Paul Robi

Band formation and early years

The Platters formed in Los Angeles in 1952 and were initially managed by Federal Records A&R man Ralph Bass. The original group consisted of teenagers Alex Hodge, his brother Gaynel, Curtis Williams, Joe Jefferson, and Cornell Gunter. Ralph Bass replaced Gunter with Tony Williams, and Herb Reed joined the group in 1953 after his discharge from the U.S. Army in December 1952, as a replacement for Jefferson. Reed named the group while sitting around the kitchen table at the Hodges' home with the others in the group. He was inspired by Mrs. Hodge placing a plate of cookies on the kitchen table where the group was sitting trying to find a new name. Several 78 rpm records were lying on the table, and as she pushed them aside she said, "They look just like platters." Reed said, "That's it. We'll call ourselves The Platters."

In June 1953, Gunter left to join The Flairs and was replaced by lead vocalist Tony Williams. Next, the band then released two singles with Federal Records, under the management of Bass, but found little success. Bass then asked his friend, music entrepreneur, and songwriter Buck Ram, to coach the group in the hope of getting a hit record. Ram made some changes to the lineup, most notably the addition of female vocalist Zola Taylor and in autumn 1954, the replacement of Alex Hodge by Paul Robi.

Under Ram's guidance, The Platters recorded eight R&B/gospel songs for Federal in 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 tenure at Federal, "Only You (And You Alone)", originally written by Ram for the Ink Spots, was deemed unreleasable by the label, though copies of the early version do exist.

Despite their lack of chart success, The Platters were a profitable touring group, successful enough that the Penguins, right after their No. 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. The Penguins would never have a hit for the label.

Charting hits

Convinced by Jean Bennett and Tony Williams that "Only You" had potential, Ram had The Platters re-record the song during their first session for Mercury. Released in the summer of 1955, it became the group's first Top Ten hit on the pop charts and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks. The follow-up, "The Great Pretender", with lyrics written in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas by Buck Ram, exceeded the success of their debut and became The Platters' first national No. 1 hit. "The Great Pretender" was also the act's biggest R&B hit, with an 11-week run atop that chart. In 1956, The Platters appeared in the first major motion picture based around rock and roll, Rock Around the Clock, and performed both "Only You" and "The Great Pretender".

The Platters' unique vocal style had touched a chord in the music-buying public. A string of hit singles followed, including three more national No. 1 hits and more modest chart successes such as "I'm Sorry" (No. 11) and "He's Mine" (No. 23) in 1957, "Enchanted" (No. 12) in 1959, and "(You've Got) The Magic Touch" (No. 4) in 1956. The Platters soon hit upon the successful formula of updating older standards, such as "My Prayer", "Twilight Time", "Harbor Lights", "To Each His Own", "If I Didn't Care", and Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". This latter release caused a small controversy after Kern's widow expressed concern that her late husband's composition would be turned into a "rock and roll" record. It topped both the American and British charts in the Platters-style arrangement.

The Platters differed from most other groups of the era because Ram had the group incorporated in 1956 as Five Platters, Inc (FPI). Each member of the group received a 20% share in the stock, full royalties, and their Social Security was paid. As group members left one by one, Ram and his business partner, Jean Bennett, bought their stock, which they claimed gave them ownership of the "Platters" name. A court later ruled, however, that "FPI was a sham used by Mr. Ram to obtain ownership in the name the 'Platters', and FPI's issuance of stock to the group members was "illegal and void because it violated California corporate securities law."

The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in its inaugural year of 1998. The Platters were the first rock and roll era group to have a Top Ten album in the United States. They were also the only act to have three songs included on the American Graffiti soundtrack that fueled an oldies revival already underway in the early to mid-1970s: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Great Pretender", and "Only You (and You Alone)". The group had four top 100 compilation albums in the Australian top 100 between 1975 and 1986.

Changing line-up

The line-up in 1952 included lead vocalist Cornell Gunter, Herb Reed, Alex Hodge, Joe Jefferson, and David Lynch. Soon, Gunter was replaced by tenor Tony Williams. The band's second manager Ram decided to build the group around Williams's distinctive and versatile voice and his ability to bring life to Ram's songs. Within a year, Alex Hodge and Jefferson were also out and replaced by Paul Robi, and a woman, Zola Taylor. The details of baritone Hodge's departure are muddy; author Peter A. Grendysa says Ram fired Alex Hodge in October 1954 after having been accused of possession of marijuana. Bookers and the record company were told that Hodge was let go for bouncing a 15-dollar check. The resulting line-up, the one remembered for some of the group's timeless hits, lasted until 1960.

