Whether you’re carrying a torch or lighting
a fire, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College
will be the place for lovers this Feb. 11, at a pre-Valentine’s
Day concert featuring Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, Elsbeary Hobb’s
Drifters and the Platters. The show is a stop on the "Stand
Up America" national tour the three groups are making together.
Although the original performers are by now either deceased or
retired, their music is perpetuated by vocalists who carry on
their name, their spirit and their music.
Vocalist Dave Revels, a member of the Coasters , explains what
makes these groups so special.
"Their songs had fantastic melodies with subject matter
about everyday life. Some people’s memories are tied to those
songs," he told GO Brooklyn. But Revels also said that their
audiences include "age groups across the board." Of
course those who were listening to and buying vinyl in 1950s
and 1960s are well represented, but there are also teenagers
and young adults whose "parents shared their music with
them."
Each of the three groups has its own distinctive style.
The Platters are legendary for their "wonderful romantic
songs," said Revels, songs like "Smoke Gets in Your
Eyes," "Only You," "With this Ring"
and "The Great Pretender." Inducted into The Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, The Platters have played in venues
from Madison Square Garden to the Bottom Line.
"Fun in the sun, beach music" is what characterizes
the Drifters, said Revels. Their hits include "Under the
Boardwalk," "Up on the Roof" and "Save the
Last Dance for Me." The Drifters have also made more than
100 television appearances and have worked with songwriters Burt
Bacharach, Carole King, Don Pomus and Leiber & Stoller.
As for his own group, the Coasters, Revels said humor was a major
part of its success.
"Comedy is an important element in human life. No matter
how depressed we are, we need to lighten our lives," he
explained.
The Coasters’ hits include "Yakety Yak," "Love
Potion No. 9" and "Charlie Brown." The first vocal
group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the
Coasters have appeared with Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bill
Haley and the Comets, The Shirelles and Rich Little.
"People who loved and experienced our music still want to
hear it," Revels said. "There’s lots of audience participation
in our show. People sing with us and dance with us. It’s a very
friendly, fun environment."
Revels believes "music has always been a uniting force."
And he doesn’t think the nature of music has changed that much
over time.
"There’s good and bad music in every generation," he
said.
But he does believe that audiences have changed because of the
new technology that is now available.
"With the ability to download music and burn CDs, fans are
less loyal," he said. "Nowadays, you don’t make as
much money. You have to love what you do."
After Sept. 11, 2001, Revels wrote a song, "Stand Up America,"
which has become the centerpiece of the group’s national tour.
Revels said that the song was inspired by what he saw while touring
the country after that tragic event.
"We got to experience how the country was dealing with the
tragedy of that date," he said. "I wrote the song about
how America was dealing with the traumatic experience of losing
so many people. I know people personally who perished there."
The groups’ national tour has taken them to many military bases
where they entertain not only men and women in the armed forces,
but also their families.
"As entertainers, we know what it’s like to be away from
home for a few weeks," Revels said. "But we know that
can’t compare with military families whose loved ones are away
from home for months. What really moves me [after 9-11] is how
people forgot their differences and wanted to get to know how
others felt."
And that’s a kind of love too. Isn’t it?
The Valentine’s Concert, featuring Cornell Gunter’s Coasters,
Elsbeary Hobb’s Drifters and The Platters, will be performed
at 8 pm on Feb. 11 in the Walt Whitman Theatre on the campus
of Brooklyn College, one block from the junction of Flatbush
and Nostrand avenues. Tickets are $35 and $30. For tickets and
more information, call (718) 951-4500.
