Post by Rob Durkee on Jun 5, 2012 20:42:24 GMT -5
By ROCKIN' ROBIN
BOSTON (RTDP) 6/5/12 -- Herb Reed, the bass singer and last surviving original member of the Platters, the most successful group of the 1950's, died here Monday, June 4, 2012. He was 83.
According to the Associated Press, Reuters and the manager of the group, Fred Balboni, Reed had been suffering from declining health, including chronic heart disease. Until 2011, he'd been touring with a group billing itself as Herb Reed and the Platters. He earned that honor because he was the one that came up with the group's original name.
According to musicologist Ronnie Allen, Reed was the only Platters member to sing on all of their approximately 400 recordings, including those with Sonny Turner as lead singer. Reed's voice was prominent on the #14 "You'll Never Never Know" in the fall of 1956. He sings with his deep voice "You'll never know" five times, including the start and finish of the record.
When Casey Kasem counted down the top 40 rock acts of the 1950's on an "American Top 40" special on October 4-5, 1975, the Platters were #3. Only Elvis Presley and Pat Boone were ranked higher at 1-2, respectively. The Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
From 1955 to 1967, the Platters chalked up 39 Cash Box pop chart hits, with 28 of them making the Top 40. Among their seven top 10's was their nationwide breakthough hit, the #3-peaking "Only You (And You Alone)" in 1955. Their followup, "The Great Pretender," would become their first of four #1 hits in early 1956. The Platters were famous for taking old standards and turning them into remake hits. Among them were the group's other three chart-toppers: "My Prayer" (1956), "Twilight Time" (1958) and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" (1959). In between "The Great Pretender" and "My Prayer" was the #3 "(You've Got) The Magic Touch." Among the Platters other remakes of old standards were "Red Sails In The Sunset," "I'll Never Smile Again," "Ebb Tide," "To Each His Own" and "If I Didn't Care."
Reed, who was born in Kansas City, moved to the Los Angeles area at the age of 15. He had only the clothes he wore and three dollars in his pocket when he arrived. He worked at a car wash for roughly $20 a week before he helped form the Platters in 1953. Ralph Bass originally managed the group but not for long. After two unsuccessful releases for the Cincinnati-based Federal label, Buck Ram would take over. Ram co-wrote the Christmas classic song, "I'll Be Home For Christmas," that Bing Crosby originally sang ten years earlier in 1943. Reed, lead singer Tony Wiliams, Alex Hodge and David Lynch were the original group lineup. After some early releases fizzled, Ram replaced Hodge with Paul Robi, then added Zola Taylor. Taylor was one of three women who sued for royalties from the Frankie Lymon estate as depicted in the movie, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love."
The Platters rose to fame thanks to a strange quirk of fate. According to Wikipedia, the group was having trouble making it big on the Federal label. Around 1954-55, Ram arranged a deal that would enable Mercury Records, a major label, to land the group the Penguins. There was one catch. To make the deal work, Ram insisted that Mercury also take on a then-known group. Mercury agreed. Ironically, the Penguins would become essentially a one-hit-wonder group with "Earth Angel" while the then-unknown group, the Platters, would become the biggest group of the 1950's. According to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock And Roll, the Platters appeared in two 1956 movies, "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Rock Around The Clock."
One incident severely hurt the Platters' image. According to writer Fred Bronson, four male members of the group were arrested at a Cincinnati hotel on August 10, 1959. They were charged with using drugs and soliciting prostitutes. The charges would eventually be dismissed. Nevertheless, the trial judge scolded the quartet, telling the four members that they had a duty to their fans to keep their records clean.
What perhaps hurt the group even more was Williams' decision to leave the Platters in 1960 to go solo. Mercury Records sued the group and Williams for breach of contract. Buck eventually won the lawsuit, primarily with the defense that the individual Platters weren't signed as individuals to Mercury. After that court case, many labels would sign group members to individual contracts.
Ram was just getting warmed up in the courtroom. Even though the Platters' name was copywritten all over the world, Ram would be involved in 50-plus lawsuits against fake Platters. This writer can recall seeing a fake group of Platters performing at a Non-Commissioned Officers' nightclub at Clark Air Base, Republic of The Philippines, in 1970. There have been as least 116 performers who've claimed to have sung with the Platters over the years.
"Harbor Lights," which reached #7 in early 1960, was the last top tenner for the Platters. Their last top 40 hit was the uptempo "With This Ring," with Turner singing lead, in 1967.
