Only You (And You Alone)

The Great Pretender

"The Great Pretender" is a popular song recorded by The Platters, with Tony Williams on lead vocals, and released as a single on November 3, 1955. The words and music were created by Buck Ram, the Platters' manager and producer who was a successful songwriter before moving into producing and management. The Great Pretender reached the number one position on both the R&B and pop charts in 1956. In 2004, the song was voted 360th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone.

A wonderful collection of 20 songs from this classic R&B group. Includes photos and biographical information.

Songlist: Enchanted, The Great Pretender, He's Mine, Helpless, I Wish, It's Raining Outside, It's Raining Outside, My Dream, My Prayer, On My Word Of Honor, One In A Million, Only Because, Only You (And You Alone), Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Twilight Time, Where, With This Ring, You'll Never, Never Know, You're Making A Mistake

The Platters, 4-man, 1-woman followed of black vocal harmony groups like the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers, ushering in a new age of contemporary pop and R&B. The group grew up in the thriving music scene of Los Angeles in the early 1950s, first signing with Federal records, and then joining fellow Federal artists the Penguins (who had a national hit with "Earth Angel"), signed by Chicago-based Mercury Records. Their first recording, "Only You," didn't get a lot of attention until a Seattle DJ played it, eventually turning it into a national hit. "The Great Pretender" was a #1 smash, "The Magic Touch" was a top five it, but their next recording, of British songwriter Jimmy Kennedy's "My Prayer" became the group's biggest hit. Rock 'n' Roll-styled "Out of My Mind" and one other song were scheduled for the Platters to perform on Dick Clark's Saturday night TV show, who heard "Twilight Time" over the phone and said, "That's the hit!" It was the first record of the rock 'n' roll era to feature strings. "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," "Harbor Lights," "With This Ring"-18 all-accompanied winners by one of the most exciting and popular vocal groups of all time! Beautiful liner notes with history and pictures of the group.

Songlist: Only You (And You Alone), The Great Pretender, (You've Got) The Magic Touch, My Prayer, Heaven On Earth, You'll Never Never Know, It Isn't Right, On My Word Of Honor, One In A Million, I'm Sorry, He's Mine, My Dream, Twilight Time, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Enchanted, Harbor Lights, I Love You 1000 Times With This Ring

The Platters' rise into R&B/Rock 'n' Roll stardom began in Los Angeles, and two of its members had a lot to do with their meteoric rise, angel-voiced Tony Williams and manager Buck Ram. Tony's emotion-drenched voice made prayers and the longings of lovers so believable, and the precision and clarity of his delivery was pure pop gold. Ram agreed to let Mercury Records sign his hit group the Penguins if they'd also sign the Platters. Although the label first marketed the group on its purple "race" label, Ram convinced them to release it on their black "pop" label. The kids, just having discovered Elvis and Bill Haley, who heard the big hits "Only You" and "The Great Pretender" wanted to see who was singing them, and were surprised to see the suave, smooth black quintet. Thus the first number one pop record for a black group made its way up the charts. 11 classic winners, all accompanied, "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," "The Magic Touch," "Harbor Lights," "You'll Never, Never Know," "Red Sails in the Sunset" and "Enchanted"-this is all incredible stuff from the legendary Platters!

Songlist: The Great Pretender, Twilight Time, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Only You (And You Alone), You'll Never Never Know, My Prayer, (You've Got) The Magic Touch, I'll Never Smile Again, Harbor Lights, Red Sails In The Sunset, Enchanted

This holiday collection, which clocks in at just less than 30 minutes in length, was originally released in this same sequence in 1963 as Christmas With the Platters, and has been reissued several times since in slightly different configurations and under varying titles. If you bear in mind that the Platters only did one Christmas session, then it probably doesn't matter which of these you pick up, although the sound on this 2004 edition is superb. The upbeat numbers fare best, with an energized version of "Jingle Bells Jingle," an organ-led "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," and a spunky rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock" being the obvious highlights. The group's manager, Buck Ram (who also produced the original album), has a couple of his own songs included here, "Come Home for Christmas" and "Christmas Time," and both are competent but hardly memorable compositions. The arrangements on the album are interesting and frequently inventive, and the Platters, as always, sing wonderfully.

Songlist: Jingle Bells Jingle, White Christmas, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, Christmas Time, Blue Christmas, I'll Be Home For Christmas, Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer, Come Home For Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock, All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth, Winter Wonderland, Silent Night, For Auld Lang Syne

Doo-Wop legends The Platters treat us to 10 sweet, soulful, all-accompanied Christmas hit covers on "Silver Bells." There's a nice mix here of carols, "Away in a Manger," "Deck The Halls," a jazzy "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night;" and popular Christmas songs, Elvis's "Blue Christmas," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "Silver Bells," "The Christmas Song" and Bing Crosby's trademark "White Christmas." There's some very cool new arrangements here of our old favorites, and The Platters still have some of the best leads and harmonies in the business! Great, romantic, danceable stuff that's sure to help you have happy holidays for years to come!

Songlist: Away In A Manger, Blue Christmas, Deck the Halls, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, I'll Be Home For Christmas, Joy to the World, Silent Night, Silver Bells, The Christmas Song, White Christmas