A Musical
Biography of the Platters
and Other Entertainers from
the 50s and 60s
Hour 1 -
To tell the career of the
Platters, one
of America's top recording groups in pop history, one would have to
talk with Jean Bennett. She was there from the beginning and still,
in her 80s, she is active in booking and managing the Platters. The
group has had many transitions, but this show concentrates mostly on
the original singers and the events that shaped
music history.
Jean tells how the Platters started in 1953 and how the music
business worked in the 1950s,a far different way to get air play
today. "Only You" and, "The Great Pretender" are discussed with some
inside stories about the songs and the
disc jockeys of the time. She also talks about the Platters'
first engagements in
Las Vegas. mp3 - running time: 60
min, 46 sec.
Count Basie Band: "April in Paris"( Roulette Records- ASCAP)
Windows Media Version Part 2 Songs in the
Second set:
Dean Martin - "That's
Amore" (ASCAP-Capitol)
The Platters: "Only You" (ASCAP-Mercury)
Liberace: "I'll Be Seeing You"
(ASCAP-Capitol)
Jean Bennett spent a Saturday afternoon with us in her
office rekindling memories of a great music career which
was centered around the Platters whom she has
represented for over 50 years!
Hour
2 -
The tribute to the
Platters
continues with inside stories about Jean Bennett the manager of the
Platters. She tells about the early days in Hollywood where Buck Ram
officed on the same floor as Seymour Heller, the famous Hollywood
where she worked with
Liberace and
Lawrence Welk as well. The program features some of the
Platters hits and the stories behind those records.
mp3 Running time: 51
minutes, 48 seconds.
Windows Media Version
Part 1 Songs in the
Third set include:
Liberace: "Nola"
(Columbia-ASCAP)
Stan Freeberg: "Wun'erful,
Wun'erful" (Capitol-BMI)
Jimmie Rogers: "Honeycomb"
(Dot-BMI)
Platters: "My Old Flame"
(ASCAP-Mercury)
Four Tops-
"Reach Out and
I'll
Be There"
(BMI- Motown)
Platters-
"The Great Pretender"(BMI-
Mercury)
Platters-
"My Prayer"
(BMI-Mercury)
Platters-
"Smoke Gets
In
Your Eyes"
(ASCAP- Mercury)
Jean
Bennett is cousin to movie star great, Lana Turner.
Related Links
Motown
Loses a Legend
-
(10/17/08)
Music journalist Ben
Fong Torres reflects on the life and career of
Motown legend
Levi Stubbs from the Four Tops who died at
72.
mp3 - running time: 4 min, 27 sec
Windows Media Version
(Courtesy of
KCBS -AM
San Francisco (www.kcbs.com)
mp3 - running time: 60
min, 46 sec.
Windows Media Version Part 1 
Hour
2 -
The tribute to the
Windows Media Version
Part 1
Jean
Bennett is cousin to movie star great, Lana Turner.
