Billboard is part of MRC Media and Info, a division of MRC. As a result, The Platters became the first African-American group to achieve international superstardom. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. All Rights Reserved. Reed and his company, Herb Reed Enterprises, LLC (“HRE”), initiated a series of lawsuits, which reinforced his sole stake in The Platters name, finding his rights superior to all others. It is here a recently discharged young Army veteran named Herb Reed recruited Cornell Gunther, Joe Jefferson, and Alex Hodge to form a vocal quartet he would eventually name The Platters. All Rights Reserved. To simplify subscriber access, we have temporarily disabled the password requirement. The Biz premium subscriber content has moved to Billboard.com/business. Because of these actions, there is now only ONE legally authorized vocal group performing around the world today. The public was consistently deceived and misled for years until 2010 when Reed and his manager, Frederick J. Balboni, Jr., hired Eric Sommers, an East Coast intellectual property litigator, to stop the myriad identity thieves from preying on the public. Only You (and You Alone) and The Great Pretender were named songs of the century and entered in the Grammy® Hall of Fame in 1999 and 2002 respectively. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The act has gone through several personnel changes, with one of the most successful incarnations comprising lead tenor Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor. The Platters Number one on my 4th birthday (February 7th, 1959) If you were born on Monday, February 07, 1955 then Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by The Platters was the #1 song one on your 4th birthday and went to number one on January 18th, 1959. 04.05.1959, Peaked at #31 on Copyright 2020 Herb Reed Enterprises, LLC. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. The follow-up single, The Great Pretender, propelled The Platters to the number one position on the pop charts, providing the launch pad for their meteoric rise as crossover artists. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Vinyl reissues and special releases coming in Q4 2020, Everton anthem Spirit Of The Blues set to enter Official UK Top 40, Clean Bandit & Mabel's Tick Tock is UK's Number 1 trending song, Royal Blood on track for first UK Top 40 hit with Trouble's Coming, Idles outselling rest of Top 5 combined for UK Albums Number 1, Robert Grace's Fake Fine heading for Official Irish Singles Chart, Taylor Swift surpasses Whitney Houston's US chart record, Miley Cyrus and Clean Bandit set for big climbs on the Official Singles Chart. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Privacy Policy So many great albums to choose from - including two UK Number 1s! On this page you can see every Official Singles Chart Number 1 in history. Billboard is a subsidiary of Valence Media, LLC. Originally, their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre.