The Platters were formed in 1953 in Los Angeles where they got a contract with Federal Records, issuing singles with only local success. Their big break came when they met songwriter Buck Ram who took them to Mercury Records where from late 1955 they began a string of huge hits. Their sound was based around the tenor voice of Tony Williams who led on ‘Only You’, ‘The Great Pretender’, ‘My Prayer’, ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ and many more. Their huge popularity found them included in the film Rock Around The Clock. Williams left in 1960 and was replaced by Sonny Turner, with their sound veering more towards the Drifters. After numerous line-up changes they enjoyed a brief revival on Musicor Records in 1966/7 with Motown-influenced material produced by Luther Dixon and Popcorn Wylie.
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