Black History Month Music: The Platters

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Hello from Louisiana! Off to visit with my friends today. And yes, I’m cheating again. It’s another group to celebrate Black History Month with. I’m pretty sure everybody knew this group would show up, given that three of their songs were on my 100 favorites list. One of the greatest vocal groups ever. The Platters Yeah baby! This is some good singing. How good were the Platters? My dad insisted that we didn’t have ANYTHING in the record collection that wasn’t country music. Well, we had a Platters album. If their vocals could get through to that grump, they’ll soothe any savage beast. Their manager, Buck Ram, wrote most of their classic hits. And, while the lineup changed many times (for the record, there’s still a vocal group performing as “the Platters” today), that “classic” 50s era lineup had a sound that could melt the polar ice caps. It should surprise no one that they were among the very first acts inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. They’re also in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And, truthfully, I’ll take these sweet harmonies over half the other inductees. Yeah, I’m a grump, too, just like my old man. The Platters Classic lineup: Tony Williams: born Samuel Edward Williams, April 5, 1928, Elizabeth, New Jersey; died August 14, 1992, New York City (emphysema) (age 64) Herb Reed: born Herbert Reed, August 7, 1928, Kansas City, Missouri; died June 4, 2012, Boston, Massachusetts (COPD) (age 83) David Lynch: born July 3, 1929, St. Louis, Missouri; died January 2, 1981, Long Beach, California (cancer) (age 51) Paul Robi: born August 20, 1931, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; died February 1, 1989, Los Angeles, California (cancer) (age 57) Zola Taylor: born Zoletta Lynn Taylor, March 17, 1938, Los Angeles, California; died April 30, 2007, Riverside, California (pneumonia/stroke) (age 69) HALLS OF FAME: Rock and Roll, 1990; Vocal Group, 1998 If I had to only pack ten songs for a deserted island, this would definitely be one of them. The incomparable “The Great Pretender”: