The Platters formed in Los Angeles, CA, USA in 1953 and were initially managed by Ralph Bass. They had a contract with Federal Records but experienced little record success until they met music entrepreneur and songwriter Buck Ram. He added lead vocalist Tony Williams (who gave the Platters their distinctive sound) and female vocalist Zola Taylor. Under Ram's guidance, the Platters recorded seven singles for Federal in an R&B/gospel style, scoring minor regional hits on the West Coast. One song recorded at Federal, "Only You (And You Alone)", originally written by Ram for the Ink Spots was deemed unreleasable by the label.
Despite lack of chart success, the Platters were a profitable touring group--so successful that The Penguins, fresh from their No. 2 single Earth Angel, asked Ram to manage them too. With the Penguins as a bargaining chip, Ram persuaded Mercury Records into a 2-for-1 deal. In order to sign the Penguins, he insisted, the label also take the Platters. Ironically, the Penguins never had a hit for the label.
Convinced by Tony Williams that "Only You" had potential, Ram had the group re-record it during their first Mercury session. Released in the summer of 1955, it became the group's first Top Ten hit on the pop charts, and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks. It has since become one of the most played records in any genre and the song has been covered by innumerable artists. Ironically, the follow-up, The Great Pretender, with lyrics written by Ram in the washroom of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, exceeded the chart success of their début and became the Platters' first national No.1 hit. The Great Pretender was also the act's biggest R&B hit, with an 11-week run at the top of that chart. In 1956. The Platters appeared in the first major rock n roll movie, Rock Around the Clock, and performed both "Only You" and "The Great Pretender"[2] and they sang "You'll Never Never Know" in The Girl Can't Help It, produced the same year.
The Platters' unique vocal style touched a nerve in the music-buying public, and a string of hit singles followed, including two more Top 100 No. 1 hits, one Hot 100 No. 1 hit, and more modest hits such as "I'm Sorry" (No. 11) and "He's Mine" (No. 23) in 1957, "Enchanted" (No.12) in 1959, and "The Magic Touch" (No.4) in 1956. The Platters hit on a successful formula of updating older standards, such as "My Prayer", "Twilight Time", "Harbor Lights", "To Each His Own", "If I Didn't Care" and Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes". This latter release caused a small controversy after Kern's widow expressed concern that her late husband's composition would be turned into a "rock n roll record". It topped both American and British charts in a tasteful Platters-style arrangement.
The group was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in its inaugural year of 1998. The Platters were the first rock n roll group to have a Top Ten album in America. They were also the only act to have three songs included on the American Graffiti soundtrack that sparked an oldies revival in the early to mid-1970s: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Great Pretender" and "Only You (and You Alone)".
Many groups have toured bearing the name The Platters but only one member of the original line-up, Herb Reed, was still touring and performing with Herb Reed's Platters in 2008.
Zola Taylor died on April 30th 2007 of pneumonia whilst recovering from surgery.
Honeysuckle Rose
The Platters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, honey, listen to my plea:
Every honeybee
Fills with jealousy,
When they see you out with me!
I don't blame them, goodness knows,
Oh, honey! suckle rose!
When you're passin' by,
Flowers droop and sigh
And I know the reason why,
You're my sweety, goodness knows,
Oh, honey! suckle rose!
I don't buy sugar,
You just have to touch my cup;
I don't need sugar,
It's sweet enough when you stir it up!
When I'm taking sips
From your dainty lips,
Seems the honey fairly drips,
You're confection, goodness knows,
Oh, honey! suckle rose.
Every honeybee
Fills with jealousy,
When they see you out with me!
I don't blame them, goodness knows,
Oh, honey! suckle rose!
When you're passin' by,
Flowers droop and sigh,
And I know the reason why,
You're my sweety, goodness knows,
Oh, honey! suckle rose!
I don't buy sugar,
You just have to touch my cup;
I don't need sugar,
It's sweet, stir it up!
When I'm taking sips
From your dainty lips,
Seems the honey fairly drips,
You're confection, goodness knows,
Oh, honey! suckle rose.
The Platters's song Honeysuckle Rose is a love song about a man who is extremely smitten with his significant other. He compares his lover to a honeysuckle rose, stating that she is as sweet as honey and beautiful as a rose. The lyrics are an ode to the power of love and how it affects not only the man, but also the natural world around them.
The song begins with the man addressing his lover as "honey" and asking her to listen to his plea. He expresses how every honeybee fills with jealousy seeing the woman with him because she is so sweet and attractive. The man does not blame the bees, since his lover is like a honeysuckle rose, an irresistible force of nature.
The second verse states that whenever the man's lover passes by, flowers droop and sigh. These are natural reactions, as his lover's beauty is too much to handle. He insists that his lover is a "sweety," like a honeysuckle rose, and confesses that he does not need sugar in his life. The final verse emphasizes that whenever the man takes sips from his lover's dainty lips, the honey fairly drips. Moreover, he compares her to a confection, like a honeysuckle rose.
Overall, The Platters's Honeysuckle Rose is a romantic ballad about the power of love and the beauty of nature. The lyrics are simple and sweet, reflecting the feelings of a man in love.
Line by Line Meaning
Honey, honey,
My darling, my love,
Oh, honey, listen to my plea:
Please hear me out, my dearest:
Every honeybee
Each and every bee that loves sweetness
Fills with jealousy,
Becomes envious and resentful
When they see you out with me!
At the sight of you and me together!
I don't blame them, goodness knows,
I don't fault them, it's understandable,
Oh, honey! suckle rose!
You're the sweetest, most luscious thing in the world!
When you're passin' by,
As you walk on by,
Flowers droop and sigh
The blossoms wilt and sigh
And I know the reason why,
And I know what's causing this reaction -
You're my sweety, goodness knows,
You're the love of my life,
Oh, honey! suckle rose!
You're the sweetest, most luscious thing in the world!
I don't buy sugar,
I don't need to buy any sugar,
You just have to touch my cup;
Just your touch is all it takes
I don't need sugar,
I don't require any sugar,
It's sweet enough when you stir it up!
It's already delicious when you mix it up!
When I'm taking sips
When I drink from the cup
From your dainty lips,
From your delicate mouth,
Seems the honey fairly drips,
It feels like the honey is almost dripping,
You're confection, goodness knows,
You're a delicious dessert,
Oh, honey! suckle rose.
You're the sweetest, most luscious thing in the world!
Every honeybee
Each and every bee that loves sweetness
Fills with jealousy,
Becomes envious and resentful
When they see you out with me!
At the sight of you and me together!
I don't blame them, goodness knows,
I don't fault them, it's understandable,
Oh, honey! suckle rose!
You're the sweetest, most luscious thing in the world!
When you're passin' by,
As you walk on by,
Flowers droop and sigh,
The blossoms wilt and sigh
And I know the reason why,
And I know what's causing this reaction -
You're my sweety, goodness knows,
You're the love of my life,
Oh, honey! suckle rose!
You're the sweetest, most luscious thing in the world!
I don't buy sugar,
I don't need to buy any sugar,
You just have to touch my cup;
Just your touch is all it takes
I don't need sugar,
I don't require any sugar,
It's sweet, stir it up!
It's already delicious, mix it up!
When I'm taking sips
When I drink from the cup
From your dainty lips,
From your delicate mouth,
Seems the honey fairly drips,
It feels like the honey is almost dripping,
You're confection, goodness knows,
You're a delicious dessert,
Oh, honey! suckle rose.
You're the sweetest, most luscious thing in the world!
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Andy Razaf, Thomas Waller
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind