The Platters were a successful black vocal group of the early rock n roll e… Read Full Bio ↴The Platters were a successful black vocal group of the early rock n roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock n roll Tin Pan Alley tradition of the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers and the explosion of teenage music in the mid 1950s. The most successful incarnation of the group comprised lead tenor Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor.

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.

I'll Be Home
The Platters Lyrics

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I'll be home, my darling
Please wait for me (wait for me)
We'll stroll along together
Once more our love will be free

At the corner drugstore
Each Saturday we would meet (we would meet)
I'd walk you home in the moonlight

All of these things we'll repeat

So darling, as I write this letter
Here's hoping you're thinking of me
My mind's made up
So long until I'll be home to start serving you

I'll be home, my darling
Please wait for me (wait for me)
I'd walk you home in the moonlight
Once more our love will be free

Darling, as I write this letter, here's hoping you're thinking of me
My mind's made up
So long until I'll be home to start serving you

I'll be home, my darling
Please wait for me (wait for me)

I'll walk you home in the moonlight
Once more our love will be free

Overall Meaning

The Platters' song "I'll be Home" is a heartfelt plea from a man who is away from his lover, asking her to wait for him, and reassuring her that their love will be just as strong when they are reunited. The song is a classic example of the doo-wop genre that was popular in the 1950s and 60s, characterized by its use of harmonies, simple lyrics, and catchy melodies.

The opening line, "I'll be home, my darling, please wait for me" sets the tone for the song, often interpreted as a message from a soldier away at war. The repetition of "wait for me" throughout the song creates a sense of urgency and longing for the lovers to be reunited. The reference to their past routine of meeting at the corner drugstore every Saturday and walking home together in the moonlight is a nostalgic reminder of their love and the tradition they shared.

Line by Line Meaning

I'll be home, my darling
I promise to return home soon, my beloved

Please wait for me (wait for me)
Please be patient, don't give up on me

We'll stroll along together
We will walk hand in hand

Once more our love will be free
We will once again feel the unencumbered love we shared before

At the corner drugstore
At the drugstore on the street corner

Each Saturday we would meet (we would meet)
We would meet each Saturday without fail

I'd walk you home in the moonlight
I would escort you back home by moonlight

All of these things we'll repeat
We will do all these things again

So darling, as I write this letter
My love, as I pen these words

Here's hoping you're thinking of me
I hope you are thinking of me too

My mind's made up
I have made my decision

So long until I'll be home to start serving you
Farewell until I return home to take care of you

I'll walk you home in the moonlight
When I return, I will escort you home by moonlight again

Once more our love will be free
Our love will be unrestricted again, as it once was

Lyrics © Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ferdinand Washington, Stanley Lewis, KRISTOF HAJOS, PETER HARY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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