The Platters Live In 6 Rare Performances! (Original Group)

The Original Platters Group Taking the Night Club Scene by Storm, in the Late 50's, With Their Chart Topping Hits; Only You, Great Pretender, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Twilight Time, & He's Mine.

The Platters formed in Los Angeles in 1953 and were initially managed by Ralph Bass. The original group (Alex Hodge, Cornell Gunter, David Lynch, Joe Jefferson, Gaynel Hodge and Herb Reed) landed a contract with Federal Records, but found little success. Reed is credited with creating the group's name.[1] In June 1953, Gunter was replaced by lead vocalist Tony Williams.

The band then released two singles with Federal Records, under the management of Bass, but found little success. The band then met music entrepreneur and songwriter Buck Ram. Ram made some changes to the lineup, most notably the addition of female vocalist Zola Taylor; later, Hodge was replaced by Paul Robi.

Under Ram's guidance, the Platters recorded eight songs for Federal in the R&B/gospel style, scoring a few minor regional hits on the West Coast, and backed Williams' sister, Linda Hayes. One song recorded during their Federal tenure, "Only You (And You Alone)," originally written by Ram[2] for the Ink Spots, was deemed unreleasable by the label,[3] though copies of this early version do exist.

Despite their lack of chart success, the Platters were a profitable touring group, successful enough that The Penguins, coming off their #8 single "Earth Angel," asked Ram to manage them as well. With the Penguins in hand, Ram was able to parlay Mercury Records' interest into a 2-for-1 deal. To sign the Penguins, Ram insisted, Mercury also had to take the Platters.[2] The Penguins would never have a hit for the label.[4]