Showing posts with label The Platters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Platters. Show all posts

February 29, 2024

78 RPMs 11: Dinah Shore ~ Sleepy Lagoon

  ~   
78 RPM record, side 2


Today is the birthday of "Leap Year Baby" Dinah Shore born in 1916.  She was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the chart-topping female vocalist of the 1940's who rose to stardom as a recording artist during the Big Band era.     
 
I love this song, it's one of my favorites; I remember my mom and dad slow dancing to the tune in our living room. It's actually the "B" side of the record. There are other versions I like better but this is the one from my childhood. 
 
The song was recorded by. David Rose, Fred Waring, Glenn Miller and The Platters did an excellent cover of it in the mid-fifties.   
 
It was written by British composer Eric Coates in 1930 with the title, By the Sleepy Lagoon. In 1940 American songwriter Jack Lawrence added lyrics with the approval of Coates; the resulting song, Sleepy Lagoon, became a popular-music standard of the 1940s.            
 
 


Sleepy Lagoon is used as the theme song for the Desert Island Discs radio program broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.    

Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the show, is asked to choose eight audio recordings (usually, but not always, music), a book and a luxury item that they would take if they were to be cast away on a desert island, as they discuss their life and the reasons for their choices. It was devised and originally presented by Roy Plomley. Since 2018 the programme has been presented by Lauren Laverne. More than 3,000 episodes have been recorded, with some guests having appeared more than once and some episodes featuring more than one guest.     

When Desert Island Discs marked its 75th year in 2017, The Guardian called the show a radio classic. In February 2019, a panel of broadcasting industry experts named it the greatest radio program of all time. I find it interesting to hear what musics famous people like and was the inspiration for my "Desert Island" series (link below).     



Sleepy Lagoon was a reservoir beside the Los Angeles River that was frequented by Mexican-Americans. Its name came from the popular song Sleepy Lagoon. The "Sleepy Lagoon murder" was the name that Los Angeles newspapers used to describe the death of José Gallardo Díaz, who was discovered dying near the reservoir with two stab wounds in Commerce, California, United States, on the morning of August 2, 1942. The cause of Díaz's death remains disputed to this day. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrested several Mexican-American youths for the murder.            
          
         
Sleepy Lagoon murder Defendants - 1942 
 
   
Beginning in the early 1930s and exacerbated by the Great Depression, approximately one million Mexican immigrants and native-born Americans of Mexican descent were forced to leave the United States for Mexico during the Mexican Repatriation as part of a policy by the administration of Herbert Hoover who had scapegoated Mexicans for the Great Depression and instituted stricter immigration policies with the stated intent of freeing up jobs for a narrow demographic of Americans.    
    
The first side of the record has Three Little Sisters; a bouncy forties dance song that is not particularly interesting but fun.      


Dinah Shore ~ Three Little Sisters
78 RPM record, side 1 

   
Tracklist:

Side 1:
 
Three Little Sisters, written by Irving Taylor, Vic Mizzy

Side 2:

Sleepy Lagoon, written by Eric Coates, Jack Lawrence

Companies:

    Record Company – RCA Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Credits:



Notes:

For best results use
RCA Victor Needles

With Orchestra

A: Featured in the Universal film "Private Buckaroo"

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Matrix / Runout (Label side A): 27875-A
    Matrix / Runout (Label side B): 27875-B
    Matrix / Runout (Runout, side A, stamped): 1 27875A A2 1 I
    Matrix / Runout (Runout, side B, stamped): 1 27875B 1B 3 1 1

Dinah Shore – Three Little Sisters / Sleepy Lagoon
Label:    Victor – 27875
Format:    Shellac, 10", 78 RPM
Country: US
Released: May 1, 1942
Genre:    Pop, Classical, Stage & Screen
Style:    Vocal






Viewfinder links:       
        
Jimmy Dorsey       
Tommy Dorsey       
Harry James     
Glenn Miller           
The Platters               
David Rose          
Fred Waring       
       
Net links:       
        
Desert Island Discs       
       
YouTube links:       
        
Tommy Dorsey ~ Sleepy Lagoon           
Harry James ~ Sleepy Lagoon           
Glenn Miller ~ Sleepy Lagoon           
The Platters ~  Sleepy Lagoon     
Dinah Shore ~      
       Sleepy Lagoon             
       Three Little Sisters               
        
        
        
        
        
       
        
        
        
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Thursday, February 29, 2024       
       
 
 
 ~
 
 
 
 
 
 
 













 

November 2, 2022

Bill Buchanan articles/mentions

 ~        
     
     
mentions:      
Halloween Greetings          
     
     
     
     
     
    
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
 
 
 
 
 

March 17, 2021

The Coasters articles/mentions

  ~         

 

     
Poison Ivy                   
Poison Ivy lyrics           
Yakety Yak       
             
     
mentions:     
The Platters ~ Only You     
     
      
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

February 15, 2021

The Marcels articles/mentions

   ~  
The Marcels ~ Blue Moon            
    
      
      
