The Platters

The Platters

started out as a Los Angeles-based

doo wop group with little identity of their own to

make them stand out from the pack. They made

their first records for Federal, a subsidiary of

Cincinnati's King Records. These early sides

don't sound anything like the better-known sides

that would eventually emerge from this group,

instead merely aping the current R&B trends and

styles of the day. What changed their fortunes

can be reduced down to one very important

name: their mentor, manager, producer,

songwriter, and vocal coach, Buck

Ram. Ram took what many would say were a

run-of-the-mill R&B doo wop vocal group and

turned them into stars and one of the most

enduring and lucrative groups of all time.

Band Members

David Lynch

Herb Reed

Joe Jefferson

Nate Nelson

Paul Robi

Sandra Dawn

Sonny Turner

Tony Williams

Zola Taylor