The
Cornell Gunter Coasters
This
year marks the 35th anniversary of the formation of Cornell Gunter's
Coasters out of the ashes of the surprising breakup of the original
Coaster group several months earlier.
Few people recall anymore the historical significance of Cornell
Gunter's decision at the time to "fly in the face of the
wind." After all, he thought he could form a new group that
would overcome the sudden lack of public interest in The Coasters'
music, and 1950's music in general. And he thought he could do
so by relying, in part at least, on Coasters' music. Cornell believed
that there was a new and unique way to present 1950's music and
clearly a new approach was needed because the early 60's brought
about a stunning and sudden change in American musical tastes.
The Beatles and psychedelic music were right around the corner
and almost overnight The Coasters, along with all of the other
purveyors of the oldies group sound (The Drifters, The Shirelles,
The Platters, to name a few), went from living as stars in the
spotlight to being unable to get a new record played on the radio.
Looking back, given the current popularity of their music, it
is hard to believe that this immensely popular art form could
have fallen into disfavor so rapidly, joining such other fads
as disco, calypso, big band and swing; all of which disappeared
from the American music scene. Like aging football players or
silent movie stars, the 1950's group members all seemed headed
for their new lives out of the limelight. Enter Cornell Gunter.
Cornell believed that The Coasters could be reborn. In fact he
believed that all of the groups from that era could be reborn,
and thrive as live performing groups, and ultimately he led the
way to what was soon to become known as "the rock revival."
All that was needed was to take the original music and present
it in a way that gave each group a modern theatrical approach
to their presentation. More important, he developed an approach
to 1950's music that lent itself to constant innovation. And slowly
but surely fans returned. So unique was Cornell's approach to
The Coasters' music and 1950's music in general that within a
year Cornell Gunter's Casters were headlining in Las Vegas for
six months out of the year. Soon The Drifters, The Platters and
other 1950's groups following Cornell's lead, were reconstituted
as live performing groups, all with their own unique style. By
1969, came the first oldies stations and oldies shows, that still
fascinate the country's musical taste today. In fact, by the early
1970's, all of the original Coasters had formed their own individual
groups of Coasters and were touring extensively, both separately
and on certain occasions, together. All because of this "crazy
idea" of Cornell Gunter. Over the years, Cornell Gunter's
Coasters has continually built up a new market for their approach
to 1950's music. If you're seen the show, you will know what we
mean when we say, "you are in for a surprise." Today
they are as much a comedy act as a singing group. It's The Coasters'
music through the eyes of Salvadore Dali. It's definitely not
your mother's music.
It's been ten years since Cornell passed away. Since that time,
his sister Shirley (who was an original member of The Platters
and had been Cornell's manager and the creative force behind the
group) incorporated Cornell's genius into the group's ongoing
homage, to not only The Coasters' music, but to Cornell himself.
It is under her tutelage and guidance that the group continues
to entertain today. And today Cornell Gunter's genius still lives
on in the way Cornell Gunter's Coasters present themselves on
stage.
The
Platters
The
Platters first formed during the dawn of the rock and roll era,
early part in the 1950's. At the outset, the group included five
teenagers; Tony Williams (their legendary first lead singer) along
with Zola Taylor, Herb Reed, Paul Robi and David Lynch. Under
the direction of their famed manager, Buck Ram, and continuing
to this day under the direction of his company, Five Platters,
Inc., some of the greatest singers in rock and roll history have
passed through this group. The list of hits turned out by the
original Platters includes ten songs that qualified for Billboard's
list of the 500 greatest rock and roll hits of all time, including
three in the top 50. They had had 21 top 10 records, 9 million
selling singles, 5 platinum albums and 5 number 1 songs. Their
total record sales exceed 200 million, making them one of the
top 25 selling artists of all time (source: Billboard Magazine).
It has been nearly 30 years since the last original member left
The Platters and still the group remains one of the most popular
in rock and roll in history, continuing their popularity by becoming
one of the most sought after performing groups in the country.
Over the years the greatest of care has been taken to assure that
each new member of The Platters carries on the tradition and maintains
the skills that were associated with the original group.
The group has appeared all over the world, including President
Clinton's inauguration and the coronation of the Queen of England,
as well as on a good will exchange tour at the Great Wall for
the Chinese government. Additionally they have appeared at such
stellar American venues as Foxwoods Hotel and Casino, Westbury
Music Fair, Madison Square Garden, The Houston Astrodome, The
Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas and Trump Castle in Atlantic City. The
group has appeared on such television shows as The Today Show,
The Tonight Show, Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live,
and are currently promoting their latest CD, "The Platters
Live in Las Vegas."
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes occupy an esteemed place in the history of American
popular music as the group that caused Motown, and most notably
Berry Gordy, to change the label's focus from single bluesy
soul artists (previously Barret Strong's "Money" had
been the label's biggest seller) to a smooth orchestrated harmonic
sound that transcended the prior racial limits of rhythm and
blues. With their first record "Please, Mr. Postman"
hitting the top spot on the charts and selling 3 million records
in a crossover market, Motown was to concentrate on the Marvelettes,
Supremes, Temptation, Four Tops and Martha and the Vandellas
and create a new group pop soul sound that totally dominated
the music charts until the advent of the Beatles 4 years later.
During their reign at the top of the charts the girls were to
turn out over a dozen hits, eight of which went Top Ten. Although
the group at times had more than three members, the originators
were Wanda Rogers, Gladys Horton and Katherine Shaffner. In
the early years of the group, family ties forced all three to
leave the act at various times (although Wanda and Gladys continued
to make frequent "guest appearances.), but carefully chosen
and highly talented replacements kept the act at the top of
the charts even with changed personnel. Once again this is a
patented mark of Motown's success story - the ability to change
personnel in acts like The Supremes, Temptations and the Marvelettes
and still keep the act at the top of the charts and in demand
for personal appearances. In fact it is in person where the
current lineup really excels, offering an act that features
their big hits, interspersed with their versions of some great
standards, the girls are still in the smooth Motown vein; a
highly choreographed, polished, very good looking and humorous
night club act as well as a major draw.
March 26 - April 25, 2010 Fridays at 7:30pm
Saturdays at 5:30pm and 8:30pm
Sundays at 5:30pm
Note: No 5:30pm performances on
Sunday, April 4 or Saturday, April 17.
