An appreciation: Herb Reed helped R&B, pop soar with the Platters

Herb Reed of the Platters, who died Monday in Boston at age 83, was the last surviving original member of the great '50s R&B and doo-wop group known for its soaring operatic hits  “The Great Pretender,” “Only You,” “Twilight Time,” “My Prayer” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”

Reed’s glorious bass voice anchored the group’s sound, keeping the music rooted to the earth as tenor Tony Williams took those songs and dozens of others upward into the musical stratosphere.

To the casual pop music fan, it’s easy to lump the Platters with the Coasters, the Drifters, the Penguins, the Clovers and other early R&B and doo-wop groups of the '50s. That's partly because, for so many of these vocal groups, their identity began and ended with the name -- they weren't differentiated into superstar guitarists or drummers or even lead singers, but made their living by harmonizing together. Clyde McPhatter left the Drifters to chart a solo career that gave him an individual identity, but for the most part, it was the collective that fans knew and loved.

Reed and Williams first got together with tenor David Lynch, soprano Zola Taylor and baritone Paul Robi here in Los Angeles in the early '50s, and it's usually Williams’ voice that one heard first in their mix. But “My Prayer” provides a great example of what Reed contributed time and again.

After Williams sings the opening line, a cappella, “When the twilight is gone,” the other Platters answer and support him with an elongated “gone” in which Reed's oaky bass is not only heard but also palpably felt.

That's historically the role the bass voice serves in gospel, pop and classical music: It’s the soul, reaching to the deepest parts of the human heart.

It’s appropriate to reference classical music when discussing the Platters because their signature sound tapped much the same sweep and grandeur of great operatic arias.

The group’s manager, producer and sometimes songwriter Buck Ram, who had shepherded the career of the Ink Spots a decade earlier, had a great ear for what would appeal to more than just the African American listeners who still bought the majority of R&B records in the early '50s when the Platters came around.

Ram sweetened their records with strings, and he got the five singers to apply their vibrant harmonies to many songs that had previously been hits in the '20s, '30s and '40s, giving them an air of familiarity to a broad swath of music fans.

“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” had been a No. 1 hit in 1934 for the great bandleader Paul Whiteman, Glenn Miller had reached No. 2 with “My Prayer” in 1939,  and “Twilight Time” had been a top 10 hit in 1944 for the Three Suns. Here's a video of the Platters' version of "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes":

 

The Platters brought a new pulse and sensuality to the material, but also elegance and sophistication that were more transcendent and ethereal than the gritty sexuality of the likes of Ruth Brown and Etta James. The Platters created a blueprint for towering pop music that would later be exploited magnificently by Roy Orbison and Del Shannon and even can be heard in the sweeping pop-R&B balladry of Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera.

Ringo Starr tipped his hat to the group with his version of “Only You” on his second post-Beatles solo album, “Goodnight Vienna,” in 1974.

Although the Platters suffered the fate of many '50s R&B groups over time with spurious versions of the act cropping up in far-flung lounges and casinos, Reed did his best to keep the Platters legacy intact, touring until last year, when health issues prompted him to retire.

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--Randy Lewis

Photo montage of Herb Reed and original members of the Platters. Courtesy of Balboni Communications Group.

Billboard Hot 100 notches 1,000th No. 1 single: From Ricky Nelson to Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has snagged a piece of pop music history in landing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 this week with her new single “Born This Way.”

Even more significant than posting the highest first-week digital sales by a female artist, with 448,000 downloads of the song, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Gaga scored the 1,000th No. 1 single on the Billboard chart since its inception in 1958.

In recognition of the milestone among chart watchers, Billboard has posted a chronological listing of all 1,000 chart-topping songs.

The first? Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool,” which beat all comers on that first Hot 100 chart dated Aug. 4, 1958. With that in mind, some might consider it a shame that America’s latest teen idol, Justin Bieber, didn’t land the No. 1 slot this week to bookend the half-century-plus period that began with pop music’s original teen idol. (Life magazine is credited with coining the phrase in a feature story on Nelson’s rise to stardom.)

Pop & Hiss thought we’d take the opportunity to scan through the years for some of the chart’s other high- and lowlights.

Mariah Carey will release duet, remix album

Fans flocking to see Mariah Carey on her “Angels Advocate Tour” -- which made two stops at Gibson Amphitheatre this week -- might be surprised at what they don’t hear.

Carey, touring to support last year's “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,” only performs four or five (depending on where you see her) tracks from the album despite releasing a slew of videos from the project.

The album -- despite getting strong reviews, including one from The Times -- stalled on the charts and in record sales. "Memoirs" peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and currently sits at the No. 124 slot.

So has Mimi given up on the album?

