Growing up with music of the 50s meant listening to songs whose words were totally understandable. Singing along seemed natural as images formed connecting the dots of memories stored in the mind or making new ones. This was the era when pop, R&B and rock 'n' roll flowed together in perfect harmony.
Welcome into the Spotlight...
The Platters: One of the leading R&B vocal groups of the 50s, the first
black group to be accepted as a major chart act and, for a short time,
the most successful vocal group in the world
The Platters were the most popular black group of their time with a soulful tone to pop-oriented,
harmony-rich material. True to their form the harmonizing was impeccable framed by string-laden arrangements. From 1955 to the end of the decade, hit after hit was charted, including four singles that reached No.1: "The Great Pretender", "My Prayer", "Twilight Time" and the single becoming an international hit in today's spotlight "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
1959 The Platters 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes' started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart. Although The Platters recording has become the definitive version, recordings have been made by Artie Shaw (1941), Harry Belafonte (1950), Sarah Vaughan, and others. Some interesting facts about the original song:
No.1 hits (singles & albums) on this day...Songfacts: This was written in 1933 for the musical Roberta, starring Bob Hope. The lyrics were written by Otto Harbach and the music by Jerome Kern. In 1934, four different recordings charted: Paul Whiteman #1, Leo Reisman #3, Emil Coleman #4, and Ruth Etting #15.
[Click on the year for the songs that hit number one on the charts in the US during that year.]
No comments:
Post a Comment