BOSTON (RTDP) 6/5/12 -- Herb Reed, the bass singer and last surviving original member of the Platters, the most successful group of the 1950's, died here Monday, June 4, 2012. He was 83.
According to the Associated Press, Reuters and the manager of the group, Fred Balboni, Reed had been suffering from declining health, including chronic heart disease. Until 2011, he'd been touring with a group billing itself as Herb Reed and the Platters. He earned that honor because he was the one that came up with the group's original name.
According to musicologist Ronnie Allen, Reed was the only Platters member to sing on all of their approximately 400 recordings, including those with Sonny Turner as lead singer. Reed's voice was prominent on the #14 "You'll Never Never Know" in the fall of 1956. He sings with his deep voice "You'll never know" five times, including the start and finish of the record.
When Casey Kasem counted down the top 40 rock acts of the 1950's on an "American Top 40" special on October 4-5, 1975, the Platters were #3. Only Elvis Presley and Pat Boone were ranked higher at 1-2, respectively. The Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
From 1955 to 1967, the Platters chalked up 39 Cash Box pop chart hits, with 28 of them making the Top 40. Among their seven top 10's was their nationwide breakthough hit, the #3-peaking "Only You (And You Alone)" in 1955. Their followup, "The Great Pretender," would become their first of four #1 hits in early 1956. The Platters were famous for taking old standards and turning them into remake hits. Among them were the group's other three chart-toppers: "My Prayer" (1956), "Twilight Time" (1958) and "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" (1959). In between "The Great Pretender" and "My Prayer" was the #3 "(You've Got) The Magic Touch." Among the Platters other remakes of old standards were "Red Sails In The Sunset," "I'll Never Smile Again," "Ebb Tide," "To Each His Own" and "If I Didn't Care."
Reed, who was born in Kansas City, moved to the Los Angeles area at the age of 15. He had only the clothes he wore and three dollars in his pocket when he arrived. He worked at a car wash for roughly $20 a week before he helped form the Platters in 1953. Ralph Bass originally managed the group but not for long. After two unsuccessful releases for the Cincinnati-based Federal label, Buck Ram would take over. Ram co-wrote the Christmas classic song, "I'll Be Home For Christmas," that Bing Crosby originally sang ten years earlier in 1943. Reed, lead singer Tony Wiliams, Alex Hodge and David Lynch were the original group lineup. After some early releases fizzled, Ram replaced Hodge with Paul Robi, then added Zola Taylor. Taylor was one of three women who sued for royalties from the Frankie Lymon estate as depicted in the movie, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love."
The Platters rose to fame thanks to a strange quirk of fate. According to Wikipedia, the group was having trouble making it big on the Federal label. Around 1954-55, Ram arranged a deal that would enable Mercury Records, a major label, to land the group the Penguins. There was one catch. To make the deal work, Ram insisted that Mercury also take on a then-known group. Mercury agreed. Ironically, the Penguins would become essentially a one-hit-wonder group with "Earth Angel" while the then-unknown group, the Platters, would become the biggest group of the 1950's. According to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock And Roll, the Platters appeared in two 1956 movies, "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Rock Around The Clock."
One incident severely hurt the Platters' image. According to writer Fred Bronson, four male members of the group were arrested at a Cincinnati hotel on August 10, 1959. They were charged with using drugs and soliciting prostitutes. The charges would eventually be dismissed. Nevertheless, the trial judge scolded the quartet, telling the four members that they had a duty to their fans to keep their records clean.
What perhaps hurt the group even more was Williams' decision to leave the Platters in 1960 to go solo. Mercury Records sued the group and Williams for breach of contract. Buck eventually won the lawsuit, primarily with the defense that the individual Platters weren't signed as individuals to Mercury. After that court case, many labels would sign group members to individual contracts.
Ram was just getting warmed up in the courtroom. Even though the Platters' name was copywritten all over the world, Ram would be involved in 50-plus lawsuits against fake Platters. This writer can recall seeing a fake group of Platters performing at a Non-Commissioned Officers' nightclub at Clark Air Base, Republic of The Philippines, in 1970. There have been as least 116 performers who've claimed to have sung with the Platters over the years.
"Harbor Lights," which reached #7 in early 1960, was the last top tenner for the Platters. Their last top 40 hit was the uptempo "With This Ring," with Turner singing lead, in 1967.