She announced to the crowd at Tuesday’s show that a remix version of the album would be released at some point, although she wasn’t sure when because she doesn’t "make those decisions.” 

But fans will be pleased to know the album is coming sooner rather than later.

“Angels Advocate,” the album, will feature remixes and duets of songs featured on “Memoirs” and possibly some new tracks, including "100%," which was originally slated to appear on the soundtrack single to "Precious" but is now in support of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Over the last few months, a handful of tracks have leaked and have featured T-Pain and Trey Songz. Mary J. Blige, Fabolous, R. Kelly, The-Dream, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg are also scheduled to contribute, and Carey has already released two videos for the project that feature Ne-Yo and Nicki Minaj.

The album, which will be released March 30, will be sold exclusively at Target and iTunes.

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy (Follow me on Twitter @GerrickKennedy)

Photo: Mariah Carey. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

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Live review: Mariah Carey at Gibson Amphitheatre

Album review: Mariah Carey's 'Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel'

Live review: Mariah Carey at Gibson Amphitheatre

A nostalgic Carey shows today's divas how it's done in a soaring performance. Lady Gaga and Beyonce, take note.

 
Halfway through her highly entertaining show Tuesday night at Gibson Amphitheatre, Mariah Carey stood onstage in a sparkly gold cocktail dress and waxed nostalgic for a (more) gilded age.

"Remember the video with the jet skis?" she asked wistfully, referring to the James Bond-inspired clip for her 1997 hit "Honey," which the singer's seven-piece band had begun playing. "They don't make those anymore."

 Nor do they make pop divas like Carey anymore. In an era of high-tech performance-art opacity (think Beyoncé or Lady Gaga), her transparent blend of vocal talent and goofy charisma seems appealingly old-fashioned. Tuesday's concert, the first of two at the Gibson in support of last year's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," felt at times like an attempt to break down the kind of mystique that's grown up around Carey's successors. 

Which didn't mean it lacked for production pizazz: Elaborately costumed in a cloud of honey-colored taffeta, the singer made her entrance upon an enormous swing that lowered from above the stage; later, during "Angels Cry," a pair of dancers performed a Cirque du Soleil-style aerial number while suspended from a flimsy band of cloth.

Yet rather than presenting these elements as immovable facts of nature, Carey took every opportunity to expose the business behind the show. Before an effervescent version of "Always Be My Baby," she invited her hair-and-makeup team onstage for a mid-set touch-up, then decided she could do the job just as well herself. "I went to beauty school," she said, powdering her nose. "Five hundred hours in 11th grade."

For "My All," Carey sat in a chair, explaining that her shoes were too tight; within seconds, though, she'd discovered that the chair had been placed out of range of the several industrial fans on hair-blowing duty. So while she waited for a stagehand to fix the problem, the singer took a sip of what she promised was water from a nearby champagne glass. "If you see me drinking from the bottle," she confided, "you know we've got a problem."

What made all these disclosures so endearing, of course, was Carey's singing, which 20 years after her emergence with the melisma-soaked "Vision of Love" has lost little of its uncommon power.

On the charts: Michael Buble bubbles to the top, Kiss stays steady

Oprah Winfrey continues to wield her power to influence the music industry. Pop vocalist Michael Bublé appeared on  "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Friday, and -- violà! -- his album lands atop the U.S. pop chart less than one week later.

This is his second chart-topper, Billboard reports, but "Crazy Love" accomplished such a feat with just three days of sales.The album was released off-cycle on Friday, as opposed to the standard music biz release day of Tuesday, and Nielsen SoundScan tracks sales data through Sunday evening. Bublé's "Crazy Love" sold 132,000 copies, according to SoundScan.

Meanwhile, Bublé's past efforts continue to put up solid numbers. Though not reflected on the current pop chart, Bublé has two albums in the top 30 on Billboard's Top Catalog Albums tally. His 2005 release "It's Time" sold just fewer than 5,000 copies this week, giving it a to-date total of 3.2 million. His 2007 effort "Call Me Irresponsible" added another 4,000 copies, bringing it to a total of 1.9 million.

The ballad-focused crooner tends to fly under the radar for someone who puts up such blockbuster numbers. His release wasn't the flashiest to land on this week's pop charts, and yet it still beat out such veteran brand-news as Kiss and Toby Keith. 

Other notables from this week's sales chart:

On the charts: Pearl Jam's Target adventure, Phoenix rising and Whitney's steady

Return to form: With "Backspacer," Pearl Jam scores its first No. 1 album in 13 years, Billboard reports. The set sold 190,000 copies in its first week in stores, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's Pearl Jam's first release outside the major label system, but the band wasn't exactly going the DIY-route. In a move that surprised fans, Pearl Jam lined up with big box retailer Target for the exclusive release.

