Saturday Early Show Celebrating the 2022 Birthday of Buck Ram of the Platters, Steve Caldwell of the Orlons, and Sonny Geraci of the Outsiders and Climax

by Robert Wilkinson

We’ve got three greats for our early show! You may not know the names, but you sure know the music!

We kick off our Saturday with the music of Buck Ram, who gave the world the legendary group The Platters!

Buck Ram (born Samuel Ram, November 21, 1907 – January 1, 1991), also known as Ande Rand, Lynn Paul or Jean Miles, was a songwriter, talent manager, producer, and arranger. He is famous for his work with the Platters, and was one of the greatest songwriters and producers of the doo-wop era. He wrote all the group’s biggest hits, including “Only You,” “The Great Pretender,” “the Magic Touch,” and “Twilight Time.” He also wrote for other great doo-wop groups of the era including the Penguins, the Coasters, the Drifters, and such jazz greats as Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald.

Still, his work with the Platters was pioneering, since they were the first rock and roll group to have a Top Ten album in America, and one of the seminal vocal groups in pop music in the 50s, bridging the doo-wop, crooner, and rock and roll eras. Anyway, enjoy the voices of the great Tony Williams (April 5, 1928 – August 14, 1992) on lead vocals from 1953 to 1960 and Herb Reed (August 7, 1928 – June 4, 2012), another founding member of the Platters in 1953 whose voice was on ALL of their 400+ songs, set to the production techniques of the legendary Buck Ram. Welcome to a world of 60 years ago!

From the 1956 Alan Freed “jukebox movie” Rock Around the Clock, a live performance by the original Platters of “Only You.” and “The Great Pretender”

I found this ancient clip from a 1956 Perry Como Show featuring a live performance by Tony and the Platters of “The Great Pretender”

Another smash hit! From an undated performance, a lip-synched video clip of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” Last year I had their March 1959 performance of the tune on The Ed Sullivan Show but it’s disappeared this year.

The studio version of their 1956 number one hit “My Prayer”

From Nov 1956, the studio version of “One in a Million”

From the late 50s, a live television performance of “He’s Mine”

From June 1958, a live performance on The Ed Sullivan Show of their number 1 smash hit “Twilight Time”

Also from 1958, “Oh Promise Me”

From 1959 or 1960, a live performance of “Remember When”

From 1959, the studio version of their #12 hit, “Enchanted”

Though Herb kept going, here’s one of the last songs Tony did with the Platters, belting out “Orchids in the Moonlight”

From January 1960, the studio version of their top 10 hit “Harbor Lights”

For our finale today, the awesome voices of Herb and Tony in the studio version of “The Magic Touch”

RIP Buck. You made the music of my early childhood, an era of sweet music, great melodies, and magical harmonies. I’m sure the last half of the 20th century blew your mind. Thanks for the memories.

*********

The next set in our show celebrates the birthday and music of Steve Caldwell (November 22, 1942), bass vocalist for the legendary Philly “girl group” the Orlons. They weren’t around long, but they had a huge impact on pop music, scoring several Top 10 US hits between 1962–1964, including "The Wah Watusi", "Don't Hang Up", "South Street", and "Not Me". Formed in 1960, Len Barry of the Dovells pushed them to get a contract, and the Philly sound took flight!

They started as backup singers for Dee Dee Sharp on her hits “Mash Potato Time,” (#2 pop, #1 R&B) I found this live version which has better video of Dee Dee giving us that ultimate twist record “Mash Potato Time!”

Her second hit also featured the Orlons singing backup, “Gravy (for my Mashed Potatoes).” (#9 pop) As was the practice back then, record companies liked to recycle hits to other acts in their stable, so of course Cameo-Parkway took both of these hits and had the Orlons do their own versions of “Mash Potato Time” and “Gravy”

They followed these efforts with 3 tunes written and produced by the legendary Kal Mann that took them into the top 5! This tune went all the way to #2 on the pop charts, the very danceable “Wah-Watusi.”

They followed that one with more Kal Mann hits in 1962-1963, including “Don’t Hang Up” (#4 pop, #3 R&B) and “South Street” (#3 pop, #4 R&B).

Though they already had hit their peak, their run of hits extended through 1963 with “Not Me” (#12 pop) and “Crossfire” (#19 pop, #25 R&B).

Also from the Not Me album, their 1963 #8 R&B hit cover of a tune written by Curtis Mayfield “Mama Didn’t Lie,” their version of the Crystals’ #11 hit, “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” and the very upbeat #17 R&B hit “Bon-Do-Wah.”

These two were their last charting singles, both in 1964. Early in the year they hit #17 R&B with “Shimmy Shimmy,” and closed out their career with the #23 R&B “Knock Knock! (Who’s There?)” after which the group fell apart as the British Invasion hit peak intensity. (It’s safe to say more of us wanted to hear “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Hard Day’s Night” than “Knock Knock.”)

So happy and merry to you Mister Steve Caldwell, and thanks for giving us all so many great tunes! Glad you’re still around and performing even though the girls have all checked out.

*********

Our final early set gives us the electrifying sound of The Outsiders, led by frontman Sonny Geraci (born Emmett Peter "Sonny" Geraci (November 22, 1947 – February 5, 2017), who also hit it big after the Outsiders as the voice for the #3 hit by the band Climax, “Precious and Few.”

Here’s the monster hit by the Outsiders which went to #5 in January 1966, delivered in a lip-synch “live” version of “Time Won’t Let Me”

They followed that smash with this one which went to #21 in May 1966, "Girl in Love"

The Outsiders hit big again going to #15 in August 1966 with the reprise of the Isley Brothers’ hit “Respectable (What Kind of Girl Is This)”

In October 1966, the Outsiders had the misfortune of releasing this the same time as Eric Burdon and the Animals did, despite being told the Animals weren’t releasing a version. The Animals’ version went higher in the charts, and this version arranged for the Outsiders by Chuck Mangione only made it to #37. "Help Me Girl"

Believe it or not, this is the original version! “Bend Me, Shape Me”

We now go to his early 1972 tune that spent 3 weeks at #3 on the Hot 100, and hit #1 on the Cashbox 100. Here’s the voice of Sonny Geraci in a very live television performance (with a horn and string backing track) of the soaring ballad “Precious and Few” Later on, from BB King’s NYC club, a live 2011 performance of “Precious and Few”

We’ll close with three great live clips from later in his career! We begin with Sonny live at Camelot performing his biggest hit, “Time Won’t Let Me” and then at the same gig, “Respectable (What Kind of Girl Is This)” We finish this trifecta with one from 2011. While it was originally written by Del Shannon, and made into a hit by Peter and Gordon, Sonny does a very nice version of “I Go To Pieces”

For our encore, a live performance by the Outsiders on one of Dick Clark’s many shows! “Time Won’t Let Me”

© Copyright 2022 Robert Wilkinson

from Aquarius Papers - Global Astrology https://ift.tt/tam5evV
via IFTTT