Buck Ram's Platters
artist, walked into the office of songwriter/manager, Buck Ram, who was looking for someone to sing the
songs he wrote. At the audition that evening was Jean Bennett, a hopeful singer herself, who was
working part-time for Ram. Bennett would soon switch her focus from singing to the public relations side
of the business, and the three would form the foundation of the team that would create the #1 group of an
era and give birth to the original "concept" group - The Platters.
TODAY: The concept continues. The Buck Ram Platters are gearing up for a cross-country 50 Year
Anniversary Tour. The voices and the faces will be different but the music and the spirit will be grounded
in Ram's music. The core of the show will be based on the show done by The Platters at the Olympia
Theater in Paris in 1955, where the group was the Toast of the Paris for months and outsold Edith Piaf.
* * *
WHAT'S ORIGINAL: The music!! And the managment which requires that The Buck Ram Platters
adhere to the standards Ram demanded. The group has been called The Third Generation. The term
refers not only to the singers but to the three generations of family members who work diligently to keep
Ram's music alive.
* * *
ROAD STORY #1: The Platters were audtioning at a club in L.A.. They sang "Rose of Picardy" -
very poorly. The club owner said to Ram in a voice the singers could hear, "I would never hire them.
They're awful."
Tony Williams stepped to the edge of the stage and said, "Some day we'll be so famous you won't be
able to afford us."
Williams, of course, was right.
ROAD STORY #2: It was 1955 - a different age with different sensitivities. The Platters were
performing at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. While they could entertain the customers, they could not mingle
with them and had to enter and exit the hotel through a back door.
The group was leaving the hotel after rehearsal one afternoon, when one of the fellows remembered that
he had left his jacket behind. They pulled in front of the hotel, and he ran in the front door of the casino to
retrieve his jacket. It was an action that almost cost the group the job.
Jean's stomach was tied in knots, and she wanted to punch the booker when he asked, "What does your
boy think he's doing coming in the front door."
Despite her urge, she didn't punch the guy. She talked fast and politely and managed to save the job.
ROAD STORY #3: You must be focused when you're negotiating a deal, and Ram was focused as he
talked to a record company bigwig. He rocked back and forth in his chair as the discussion progressed.
You must be in control when you close the deal, and Ram was in control - well almost. He rocked back
in the chair, and it kept right on going. He lay in the chair on his back with his legs in the air and close the
deal. He never let on what had happened, and he never missed a beat.
* * *
THE TRUTH: When there are dozens, even hundreds of people involved in a project as successful as
The Platters, everyone has there own verision of what happened. And everyone believes their version.
However, no one can be in every situation. We attempt to be as accurate as possible based on our 50
years of records.
If you find something you feel is inaccurate, please let us know. And if you have stories about The
Platters, please share them with us so that we can share them with the fans.