      
      
      
 
The Marcels 
date & photographer unknown
       
      
      
      













Otis Blackwell articles/mentions

  ~  
The Platters ~ My Prayer      
Elvis Presley ~   
     Don't Be Cruel   
Skatt Brothers ~ Don't Be Cruel      
      
      
      
      
Otis Blackwell      
date & photographer unknown      
       
      
      
      











November 5, 2020

Ike Turner articles/mentions

~     
Bad Dreams     
     
mentions:            
Betty Davis, Kaisik Wong & Sandra Sakata      
Jimi Hendrix Experience ~ Smash Hits  
The Platters ~ Only You (And You Alone)   
     
     
     
     
Ike Turner - February 12, 1972
photographer unknown


     
    
    
     
     














November 3, 2020

Vic Damone articles/mentions

~     
     
      
The Dangerous Christmas Of Red Riding Hood    
Kismet & Alexander Borodin    
The Platters ~ Only You     
Frank Sinatra ~ September of My Years   
     
     
     
     
Vic Damone - 1940's
photographer unknown


     
    
    
     
      
     














 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

January 24, 2020

Pat Boone articles/mentions

~       
       
Debbie Harry - KooKoo        
The Platters ~ My Prayer      
       
        
       
      
      
       
        
       
      
      
      
       
        
Pat Boone - 1960
photographer unknown
       
      
       
        
         
       
      
       
        








January 12, 2020

The Ink Spots articles/mentions

~   
   
Elvis ~ All Shook Up & Otis Blackwell     Kismet & Alexander Borodin     
The Platters ~ My Prayer      
  
   
  
      
    
   
  
    
   
The Ink Spots      
date & photographer unknown      
       
   
  
  










July 31, 2019

July 25, 2019

Buchanan & Goodman ~ The Flying Saucer lyrics

~ 
We interrupt this record
To bring you a special bulletin
The reports of a flying saucer
Hovering over the city
Have been confirmed
The flying saucers are real

(Too real when I feel What my heart can't conceal)

That was The Clatters Recording, Too Real
We switch you now to our On the spot reporter downtown

(Come on, baby
Let's go downtown)

Take it away John Cameron Cameron

This is John Cameron Cameron downtown
Pardon me, madam
Would you tell our audience
What would you do if
The saucer were to land

(Duck back in the alley)

Thank you and now
The thin gentleman there

(What I'm gonna do
Is hard to tell)

And the gentleman
With the guitar
What would you do, sir

(Just take a walk
Down lonely street)

Thank you
We return you now...

This is Drak
Your outer space disc jockey
With a request for earth

(Earth angel, earth angel)

That was The Pelicans outer
Space recording, Earth
I've just been handed a bulletin
The flying saucer has just landed
We switch you again downtown

Here we are again
We have with us Professor
Sir Cedric Pentingmode
Of the British Institute
And the professor is approaching
The saucer to see if there's
Possibly any sign of life aboard

Well, I'm sure something
Are you there

(I hear you knocking
But you can't come in)

That was Laughing
Lewis' record, Knocking

This is John Cameron
Cameron on the spot
And now I believe we're
About to hear the words of
The first spaceman ever
To land on Earth

(Womp bop a loo bop
A lomp bam boom)

And now here are the ball scores
Four to three, six to two
And eight to one

The impact of seeing
The first spaceman has
This reporter reeling

(Here I go reeling
Uh-oh, uh-oh...)

That was The Clatters again
With their big one, Uh-Oh

This is John Cameron
Cameron again downtown
The spaceman has returned
To his ship and is taking off
We return you now to our studios

The flying saucer has gone
There is no threat of an invasion
However, the flying saucers
Are still around

(Still around)

We are not going
To interrupt this record
Yes, we are

The flying saucer
Has landed again
Washington, The Secretary
Of Defense has just said

(Ain't that a shame)

That was Skinny Dynamo's
Record, That's A Shame

This is John Cameron
Cameron, part two
Gathered around me are
Several of the spacemen
Tell us, have you come
To conquer the world

And now would you
Repeat that in English

(Don't want the world
To have and hold)

Hey, why don't you go back
Where you came from

(Don't be angry
And drive me away)

We return you now
To our studios

Here is a news item
From Washington
The President has just
Issued a statement to the
Spacemen and we quote

(You can do anything
But lay off of my
Blue suede shoes)

That was Pa Gherkins record, Shoes
We switch you again downtown

This is John Cameron
Cameron downtown
Professor Sir Cedric of
The British Institute
Tell us how were
The saucers able to land

Well, you see..

