"Twilight Time" by The Platters

My usual tree pollen allergies have me feeling a bit under the weather today, so instead of a full-fledged blog post, I thought I would leave you with a song. In this case, it's "Twilight Time" by the Platters.

"Twilight Time" originated as a poem written by Samuel "Buck" Ram in college. Buck Ram's poem was later set to music by the instrumental group The Three Suns in 1944. The Three Suns recorded an instrumental version that same year. It was also that year that Les Brown and His Band of Renown recorded an instrumental version, which served as the "B" side of their single "Sentimental Journey."

It was in 1953 that Buck Ram began working with The Platters, and he wrote their first major hit, "Only You (and You Alone)." The Platters would have further hits, including "The Great Pretender (also written by Buck Ram)" in 1955 and "My Prayer" in 1956. The Platters recorded "Twilight Time" in 1958, complete with the lyrics Buck Ram had written years ago. Amazingly enough, Mercury Records decided that "Twilight Time" would be the B-side of "Out of My Mind."

Fortunately, "Twilight Time" would not remain the "B" side of a single for long, largely thanks to Dick Clark. The Platters were set to appear on The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show. The Platters were set to sing "Only You," "The Great Pretender," and "Out of My Mind." Fortunately, Buck Ram's assistant, Jean Bennett was able to convince the show's producer to let The Platters perform both "Out of My Mind" and "Twilight Time" after playing "Twilight Time" for Dick Clark over the phone. The following Monday morning Mercury was receiving orders for "Twilight Time," not "Out of My Mind."

As it turned out, "Twilight Time" proved to be a huge hit for The Platters. It went to number one on both the Billboard pop singles and rhythm and blues chart. It peaked at no. 3 on the UK singles chart.