One of America’s enduring vocal harmony groups is back with a love letter to the world. The Platters release “The Prayer” on May 29, the opening track of ‘With Love, The Platters’, their first major LP in decades. The song will be available on Spotify and all major digital platforms.
The recording comes from the official Platters organization, carried forward by Herb Reed Enterprises under Frederick J. Balboni Jr., Reed’s longtime manager and handpicked successor. Reed founded and named The Platters in 1953, and the group has stayed a living vocal ensemble ever since, with Reed as its defining constant even as the membership evolved.
That history runs deep. Herb Reed, Tony Williams, David Lynch, Zola Taylor and Paul Robi are remembered as the classic chart-era lineup that broke The Platters nationally in 1955 with “Only You (And You Alone).” But the group was never frozen in a single roster, with Reed remaining the founder and guardian of the name and sound he fought to protect.
The song choice carries weight. Made famous by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, “The Prayer” becomes, in The Platters’ hands, the first breath of a journey rooted in harmony, faith, hope, dignity and unity. Balboni stressed it isn’t nostalgia, but a living expression of hope carried forward on Reed’s promise.
The album rolls out in chapters. “The Prayer” arrives May 29, followed by “Can’t Help Falling in Love” on July 10, “Your Song” on August 21, “All of Me” on October 2, and the LP and vinyl release in November 2026. The set reimagines songs associated with Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Queen, John Legend, Elton John, The Bee Gees and Bryan Adams through The Platters’ signature harmonies, true to a group that long transformed standards into defining recordings like “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”
Today The Platters are Lance Bernard Bryant, Omar Ross, Jovian K. Ford and Brittany Michelle Wallace, continuing the lineage Reed founded, named and entrusted to the future.