As a group, The Platters began to have difficulties with the public after 1959, when the four male members were arrested in Cincinnati on drug and prostitution charges. Although no one was convicted, their professional reputation was seriously damaged and US radio stations started removing their records from playlists, forcing the group to rely more heavily on European bookings.

In 1960, lead vocalist Williams left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by tenor Sonny Turner. Mercury refused to issue further Platters releases without Williams on lead vocals, provoking a lawsuit between the label and manager Ram. As a result, the label spent two years releasing old Williams-era material until the group's contract lapsed. The group's line-up further splintered: in 1964 Taylor left and was consecutively replaced by Beverly Hansen Harris, Barbara Randolph and, in 1965, by Sandra Dawn. 1965 also saw the departure of Robi, who was replaced by Nate Nelson, former lead voice of the Flamingos. From 1967 to 1971, baritone Bob White toured with the group.

This splintering of the group's line-up led to wrangling over The Platters' name, with injunctions, non-compete clauses, and multiple versions of the act touring at the same time. Williams, Robi, and Taylor led their own Platters' groups and for a short while, Taylor, Robi, and Lynch joined forces as "The Original Platters" with Williams-clone Johnny Barnes as their lead singer. Distinguishing his group from the offshoots started by former members, Ram added his name to that of the group. The "Buck Ram Platters", built to showcase his songs, were signed to Musicor Records and enjoyed a short chart renaissance in 1966–67, with the comeback singles "I Love You 1000 Times", "With This Ring", and the Motown-influenced "Washed Ashore". Sonny Turner sang the lead on these three records, with Reed, Lynch, Nelson, and Dawn completing the group. Nelson left the group in 1967. Dawn, who left in 1969, was replaced by Regina Koco, who stayed with the group until 1983.

Legal battles

A profusion of legal challenges ensued among the many groups of Platters. Those looking to hear the classic lineup of songs had their pick of approved, disputed, and substituted Platters, including Sonny Turner's, Zola Taylor's, Ritchie Jones' (member 1984–85), Milton Bullock's (member 1967–70), Paul Robi's (managed by his widow), Jean Bennett's "Buck Ram Platters", Monroe Powell's, Herb Reed's, and several other groups with no current ties to the original group. Many had once contained former members who were now retired or deceased.

Powell, who had been touring under the Platters' name, was sued by Bennett for breach of employment contract. Bennett and Powell later reached an agreement that Powell would be able to tour, but only as "The Platters featuring Monroe Powell". In 1994, Jean Bennett fraudulently used the name for a show at the Sahara Casino in Las Vegas; that show ran for 15 years.

Shortly before Robi succumbed to pancreatic cancer on February 1, 1989, he won a long court battle against Ram and was awarded compensation and the right to use the Platters' name. Those rights were stripped from Robi's widow in 1997, and required her to destroy all Platters promotional material, and the exclusive right to tour as "The Platters" was awarded to Reed. A series of rulings in 1999, 2002, and 2004 gave Bennett and The Five Platters, Inc,, the only entity who had used the name consistently since 1954, the common law right to the name. The 2002 case legally rescinded Reed's exclusive trademark rights, and the trademark was returned to the Five Platters, Inc. and Bennett.

In January 2006, Las Vegas based G.E.M. Group, Inc. presented Bennett with a contract to buy the assets of "the singing group The Platters." G.E.M. then took Personality Productions, Inc. (Bennett's separate management company) corporate records and files and attempted to take the company's phone numbers. There was an immediate disagreement between Bennett and G.E.M., which filed a lawsuit to attain certain corporate assets, Bennett's personal property and the assets of the 1950s"singing group The Platters." The case was dismissed for lack of action on G.E.M.s part. In June 2006, G.E.M. entered into an agreement with Sonny Turner, who had been the lead singer of the Platters from 1960 to 1970. Turner had not been able to bill himself as "The Platters" since 1972 due to a legal injunction. However, Turner later sued G.E.M.

Personnel

Mercury lineup (1959–1965)

Sonny Turner, lead singer

Herb Reed

Paul Robi

Zola Taylor

David Lynch

Barbara Randolph

Musicor lineup (1966–1970)

Sonny Turner, lead singer

Herb Reed

Paul Robi

David Lynch

Nate Nelson

Sandra Dawn

Bob White

Official lineup

As of 2024:

Lance Bernard Bryant

Omar Ross

Jovian Ford

Brittany Michelle Wallace