Press Release: “Rare Recordings Discovered” The mystery surrounding The Party Platters continues to grow with the discovery of rare early releases by the group. It appears that The Party Platters released their first LP in early 1959, long before any of the group members had met. The True Story Of The Party Platters was released in April 1959 to an unsuspecting public. Reflecting the group's diverse musical backgrounds, the album established a new standard for jazz tolerance, which one critic would have referred to as “Miles Davis meets the Maytag repairman” had he actually reviewed the album. Surviving group members deny any knowledge of this release. “Gimme a break man, I wasn't even born yet,” said former member Mope Jesus through his spokesman.

The group wasn't heard from again for almost a decade, until 1968's The True Story Of The Party Platters. Steeped in psychedelic cabbages, feedback, and paisley, the album represented the group's return to form and clearly showed a renewed sense of je ne sais quoi. Guest musicians Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison never “officially” acknowledged their contributions, despite repeated avoidance of the issue by the music press. Two years later, after their Woodstock invitation was “lost in the mail,” the group established a policy of refusing live appearances. As the decade came to a close, The Party Platters steadfastly maintained a comfortable distance from the limelight. Again, The Party Platters seemed to disappear.

It was not until 1974's The True Story Of The Party Platters that they were heard from again. Featuring heavy metal overtones and post-neo-modern-Prussian-Gypsy imagery, the album was a departure from their previous unrelated work. As if to underline the fact that they were an evolving band with a tight budget, they reused the cover photo from their previous album. Then came disco.Once again, The Party Platters vanished from the scene for nearly a decade.

1982's The True Story Of The Party Platters saw a reinvented group. Powered by a new-found interest in smack and cadmium yellow, the album had a rougher, artsier edge. By creating a hybrid of the “new wave” and “punk” sounds, the group established their niche as the leading representatives of the “new wank” movement. These four releases, unknown until their discovery earlier this month in an attic in Virginia, add to the growing, festering legend of The Party Platters. Inexplicably, they were all released prior to the creation of the group.Work has begun on the definitive Party Platters anthology, The True Story Of The Party Platters, to be released in a month with an “r” in it later this year. Perhaps that may answer some of the questions we never knew we had. Meanwhile, watch for the VH-1 “Behind The Music” special, coming soon.