were noticed by the manager of the Federal Records music label, Ralf Bass. It was he who concluded the first officially confirmed collaboration with the musicians.
Later, the musical ensemble was noticed by the popular composer Buck Ram, who already led two successful musical groups The Three Suns and Penguins. After the composer became the official representative of the musicians, he made important changes in the composition of the group. Tony Williams was appointed the main tenor of the team, and a girl joined the team.
By the age of 55, the composer had assembled the well-known original composition of the ensemble:
- main tenor - Tony Williams;
- viola - Zola Taylor;
- tenor - David Lynch;
- baritone - Paul Roby;
- bass - Herb Reed.
Line-up of The Platters
The artists performed with their "golden team" for 5 years. In 1959, the band members experienced difficulties with the law - four musicians were suspected of distributing drugs. The accusations were not confirmed, but the musicians' reputation was undermined and many songs were banned from US radio stations.
The popularity of the group was greatly influenced by the departure of the main soloist Tony Williams from the band in 1960. He was replaced by Sony Turner. Despite the excellent vocal abilities of the new soloist, the musician could not fully replace Williams. The recording studio Mercury Records, with which the musicians worked, refused to release songs without the vocals of the previous vocalist.
In 1964, the composition of the band broke up even more - the group left the viola soloist Zola Taylor. Baritone Paul Roby followed her. Former members of the band tried to form their own bands. The band's manager changed the band's name to the Buck Ram Platters. In 1969, the last member of the "golden composition" of the group, Herb Reed, left the group.
Albums
The original line-up of musicians released more than 10 successful albums, the best of which were the records of 1956: The Platters and Volume Two. Other albums of the group were no less successful: The Flying Platters, records of 1957-1961: Only You and The Flying Platters Around The World, Remember When, Encores and Reflections. The last records of the original line-up, released in 1961, were also successful: Encore of Broadway Golden Hits and Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries.
Since 1954, for five years, the group has successfully released albums that conquered not only listeners in the United States of America, but also in Europe. The group remained popular until the end of 1959 - no big hits were released in the following years. Some songs from the debut albums were included in later releases.
Major Hits The Platters
Over the entire existence of the group, more than 400 songs were written. The group's albums sold out all over the world. About 90 million copies have been sold. The musicians have traveled to more than 80 countries with performances and received over 200 music awards. The group's songs also appeared in several musical films such as: "Rock around the clock", "This girl can not do otherwise", "Carnival Rock".
The musicians are the first African-American group to be included in the main rotating charts around the world. They were able to break the monopoly of white performers. From 1955 to 1967 40 singles of the group were included in the main music chart of the United States of America Billboard Hot 100. Even four of them took the 1st position.
The main hits of the group include both original songs of the group and covered singles of other musicians. The most popular singles include the following songs: My Prayer, He's Mine, I'm Sorry, My Dream, I Wanna, Only Because, Helpless, It Isn't Right, On My Word of Honor, The Magic Touch, You are Making a Mistake , Twilight Time, I Wish.
The popularity of the group today
The musicians' hits were popular not only in the 1960s, but there is still interest in their work. The group's most popular and recognizable single is the composition Only You, which became the debut in their first album.
By mistake, some are still convinced that the hit Only You is an Elvis Presley song. The single Only You was covered by many artists. It sounded in different languages - Czech, Italian, Ukrainian, even Russian. The main hit of the group became a symbol of love romance. No less popular is the single The Great Pretender. The composition was the first pop song of the musical group. The single had a significant success in 1987, then it was already performed by Freddie Mercury.
In addition to their own songs, the musicians became famous for performing singles by other artists. The cover version of the Sixteen Tons song is hugely popular performed by The Platters than in the original Tennessee Ernie Ford sound. In the West, the band is remembered for their cover version of the song Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. The single was performed by more than 10 musicians, but it is the version of the black ensemble that is still an exemplary interpretation.
Team breakup
After 1970, the manager illegally "promoted" the performances of the group, which included people who were not related to the original lineup. Over the entire existence of the group, more than 100 versions of the musical ensemble can be counted. Since the 1970s, various artists have performed concerts at the same time in different locations.
Many clone groups fought for the right to own the trademark, while members of the original line-up passed away one by one. The dispute was resolved only in 1997. A United States court recognized the official right to use the name for Herb Reed, the bass lead singer of The Platters. The only member of the original line-up performed until his death in 2012.
The legacy in the form of romantic songs of the group is still popular. In 1990, the band was officially included in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, which is dedicated to the most significant and popular figures in the music industry. The work of black musicians is as famous as the songs of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and AC/DC.
