What comes to mind when I say the word Platters? As a DJ, Porky Chedwick comes to mind. He called his records Platters as in his phrase … “your platter pushin’ Papa”. Or perhaps a Food Platter, being in the restaurant business, I’ve seen plenty. But, most likely the most famous Platter was Herb Reed, founding member of the Platters! Today, Thursday, August 7th is the birthday of Herb Reed … born in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in poverty. At fifteen, he moved to Los Angeles, California where he began his singing career. He was a musician and vocalist, and his voice can be heard on approximately 400 songs that were recorded by the legendary Platters. His bass voice can be heard on every record and was the lead vocalist on several Platter’s records such as, Sixteen Tons, Darktown Strutters Ball and especially on the classic record … “On the Top of My Mind”. One of my favorite memories of Herb was having dinner with him at “Tara”, a first-class restaurant in Sharon, PA. We talked about his career, his childhood, his fight to maintain the name of the Platters and small talk about the music business in general. Throughout our conversation the main quality of our chatter was the fact that he was a true gentleman. He was appreciative of the life that music has given him… television, radio, concerts and making records. Herb sang as many as 200 concerts per year until his health began declining. In my mind’s eye, I can still see him in the Alan Freed movie … “Rock Around the Clock”. It’s hard to categorize his style of music … was it standards, rock n’ roll, rhythm n’ blues, pop, soul, commercial … yep … all of the above. Herb Reed, Legend, Bassman and Gentleman … that’s Mr. Reed!