We tend to think of the ’50s as a simpler time for rock and pop songwriting, featuring ditties about cars and sock hops and the like. But even at the top of the charts you could occasionally find ...

Old songs trigger old memories. “The Great Pretender” did just that for me. The occasion was a dance party at a classmate’s home. I was 16 years old that day. I’d just broken up with a girl who’d been ...

Led by singer Tony Williams, the Platters were one of the mid- to late-1950s' top vocal groups. In 1955, as rough-edge rock 'n' roll was taking center stage, the Platters' ultra-smooth renditions of ...

Herb Reed, the last surviving original member of 1950s vocal group the Platters who sang on hits like "Only You" and "The Great Pretender," has died. He was 83. By Associated Press Herb Reed, the last ...

At 89, Las Vegas entertainment figure Jean Bennett should be comfortably retired and satisfied with her life’s work promoting and managing the 1950s super group the Platters. She’s not. While Bennett ...

The Platters are a famous American vocal group formed in Los Angeles in 1952 by bass singer Herb Reed. They became one of the most successful black vocal groups of the 1950s with smooth harmonies and ...