(The motor cooled down
The heat went down)

That was Huckle Berry's recording
The Moter Cooled Down

This is John Cameron
Cameron again
I believe the spaceman has
A final parting word

(See you later, alligator)

We return you now
To our studios

The spacemen have gone again
But look to the skies
The saucers will
Always be there

(Always be there)

Goodbye, earth peopleWriter/s: GOODMAN BUCHANAN
Publisher: DICKIE GOODMAN PRODUCTIONS LLC
      
       
       
Viewfinder links:       
        
Fats Domino  
Bill Haley         
The Platters  
Elvis Presley                
        
        
        
       
       
       
Styrous® ~  Monday, July 22, 2019        
        














April 29, 2019

Tina Turner articles/mentions

~     
 
date & photographer unknown
 
mentions:           
Rupert Hine ~ Immunity              
Engelbert Humperdinck ‎~ Help Me Make It Through the Night     
The Platters ~ Only You (And You Alone)  
The Who ~    
     Tommy     
     Tommy (the soundtrack)     
USA For Africa ~ We Are The World  
   
  
   
 
   
   
 
   
   











Buck Ram articles/mentions

~   
The Platters ~        
My Prayer      
Only You (And You Alone)      
(You've Got) The Magic Touch      
     
    
     
Buck Ram    
photographer unknown     
     

     











April 26, 2019

45 RPM 31: The Platters ~ Only You (And You Alone)


7" 45 single in original Mercury Records sleeve
photo by Styrous®


Only You (And You Alone) by The Platters is for me the most beautiful love song I have ever heard! There are many, MANY wonderful love ballads that I adore but Only You is at the apex of them all.   





The Platters first recorded the song for Federal Records on May 20, 1954, but it was never released. They re-recorded the song on April 26, 1955, for Mercury Records. It was released the following month in May and became a major hit. The song has been covered by many other recording artists (link below).       

For me, Only You was the first "serious" love song of the modern "pop music" era. By serious I mean not only excellent musically in orchestration and execution but with lyrics that conveyed the feeling of sincere commitment, deep love and an intensity of emotion.      

"Serious" love songs were standard in the 20's, 30's and 40's. Although, "serious" love songs were sung by Patty Page, Kay Starr, Vic Damone, etc., well into the fifties, they were doing it in the style of the 40's with lush orchestrations. The early fifties love songs were what I consider bubble gum or puppy-love songs. Perhaps that's because they were mostly sung by young kids with small combo backups. Then Only You came along and reset the standard.    

Only You was composed by Buck Ram who is best known for his long association with The Platters. He also wrote, produced and arranged for the Penguins, the Coasters, the Drifters, Ike and Tina Turner, Ike Cole, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others.      




Only You (And You Alone) lyrics

Only you, can make this world seem right
Only you, can make the darkness bright
Only you, and you alone, can thrill me like you do
And fill my heart with love for only you
O-only you, can make this change in me
For it's true, you are my destiny
When you hold my hand, I understand the magic that you do
You're my dream come true, my one and only you
O-only you, can make this change in me
For it's true, you are my destiny
When you hold my hand, I understand the magic that you do
You're my dream come true, my one and only you


The "B" side of the record is an upbeat, doo wop tune called Bark, Battle and Ball (link below). The vocal lead is by Zola Taylor.  It's feeling, theme and tempo is completely opposite from that of Only You.          

            
The Platters ~ Bark, Battle & Ball 
7" 45 single in original Mercury Records sleeve
photo by Styrous®


The line up for The Platters was headed by tenor Tony Williams with David Lynch, Paul Robi, bass Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor. Reed later recalled how the group hit upon its successful version: "We tried it so many times, and it was terrible. One time we were rehearsing in the car ... and the car jerked. Tony went 'O-oHHHH-nly you.' We laughed at first, but when he sang that song—that was the sign we had hit on something." According to Buck Ram, Tony Williams' voice "broke" in rehearsal, but they decided to keep this effect in the recording. This was the only Platters recording on which songwriter and manager Ram played the piano.      



The Platters ~ Bark, Battle & Ball 
7" 45 single, side 2
photo by Styrous®


Only You was number 1 on the U.S. R & B charts for seven weeks, and hit number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It remained there for 30 weeks, beating out a cover version by The Hilltoppers. When the Platters track, The Great Pretender (which eventually surpassed the success of Only You), was released in the UK as Europe's first introduction to The Platters, Only You was included on the flipside. In the 1956 film Rock Around the Clock, The Platters participated with both songs, Only You (link below) and The Great Pretender.         


The Platters ~ Bark, Battle & Ball 
7" 45 single label, side 2
photo by Styrous®


      
Viewfinder links:      
            
Duke Ellington            
Ella Fitzgerald            
Patti Page      
The Platters      
    
Net links:             
       
The Platters:
Original lineup (1953)
Classic lineup (1954–1970)       
The Platters Singles discography
Only You (And You Alone) covers       
     
YouTube links:  
   
Only You (And You Alone)        
Only You (And You Alone) film footage       
Bark, Battle and Ball        
    
        
         
     
         
Styrous® ~ Friday, April 26, 2019