All-Star Cast of Legendary Musicians to Perform April 2 in Ontario

ONTARIO, Calif. – The legendary Pat Boone will headline a jam-packed all-star lineup of celebrated musicians from the 1950s and ’60s who will come together for an unforgettable evening of classic rock and roll and doo-wop tunes at the Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium in Ontario on Saturday, April 2.

The hits won’t stop with Boone, whose extraordinary career has brought him stardom as a singer, composer, actor, writer, TV personality, motivational speaker and spokesman. The star-studded cast also features Sonny Turner, former lead singer of the Platters; Leon Hughes and His Coasters; Johnny Tillotson; Barbara Lewis and “Little” Peggy March

All six performers will take the Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium stage on April 2, beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets may be purchased through show producer Affordable Music Productions online at www.affordablemusicproductions.com or by calling 1-888-718-4253 Monday-Friday from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Renowned radio personality Dave Hull, one of the top Los Angeles radio personalities of all time, will serve as the evening’s special guest master of ceremonies. “The Hullabalooer” has entertained Southern California radio audiences over the airwaves for nearly half a century.

Pat Boone’s remarkable success as a pop singer during the 1950s and ’60s earned him 38 Top 40 hits while selling more than 45 million albums. His cover versions of rhythm and blues hits had a noticeable effect on the development of the broad popularity of rock and roll. Boone was the second-biggest charting Billboard artist of the late 1950s, ranking behind only Elvis Presley. He also was ninth on Billboard’s listing of the Top 100 artists from 1955–1995. He still holds the Billboard record for 220 consecutive weeks on the charts with one or more songs each week.

At 23, he began hosting a half-hour ABC variety TV series, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, which aired from 1957–1960. He has also appeared in more than 12 Hollywood films. As an author, Boone had a No. 1 bestseller in the ’50s, “Twixt Twelve and Twenty.” He turned to gospel music in the 1960s and eventually earned induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He continues to perform and speak as a motivational speaker, TV personality and a conservative political commentator.

Sonny Turner took over as the lead singer of the original Platters in 1959 at the age of 19. He immediately began touring with the group and helped bring The Platters back to the pop charts in the 1960s with such hits as “I Love You 1000 Times,” “With This Ring” and “Washed Ashore.” The Platters also re-recorded major hits like “Only You,” “The Great Pretender” and “The Magic Touch.”

Turner remained with The Platters through 1970 when he left to pursue a solo career, and is the only surviving member of the group. He has earned numerous awards and honors, including “Lifetime Excellence in Entertainment” from Consumer’s Entertainment Exchange, Doo Wop Hall of Fame, Pacific Avenue of the Stars, Gateway Classic Lifetime Achievement Award, Black Music Award, Beach Music Hall of Fame, Vocal Group Hall of Fame and he is recognized in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Museum in his home town of Cleveland, Ohio.

Leon Hughes was signing with the Lamplighters in the early 1950s when he was recruited by Bobby Nunn to join the original Coasters. He continued to also record with other Los Angeles-based groups and decided to remain in California when the rest of The Coasters moved to New York. Both Hughes and Nunn left the original group, resulting in several offshoot Coasters groups. Over the years, The Coasters released a series of hit singles, including “Yakety Yak,” ‘Charlie Brown,” “Young Blood,” “Searchin’” and “Poison Ivy. The Coasters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987

Johnny Tillotson became a singing sensation known throughout Florida by the time he was in high school. His first TV appearance on the ”Toby Dowdy Show” led to a regular role on the show, after which he launched his own program, ”The Velda Show,” while still a student at the University of Florida. Singing success followed with a string of chart records like “Poetry In Motion,” “Without You” and more. “It Keeps Right On Hurtin’” brought Tillotson his first Grammy nomination as one of the first country-pop crossover artists. “Heartaches by The Number” brought another Grammy nomination.

A 2008 inductee into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame, Tillotson’s recordings have been featured 48 times on the Billboard, Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Album charts, making him one of the top 100 recording artists of the era. He also has more than 100 international chart entries.

Barbara Lewis began her writing and recording career in her teens and she wrote all the songs on her debut LP, including “Hello Stranger” which reached No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Lewis had follow-up hits with “Straighten Up Your Heart” and her original “Puppy Love” before her million-seller “Baby I’m Yours.” Lewis followed with “Make Me Your Baby” and another Top 40 hit, “Make Me Belong to You.” She received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1999.

Discovered in 1962 at 13 singing at her cousin’s wedding, Little Peggy March earned her nickname because she was only 4’ 9” tall and her birthday was in March. A year later her single “I Will Follow Him” soared to No. 1 on the U.S. charts. March became the youngest female artist with a No. 1 hit, a record that still stands for the Billboard Hot 100. Although she is often remembered as a one-hit wonder, her singles “I Wish I Were a Princess” and “Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love” made the Top 30 in the U.S.

Tickets for “Legends of the ’50s and ’60s” concert are $49, $59, $69, $79, $89 and $99. There are no service fees and parking is free. Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium is located at 1245 N Euclid Ave., Ontario.

For more information, contact Don Goethals at (951) 317-2155 or affordablemusicproductions@aol.com.