The Very Best Of

In the 1950s, the American vocal group the Platters was the only

major act to appeal to teenagers and their parents in equal

measure. They had planned it that way or, at least, their manager,

Buck Ram, did. When he was asked about their popularity, he

didn't say, "They're going to be bigger than Elvis": he said,

They're going to be bigger than Louis Armstrong!" The Platters

introduced us to the soul ballad although it wasn't known as such

in the 1950s. Their influence lives on in the work of others, and

Michael Jackson's She's Out of My Life and the Stylistics' You

Make Me Feel Brand New might never have been recorded if it

wasn't for the Platters. Bryan Ferry revived Smoke Gets In Your

Eyes and Freddie Mercury, The Great Pretender. None have

bettered the originals,and even the group the Pretenders took

their name from a Platters' single.