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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZRAM, Buck(b Samuel Ram, 21 November 1907, Chicago; d 1 January 1991, Las Vegas) Songwriter, vocal coach, arranger, artists' manager. He graduated from law school but never practiced. He worked for Mills Music as an arranger, toured with bands on saxophone, managed the popular trio The Three Suns, etc but he was basically a songwriter, and everything he did was aimed at getting the songs performed. He formed a talent agency in Los Angeles in 1954 and his protégés the Penguins scored a no. 8 USA hit with 'Earth Angel' '55; he took over the Platters from Ralph Bass and took both groups to Mercury Records. His enormous success with the Platters was due to his very wide circle of contacts he had built up in the music business. He produced and arranged their stuff until he died, and wrote their biggest hits: 'Only You', 'The Great Pretender' and 'Magic Touch', as well as 'Twilight Time', which dated from the Three Sons period. He was also responsible for breaking the Platters on the white pop chart, seeing to it that Mercury released their records on its black pop label rather than the purple 'race' label, thus helping to integrate pop music. The Platters were the first black group of the era to have a number one Billboard hit. Ram never cheated anybody, and sometimes even put a singer's name on a song he had written, effectively giving the singer a piece of the song. On the few occasions there was controversy he insisted on his rights and won. He wrote the words to 'Twilight Time' that made the song a hit; The Three Suns sued but a judge agreed that Ram had a right to a piece of the song. He wrote a song called 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' in 1942; he showed it to Walter Kent and James 'Kim' Kannon, who rewrote it and published it themselves the following year, using Ram's lyrics: again Ram won his case in court. Ram had never heard of Freddie Mercury, but was thrilled when Mercury had a big hit in Britain with 'The Great Pretender' in 1987. He was said to be one of BMI's top five songwriters in terms of airplay in its first 50 years, the others being Paul Simon, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Webb and Paul McCartney; but at some point his publishing must have been switched to ASCAP, for it is there that he has 248 tunes listed, including 'Come Prima (For the First Time)', 'Chew Chew Chew Your Bubble Gum' (for Ella Fitzgerald), 'Remember When', and 'Ring Telephone Ring'.
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