Barnes was replaced by Charles "Sonny" Turner who stayed with the group through The Platters, then all men, had just signed with the Mercury label after its single Only You topped the charts, and its manager thought they needed a womans voice to soften their sound. She died on April 30, 2007 in Riverside, California, USA. By 1954, the group had come to feature Herb Reed, Tony Williams, Zola Taylor, David Lynch, and Paul Robi. In 1974 the [8] 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. Taylor lived in Los Angeles with Frankie Lymon, the doo-wop idol who co-wrote and sang Why Do Fools Fall in Love? and said she had married him. He was inspired by the "turntable" of an old phonograph machine and the "platter" that spun the vinyl records. Scandal also may have played a part: The four men in the Platters were arrested on sex charges in Cincinnati in 1959. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. In the late 1980s, Taylor and two other women claiming to be Lymons widow fought over his royalties in court. Why did Tony Williams leave the Platters? In 1960, lead vocalist Williams left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by tenor Sonny Turner. The Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. WebAccording to court documents, the three are Emira Eagle Lymon, 46, a school teacher in Augusta, Ga.; Elizabeth Waters Lymon, 43, of Philadelphia, who said she bore Lymon a child; and Zola Mae Taylor of Los Angeles, the female voice of the Platters. After a few unsuccessful records, Ram replace Hodge with Paul Robi and to soften the As a result, the label spent two years releasing old Williams-era material until the group's contract lapsed. Reed's legacy is maintained by Frederick Balboni, Reed's manager, veteran broadcast journalist and music promoter, and the owner of Massachusetts-based Balboni Communications Group. Introduction. According to Taylor, she married former teen heartthrob Frankie Lymon in 1965, three years prior to his fatal heroin overdose. played on, but he was determined to get it recorded because he knew the song could become She was an actress, known for Coronacin (2000), Rock All Night (1957) and Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998). The original group consisted of Herb Reed, Alex Hodge, Cornell Gunter and Joe Jefferson. to play piano for the musician who had to leave early. Flamingo. [Part 4]: UNT Digital Library", "Herb Reed Enterprises, LLC v. Florida Entertainment Management, Inc., et al", "Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks - PLATTERS", "Beverly Harris filled in for Zola Taylor", "Paul Robi, 57; Original Singer With Platters", "Herb Reed Enters Inc, v. Monroe Powell Platters LLC", "Herb Reed Enterprises, Inc. et al v. Monroe Powell's Platters, LLC et al", "Herb Reed Enterprises, Inc. et al v. Bennett et al", "ORDER Granting 99 Plaintiff Herb Reed Enterprises, LLC's Motion for Summary Judgment for Herb Reed Enterprises, LLC v. Florida Entertainment Management, Inc. et al:: Justia Dockets & Filings", "ORDER granting 47 Motion for Default Judgment for Herb Reed Enterprises, LLC v. The World Famous Platters Road Shows I LLC et al:: Justia Dockets & Filings", "Owner of the Platters Trademark Obtains Judgment", Sonny Turner, Legendary Former Lead Singer of the Platters, List of hundreds of singers who have appeared with the various Platters groups, "The Platters" Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Platters&oldid=1132055531, Articles needing additional references from March 2012, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2022, Articles with incomplete citations from May 2017, Articles with failed verification from May 2017, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2021, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Wikipedia external links cleanup from January 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 January 2023, at 01:43. group's sound added Zola Taylor, who belonged to one of his other acts Shirley Gunter and 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. She attributed the break-up to the Beatles-inspired upheaval of pop music. the case but, in1989 the rights were returned toRobi. In addition to her acting and singing, In a dispute over money, Williams left the Platters in 1959 to pursue a solo career, and continued to work with Ram as his manager. In a dispute over money, Williams left the Platters in 1959 to pursue a solo career, and continued to work with Ram as his manager. (#92) their last charter in early 1962. 1998. Taylor However, relations between the group and the company were strain and there Zola Taylor, who broke gender barriers as the first female member of the 1950s R&B group The Platters and later became entangled in a public soap opera as one of three women claiming to be pop idol Frankie Lymons widow, has died, her nephew reported Tuesday. Tenor sax octave pads: both open or both closed, Meaning of values for MIDI control change event, Choosing a guitar: left handed or right handed, First note of a chord vs bass note of a chord. He co-wrote and sang lead on the first Atlantic hit by the new version of the Drifters, There Goes My Baby (1959). Web1240 I'm Gonna Leave You On the Outskirts Of Town - Louis Jordan - Decca - 42 Zola Taylor & Platters - Mercury LP - 1/63 1263 Oh I Love You - William Blakely & Del Vikings - Mercury LP - 12/57 1267 Oh! Advice for figuring out unusual rhythms when composing, Chord Leading. She was 69. Your email address will not be published. 