Paramount Has Four Performances in Next Four Days

Whoever wrote “Without a Song” did not have Bristol’s Paramount in mind.
Not this week anyway.
Four events on four straight days featuring four distinct styles of music will resound from the longtime stage of the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tenn. No, it’s not Bristol’s Rhythm and Roots Reunion. That was two weeks ago.
Instead on Oct. 1 Wilson Williams and his Platters will stroll down memory lane with its brand of early era rhythm and blues. Then on Oct. 2, Easton Corbin and Mallary Hope strike a country chord, followed by Unity in Community’s gospel show A Musical Extravaganza on Oct. 3 and then the Jazz Ambassadors from the U.S. Army Field Band on Oct. 4.
Mercy.
“These songs are absolutely gorgeous,” said Wilson Williams of the Platters, by phone Tuesday from his home in Florida. “We do all the hits of the Platters.”
That includes such classics as “Only You” and of course “The Great Pretender.”
“ ‘The Great Pretender,’ boy, it always gets a great response,” Williams said. “It’s a privilege for me to bring these songs back for people who come to see our shows.”
Privilege. Ask Gordon Kippola, director of the 19-member big band Jazz Ambassadors of the U.S. Army Field Band just how seriously he takes bringing American music to Americans.
“We want to share the wonderful American music of jazz,” Kippola said on Tuesday by phone from near Puget Sound, Wash. “Jazz is a great American treasure.”
Like another great American treasure, bluegrass, jazz played well demands high levels of musicianship.
“The guys in the Jazz Ambassadors really are some of the top musicians in the world,” Kippola said.
Formed in 1954 in Detroit, the Platters were like many groups of the era. They dressed in matching suits and choreographed dance steps in their live performances while featuring songs that highlighted their skills as harmony singers.
However and also as with several of the more popular groups of the era, as time passed and original members left the Platters subsequent groups with variations of the Platters name arose. There are now more groups with Platters in their name than can be listed here.
“There are something like 100 groups with the name of the Platters,” Williams said, “but we are only one of about five who can legally do so. We carry the banner of the Platters with class and dignity and honor.”
The Jazz Ambassadors serve under the umbrella of the U.S. Army Field Band, created in 1946, which includes several touring bands including a rock band named The Volunteers.
“The U.S. Army Field Band is unique among all the bands in the armed forces in that our mission is to tour all over the country,” Kippola said. “The purpose is also to go out to the grassroots of America and tell the story of the American soldier.”
Songs scheduled for their performance in Bristol include compositions by Harry Connick Jr. and Stevie Wonder. Yes, that Stevie Wonder.
“That’s the song ‘Overjoyed,’” Kippola said. “It’s a really pretty song.”
Many have said exactly that for many a song in the repertoire of the Platters. Expect to hear all the hits and then some when they perform at the Paramount.
“I want them to hear what I heard back when I had cigarettes rolled up in my sleeves when I first heard the Platters,” Williams said. “We want to bring back nostalgia for them with what I call the way back machine.”

IF YOU GO
Where: Paramount Center for the Arts, 528 State St., Bristol, Tenn.
Info: (423) 274-8920
Web: http://www.theparamountcenter.com

—Wilson Williams and his Platters
When: Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m.
Admission: $35 adults, $31 seniors and students
Web and audio: http://www.myspace.com/wilsonwilliamsplatters

—Easton Corbin and Mallary Hope
When: Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Admission: $7
Web and audio: http://www.eastoncorbin.com
And: http://www.mallaryhope.com

—Unity in Community: A Musical Extravaganza
When: Oct. 3, 5 p.m.
Admission: Donations accepted

—The Jazz Ambassadors of the U.S. Army Field Band
When: Oct. 4, 3 p.m.
Admission: Free, though please bring one non-perishable food item per ticket
Web: http://www.armyfieldband.com
Audio and video: http://www.armyfieldband.com/pages/listening/bandstannd.html

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .