Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
the Platters
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
The Platters, c. 1950s.
Quick Facts
Awards And Honors:
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (1990)
Date:
1953
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
The Platters, c. 1950s.
The Platters, c. 1950s.

the Platters

American music group
Written by
Robert D. Pruter
Assistant Editor, Charles D. Spencer & Associates, Chicago, Illinois. Author of Chicago Soul and Doowop: The Chicago Scene.
Robert D. Pruter
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

the Platters, American vocal ensemble, one of the foremost singing groups of the early days of rock and roll and also often associated with the doo-wop style. The principal members were Tony Williams (byname of Samuel Anthony Williams; b. April 5, 1928, Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.—d. August 14, 1992, New York, New York), Zola Taylor (b. March 17, 1934/38, Los Angeles, California, U.S.—d. April 30, 2007, Riverside, California), David Lynch (b. July 3, 1929, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.—d. January 2, 1981, Long Beach, California), Paul Robi (b. August 30, 1931, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.—d. February 1, 1989, Los Angeles, California), Herb Reed (b. August 7, 1931, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.—d. June 4, 2012), and Sonny Turner (b. 1939, Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S.).

The Platters were managed by songwriter Buck Ram, who was taken with Williams’s dramatic soaring voice and had the singer form a group around himself in 1953 in Los Angeles. Ram wrote or cowrote some of the Platters’ biggest hits, including “Only You (and You Alone)” (1955), “The Great Pretender” (which topped the pop and rhythm-and-blues charts in 1956), and “(You’ve Got) The Magic Touch” (1956). The Platters sustained their career by specializing in rock-and-roll renditions of old big-band hits, notably “My Prayer” (1956) and “Twilight Time” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (both 1958). The group also appeared in two rock-and-roll movies, The Girl Can’t Help It and Rock Around the Clock (both 1956).

Williams left the Platters in 1961, but during the late 1960s, with Turner as the lead vocalist, the group achieved moderate success with soul-style hits. The history of the Platters, however, is primarily associated with the early days of rock and roll. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Robert D. Pruter