1958. She claimed to have married Lymon in Mexicali, Mexico around 1965, but could not produce a marriage license. You." Zola Taylor was the only female singer in the Platters between Zola Taylor, a former member of the teen-age doo-wop group the Buck Ram Platters were recording for Mercury again. Mercury continued releasing old songs they had recorded up to1964, the last being It stayed on the charts 39 weeks and was the first rock and roll record to beat They were sadly discontinued in 1989, but not before their advert became a bona-fide 80s classic. The group had 40 charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1955 and 1967, including four number-one hits. [13] Although no one was convicted, their professional reputation was seriously damaged and US radio stations started removing their records from playlists,[14] forcing the group to rely more heavily on European bookings. a hit. audiences, the Platters helped launch doo wop music and influenced generations of vocal From left to right: Taylor, Williams, Lynch, Robi, Reed. Taylor was back in the spotlight in 1968, when she and two other women who claimed to be former teenage idol Frankie Lymons widow became embroiled in a bitter legal battle for his royalties. She soon replaced Taylor in the group and married Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Custom rehearsal markings on an arrangement of a piece that already has them. [24] In 1994, Jean Bennett fraudulently licensed the name for a show at the Sahara Casino in Las Vegas; that show ran for 15 years. In October 1958 Mercury released "Smoke Gets In Your Eye's" which had been Zola Taylor, who broke gender barriers as the first female member of the 1950s R&B group The Platters and later became entangled in a public soap opera as one Nelson was still with the Platters when he died of heart disease in 1984. Taylor left the Platters when the group disbanded in the early 1960s. The act has gone through multiple line-ups over the years, earning it the branding tag "Many Voices One Name", with the most successful incarnation comprising lead tenor Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, founder and naming member Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor. On television, fellow Drifters member Charlie Thomas usually lip-synched the songs that King had recorded with the Drifters. Taylor, who had been bedridden following several strokes, died Monday at Parkview Community Hospital in Riverside County from complications of pneumonia, said her nephew Alfie Robinson. It didnt take long before the groups success spawned a rush of imitators. Buck Ram, a lawyer by trade, convinced Mercury of the error of Unhappy with the Platters sound in 1954, manager Buck Ram replaced one of the male singers and added Taylors contralto voice. Is there any practical difference between 3/4 and 3/8 time? Scandal also may Lymon, of the group Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, died less than a year later at age 25 in New York City, reportedly of a heroin overdose. Zola Taylor went in 1962, soon joining another ex-member to perform the hits of the Moore left again in late 1982, along with Clyde Brown. Her last husband died in 1982, he said. | They also appeared in a By Steve Knopper. Tony Williams was the groups lead singer in the years that they enjoyed a series of That was the talk of the nation. She had a baby voice that everyone liked a big voice, but there was a sweetness and a little bit of bite to it, which was good, Steve Propes, co-author of L.A. Zola Taylor, who broke gender barriers in the 1950s as a member of The Platters, harmonizing with her male colleagues Platters music is as big as it ever was.. In a dispute over money, Williams left the Platters in 1959 to pursue a solo career, and continued to work with Ram as his manager. Robinson, Taylors closest known living relative, said his aunt continued touring with other lesser-known acts until 1996 and wed two other times. Drummer looking to learn one-handed keyboard. She showed up on time, knew her harmony parts and charmed audiences with her smile and beauty. Mrs. Williams, 59, said she was a model from New York when she met her future husband in Las Vegas in 1957. 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 198485), Milton Bullock's (member 196770), 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. 1 hit The Great Pretender in 1956. She was 69, according to her family. Founding Platters member Herb Reed said he spotted Taylor, the sister of Cornell Gunter of the Coasters, rehearsing with a girl group in 1955 and knew immediately she had the charisma and vocal chops the band needed. 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