The 'Platterization' of Kuh L.

Oh, yes, there's one in a million like you. No, it's not only you. There are millions and millions all over the world like you, older and/or younger, who thrill to the sound of The Platters -- well, you know, something here inside cannot be denied -- all these years. Platters songs -- Only You, The Great Pretender, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, My Prayer, Unchained Melody, Twilight Time, When I Fall in Love and many others -- make you fall in love all over again, again and again, especially when you listen to them as the heavenly shades of night are falling (yes, it's twilight time!), pretending that he or she is still around.

It seems that, besides a few other singers, it's The Platters who can make this world seem right or can make the darkness bright, especially if it's reminiscing time like Valentine's Day and you hear those old familiar love songs again. Here's hoping that The Platters sound may still be the same for as long as we live.

The Platters are back the third time around (they must also love us so much for them to be coming again and again, like the refrain of a well-loved melody), this time for a Valentine show with Kuh Ledesma who has confessed to, well, having been "Platterized" like many others. (Schedule: Feb. 12 at the PICC Plenary Hall, Feb. 14 at the grand ballroom of the Philippine Plaza, Feb. 17 at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in Davao City, Feb. 19 at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City and Feb. 22 at the Bacolod Convention Plaza. More Platters shows without Kuh: Feb. 16 at the Pryce Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City, Feb. 18 at the Sabine Resort and Ormoc Hotel, Feb. 21 at the Sarabia Manor Hotel in Iloilo City and Feb. 26 at the SBMA George Dewey Hall in Subic.)

It's not the first for Kuh to be performing with a foreign group; she has done shows with the likes of jazz violinist Noel Pointer and Jack Jones. Kuh was instantly, that's it, "Platterized" when Maxi-Media International contacted her for this Valentine show simply called Unforgettable Valentine.

"When I was still with Music and Magic," Kuh was telling Funfare during a post-lunch interview at her own Republic of Malate, with the four members of The Platters (tenor Latif Shadi, second tenor Larry Hicks, bass B.J. Mitchell and alto Valena Brown) beside her, "(my co-member) Jet Montelibano used to bring the house down with his own renditions of Only You and The Great Pretender, so I could say that I grew up on Platters sound because I'd hear Only You and The Great Pretender night after night on our shows."

But have The Platters (who call themselves "the new generation") ever heard about Kuh?

"When (Maxi-Media) told us that we'd be performing with her," recalled Latif, "they asked me, 'Have you heard of Kuh (Ledesma)? I joked, 'Cool of you to ask me!' I felt so stupid when I learned that Kuh is a household name, that she's so famous not only in your country but in other parts of the world."

On their flight from the US, according to Valena, the captain and the flight attendants, all Filipino, got excited when she showed them a newspaper clipping announcing their Valentine show with Kuh.

"They asked me, 'You mean you're going to be on the same show with Kuh?' They couldn't seem to believe it."

While The Platters will be doing some production numbers with Kuh, they'll be singing only one Filipino love -- you guessed it, Dahil Sa'yo.

"Don't you wish you could sing Dito Ba?" Kuh asked Latif (Dito Ba? was the song that catapulted Kuh to stardom in the early '80s) who gave Kuh that "how-I-wish-we-could" look.

The "new generation" Platters attribute their longevity and staying power to the fact that they are have sustaining the Platters magic by sounding exactly like the original members, three of whom have since died and the remaining two retired. This "new generation" Platters are proteges of Zola Taylor ("Don't ask us how old she is," warned Valena), the only female vocalist of the original Platters (the first Black act to reach No. 1 of the pop charts in the '50s).

"We are all avid Platters fans," admitted Valena, "so we all sing like them, coming straight from our hearts. That's the essence of The Platters."

Honored as the "Ambassadors of Love," The Platters haven't just immortalized their songs on CDs and cassettes, they continue to perform "live" in all corners of the globe, from Las Vegas to Tokyo to Rio de Janeiro to London and to Manila, a place which they have learned to love because, according to Valena, "Filipinos are basically a romantic people; they pay close attention to American music even to the point of knowing the lyrics of the songs and everything."

Asked what her favorite Platters songs is, Valena smiled, "My Prayer." (That song lingers with you, or haven't you noticed?)

Latif added, "What I noticed is that Filipinos love romantic songs; they're full of love."

The Platters are now releasing their new CD (in Brazil) which will soon be launched in Portugal, France, Spain, Italy, Japan and the Philippines. They have also produced new music videos for their well-loved songs.

There you are. When you fall in love with The Platters sound, it will be forever, making you give your heart completely.

(Incidentally, Kuh is topbilling another Valentine show, scheduled tonight at 7:30 and tomorrow night, same time, at the Republic of Malate. Titled Poetry & Streisand, the show also stars Regine Velasquez who, along with Kuh, will be doing an all-Barbra Streisand repertoire. The audience can swoon to the songs and some "eternal love poems" to be read on the show.)