TONY WILLIAMS, "TWENTY-FOUR LONELY HOURS" C/W "SAVE ME" (PHILIPS 40123, REL. 9/1963)

Once he tired of the middle-of-the-road pop music of his group The Platters, lead singer Tony Williams split in 1961 to explore more exciting options on his own in a series of singles—the best of which are three made for Philips Records in 1962 and ’63. Here, the big-voiced vocalist escaped the clammy clutch of Buck Ram, manager/huckster/grifter minus the mango hue we associate with such actions today and explored the more exciting sounds outside The Platters’ restrictive purview.

We’ve played his popcorn classic “How Come” here in the past, and listener(s) of our podcast heard his take on the wild Tin Pan Alley classic “Chloe (The Song of the Swamp)” not long ago. Here is the hardest-to-find of his Philips trio with offerings by two top songwriters of the day.

Van McCoy used ‘Allen Davis’ as a side-hustle in this period. Allen was his middle name, and I’m not sure why he used this alias in the early 1960s. It must be contractual; many songwriters had alter-egos so that they could make more money some of the time. McCoy’s ‘Allen Davis’ songs diverge from those he signed his own name to; they suggest that this persona gave him license to try different sounds that might not be in line with the real McCoy, if you will.

“Twenty-Four Lonely Hours” is a popcorn masterwork and an ideal match for singer Willams’ latent vocal hysteria. From its minor-keyed verses to the show-tune flavored choruses, the grandstanding production (by ‘Davis’), coupled with an arrangement by the great Teacho Wilshire, creates manic magic as Williams rings the rafters with raw emotion.

McCoy might have used “Fever” as the inspiration for this song, but he takes its melody and lyrics in a different direction. The styrene discs used by Mercury Records, of which Philips was associated, weren’t the ideal vessel for such a big sound; I’m fortunate to have found a clean, undamaged specimen of this recording.

Hear it >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

"Something of a gospel-flavored rhythmic here:"

Cash Box delivers their oblique verdict.

“Save Me” is a collaboration of soul vocalist Freddie Scott and middle-aged housewife/songwriter Helen Miller, who penned several songs together in this era. It goes for a more tender sound—a middle-ground between the genteel Platters sound and the soulful outings of Ben E. King.

It has a more restrained production and arrangement, but Wilshire’s orchestration makes a fine frame for Williams’ voice, which is unusual in its tone and enunciation. He sleepwalked through many of his later Platters records, but he lets himself feel this fine ballad and sends it to the skies.

Hear it >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

Williams made no more solo singles after his Philips trilogy. His voice had the potential to enter the soul music scene, but he may have felt burned out on the touring/recording life of a musical performer. His Philips LP, The Magic Touch of Tony, follows the disappointing pattern of the day. It’s all versions of pop standards, done with none of the emotion and conviction of the Philips singles.

Williams, who’d won a lawsuit against Buck Ram so he could leave The Platters, made a ghoulish return in 1963 to overdub lead vocals on a dozen snooze-inducing standards for a Mercury Records LP, Encore of Golden Broadway Hits. That can’t have been a pleasant experience and seems to have caused him to pause his career. He later toured with a group called “The International Platters” but never attempted to resume his studio work. He passed on in 1992 after a health struggle with diabetes.

Tomorrow: A wild and crazy male-female r&b duet. The he is a Northern Soul favorite. It's from 1962.