Long associated with an anti-corporate stance, Pearl Jam avoided major fan criticism by still allowing the album to be sold at indie shops and Apple's iTunes store. While "Backspacer" failed to land on the chart with the same impact of 2006's self-titled effort, which opened with 279,000 copies, it is on par with Target's other recent exclusive. Earlier this year, Prince went with the retailer, and ended up with the album "LotusFlow3r" landing at No. 2 after selling 168,000 copies.

Diva tales: It's another solid week for Whitney Houston. Her "I Look to You" is at No. 4 this week, selling 66,000 copies. That's a dip from last week, when she sold 156,000 copies -- a post-"Oprah" sales bump -- but brings her total to 620,000 copies sold to date. That's good news for Houston as the industry heads into the holiday season. With depressed sales making it relatively easy for a brand-name artist to stay in the top 20, Houston should be on target to rack up a bevy of Grammy nominations if she can maintain a consistent sales base.

Expect her to be joined on the chart next week by another diva -- Mariah Carey. Digital downloads of Carey's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" are expected to be solid, as the album is currently retailing at Amazon.com for a budget price of $5.99. But album sales may not be a real indicator for the success of "Angel," as it's a truly ad-supported release, coming complete with sponsored liner notes.

Album review: Mariah Carey's 'Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel'*

She shows off her talent by coming off as just another girl at the nail salon.

On her recently leaked and soon-to-be-released 12th studio album, Mariah Carey and her latest producers, Terius "The-Dream" Nash and Tricky Stewart, attempt to get at something by distilling it. They're seeking the Essence of Mimi, the liquor in the oyster of Carey's famously luscious voice.But instead of showcasing this musical Olympian's dazzling way with a vocal run or her nearly unmatchable whistle register -- obvious choices when it comes to Carey's talent -- she and her team tune into a particular tone, the one that earned her another nickname, Honey.

There's a breathiness to this album that's not only sexy but emotionally intimate. Heavy on slow jams, quiet confessions and kiss-offs closer to the work of the rappers she admires than to Carey's soul sisters, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" capitalizes on an underrated aspect of the singer's talent: Her ability, even when she's scaling vocal heights, to still come off as just another girl at the nail salon.

Carey's lyrics -- she co-writes everything here, except for her fairly unremarkable cover of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" -- make this point most obviously. Even when fully dressed in the armor of her glamour, as when she advises an ex (Eminem? More likely it's Latin pop star Luis Miguel) to "pretend you on a sofa, and I'm on MTV" when he spies her walking by.

Carey still compulsively shares details about her runny mascara and her appetite for Duncan Hines yellow cake. "Bubble baths on the jet" might be a ridiculous fantasy, but it's not at all elitist. Any real housewife or career girl has been in that daydream.

Fall preview: Autumn's must-hear music

Autumn is a glutton's feast for pop fans, full of blockbuster albums, buzzed-about debuts, spectacular arena tours and rare small-venue performances. This year offers the usual mix of veterans aiming for another moment of impact, and young pretenders working to make a mark in an ever-widening field.

That's good news for those with eclectic tastes: no one subculture dominates right now, so the listening is best for people who are a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll -- and a little bit dance and folk and Latin, too. What follows is a look at the best bets for recorded and live music in the coming months, album release dates subject to change, of course.

Mariah Carey bets on nostalgia, covering Foreigner

Perhaps realizing that the focus should be less on Mariah Carey's feud with Eminem and a bit more on the pop diva, more hints were dropped today about the singer's upcoming "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel." The ad-supported album, which was originally set for Aug. 25, is now due to be released Sept. 29.

The second single from Carey's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" will apparently be a cover of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" (perhaps tackling "Don't Stop Believing" would have been a too-obvious choice of pandering). The news was first reported by Roger Friedman, and his article has since been posted on Carey's official website. 

This isn't the first time Carey has covered an '80s ballad -- see her take on "I Still Believe" above. The latter gave Carey yet another top 10 hit, a status that has thus far eluded her "Obsessed." But it's far from a tanker, as the song is holding steady at No. 14.

Mariah Carey and the product placement album

Buying the new Mariah Carey album is going to be an experience akin to dining at the Cheesecake Factory. Copies of forthcoming "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" will come bundled with a 34-page booklet --- a "co-production with Elle magazine," is how Billboard words it -- that will feature advertisements from major luxury brands alongside the typical CD liner notes.

It's a development, perhaps, a little less shrewd and a bit more transparent than Chris Brown disguising singles as an ad for chewing gum, but one that has the potential to become more prevalent. The Island Def Jam Music Group will be watching the success of the program and is "eying bigger brand deals for booklets of CDs by Rihanna, Bon Jovi, Kanye West" and more, writes Billboard.