The Platters

小简介
世界首席流行乐队THE PLATTERS(派特斯)于六十年代在美国罗省组成，THE PLATTERS是流行音乐史上第一支在热门流行榜上拥有冠军歌曲的黑人合唱团体，他们的歌曲流传广远，几乎已经到了无人不知无人不晓的地步，时至今日，当他们登台时，仍旧骄傲地自我介绍，这是美国献给世人的珍贵礼物。
　　THE PLATTERS发行的第一首ONLY YOU，原本是一首布鲁斯风格的歌曲，经过他们以流
行乐的方式演唱，从而成为黑人歌星的第一首全球畅销金曲，THE PLATTERS也因此一举成名。之后，唱片公司便希望乘胜追击，要求他们再灌一首作品，而THE GREAT PRETENDER就成为他们的第二首招牌曲。
　　至此，许多作曲者都主动要求PLATTERS演唱他们的作品，其中MY PRAYER，是他们首次以序曲的方式完成的歌曲，没有想到大受欢迎，多年来一直高踞热门排行榜榜首。
　　THE PLATTERS的歌曲除了写下唱片界历史性的一页外，也发明了用MTV音乐录影带来促销唱片的宣传方法，他们是最早开始懂得将自己演唱的新作品制作成三分钟的影片，分送给电视节目中播放，就这样，音乐录影带从而诞生了，但是却很少有人知道，MTV原本始于THE PLATTERS。
　　THE PLATTERS可谓裴声国际，其作品也是家喻户晓，无数电影电视都曾套用THE PLATTERS所演唱的名曲，在各大卡拉OK也是热门歌曲；经典作品包括"ONLY YOU"，"SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES"，"THE MAGIC TOUCH"，"THE GREAT PRESENDER"，"MY PRAYER"，"UNCHAINED MELODY"等，数之不尽。尤其是他们演绎的一曲《人鬼情未了》主题曲更是使无数歌迷和电影迷们为之倾倒，颇有余音绕梁，三日不绝之感。
　　唱片方面，自六十年代至今，THE PLATTERS唱片的世界总销量数以亿计，被喻为美国国宝级组合。从六十年代至今，他们的唱片销售数量超越了八千万张，其中白金唱片就有十六张之多。他们在巴黎灌制的SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES，是作曲家杰洛肯恩在1933年为了一部音乐剧《罗艮塔》(ROBERTA)所写的曲子，经过他们的激情演绎之后风行全球，直至今日。THE PLATTERS曾在1990年被美国权威音乐杂志BILL BOARD MAGAZING归纳入选为ROCK & ROLL OF FAME乐坛殿堂人物榜的最佳乐队。
　　红极一时的THE PLATTERS的演唱会足迹遍及全球，在世界各地都获得空前的成功，不但在欧洲的巡回演唱赢得赞誉，在巴黎和雅典这样的文化古都更是受人激赏。无论是从纽约的国际级舞台卡内基大厅到安大略的巨型赌场CASINO RAMA，还是从美国的拉斯维加斯到日本大阪，所有THE PLATTERS踏足的城市，其门票都被当地的热情歌迷抢购一空。THE PLATTERS曾数次在香港演出，每次均全场爆满，座无虚席。此外，THE PLATTERS更曾被香港电台主办的唱片界盛事"全港十大金曲选举"作特别嘉宾演出。
　　2001年11月，THE PLATTERS的主唱CURTIS MICHAEL曾接受雪碧流行榜的邀请，自美国纽约飞来北京参加盛会，作为颁奖嘉宾并即兴演唱了ONLY YOU(只有你)及SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES(烟雾弥漫你的眼睛)两首人们耳熟能详的经典歌曲，受到首都娱乐界的广泛赞誉。2002年12月31日晚，THE PLATTERS将首次在保利剧院举办演唱会，届时，首都的音乐迷们将有幸领略这一世界流行乐坛顶级劲旅的深厚演唱功力。
by Cub Koda
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 started out making their first records for Federal, a subsidiary of Cincinnatis King Records. These early sides dont 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. By 1954, Ram was already running a talent agency in Los Angeles, writing and arranging for publisher Mills Music, managing the Three Suns — a pop group with some success — and working with his protégés, the Penguins. The Platters seemed like a good addition to his stable.
After getting them out of their Federal contract, Ram placed them with the burgeoning national independent label Mercury Records (at the same time he brought over the Penguins following their success with Earth Angel), automatically getting them into pop markets through the labels distribution contacts alone. Then Ram started honing in on the groups strengths and weaknesses. The first thing he did was put the lead vocal status squarely on the shoulders of lead tenor Tony Williams. Williams emoting power was turned up full blast with the group (now augmented with Zola Taylor from Shirley Gunter & the Queens) working as very well-structured vocal support framing his every note. With Rams pop songwriting classics as their musical palette, the group quickly became a pop and R&B success, eventually earning the distinction of being the first black act of the era to top the pop charts. Considered the most romantic of all the doo wop groups (that is, the ultimate in make out music), hit after hit came tumbling forth in a seemingly effortless manner: Only You, The Great Pretender, My Prayer, Twilight Time, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Harbor Lights, all of them establishing the Platters as the classiest of all.
Williams struck out on his own in 1961 and, by the decades end, the group had disbanded with various members starting up their own version of the Platters. This bit of franchising now extends into the present day, with an estimated 125 sanctioned versions of the original Platters out on the oldies show circuit.