Sonny Turner
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Sonny Turner | |
---|---|
Born | September 24, 1939 |
Died | January 13, 2022 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 82)
Instruments | vocals |
Associated acts | The Platters |
Sonny Turner (September 24, 1939 – January 13, 2022) was an American singer. Turner hailed from Fairmont, West Virginia, and was best known for replacing Tony Williams as lead singer of The Platters.
Life and career[]
Prior to his work with The Platters, Turner was the lead singer of a local vocal group called The Metrotones. While performing in a local club in Cleveland as the opening act for Redd Foxx, Turner was approached by local DJ Bill Crane and asked if he would be interested in auditioning for The Platters, as their lead singer as Tony Williams was soon to be leaving the group. Turner was chosen out of 100 hopeful auditioners to replace Williams in late 1959. Turner, whose friend and mentor was Jackie Wilson, breathed new life into The Platters with three hit singles; "I Love You 1000 Times" in 1966, "With This Ring" in 1967 and "Washed Ashore" in 1968. He also re-recorded many of The Platters hits of the 1950s, and it is Turner's vocals that are heard on the soundtracks for films such as The Nutty Professor 2 and Hearts in Atlantis. Turner died from throat cancer in Los Angeles on January 13, 2022, at the age of 82.[1]
References[]
- ^ Katsilometes, John (January 13, 2022). "Legendary Platters singer Sonny Turner dies at 82". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
External links[]
- 1939 births
- 2022 deaths
- 20th-century African-American singers
- 21st-century African-American singers
- African-American male singers
- People from Fairmont, West Virginia
- The Platters members
- Singers from West Virginia
- Deaths from cancer in California
- Deaths from throat cancer