Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Zola Taylor, R. I. P.

Thanks to Cap'n Bob for the tip. I love Taylor's lead vocal on The Platters' version of "My Old Flame."

Platters Singer Zola Taylor Dies At 69, Singer Zola Taylor Of The Platters Dies At 69; Harmonized On Hits Like `The Great Pretender' - The ShowBuzz: "Zola Taylor, who broke gender barriers in the 1950s as a member of The Platters, harmonizing with her male colleagues on hits like 'The Great Pretender,' has died, her nephew said Tuesday. She was 69.

Taylor, who later gained attention of a different sort as one of three women who claimed to be pop idol Frankie Lymon's widow, died Monday, said her nephew Alfie Robinson. She had been bedridden following several strokes and died at Parkview Community Hospital in Riverside County from complications of pneumonia, he said.

Founding Platters member Herb Reed said he spotted Taylor, the sister of Cornell Gunter of the Coasters, rehearsing with a girl group in 1955 and knew immediately she had the charisma and vocal chops the R&B group needed."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not knocking her. Zola was a cute little chick. But Tony Williams was the Platters. Everyone else just sang oo oo oo, and I usually couldn't tell them apart or separate their oo oo oo's. The great irony of the Platters is that Williams was one of the great all-time male American vocalists, easily better than Sinatra and on a par with Dean Martin and Willie Nelson, but was and is unknown by name even to a lot of Platters fans.

Unknown said...

I certainly agree about Williams. What a voice! I've always regretted his departure from the group, as his solo career went pretty much nowhere. If only they'd renamed the group "Tony Williams and the Platters." Maybe he'd have stayed.