Lymon, Frankie (30th September 1942 – February 27, 1968)

Fifties teen idol whose early recordings with The Teenagers paved the way for numerous acts to follow, including The Supremes and the Jackson 5.

Their first, and biggest, hit was “Why Do Fools Fall In Love”, which went to #6 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K., making thirteen-year-old Lymon the youngest to do so at that time.  Herman Santiago was sick the day of The Teenagers’ audition for George Goldner of Gee Records, and Lymon filled in.  Before long, the name of the group was changed to Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

Lymon left the group in September of 1957 and signed with Roulette Records.  It was not a lucrative split for anyone involved.  By the age of fifteen, Lymon’s soprano voice was already breaking, and his adopted falsetto on “Little Bitty Pretty One” only managed #58 on the R&B charts.  By this time, he was addicted to heroin, an addiction that landed him in Manhattan General Hospital’s drug rehab program.

Five years later, on 21^st June 1966, he was arrested for a heroin-related charge.  He was given the choice of jail time or joining the military, and opted for the latter.  His undistinguished military career included several AWOLs and a dishonourable discharge.  He had been taking unscheduled furlows to visit his latest love, Elmira Eagle.  They eventually married in 1967, even though he had been married twice before, once to The Platters’ lone female singer Zola Taylor, and never divorced.

His career seemed to take a fortunate turn in 1968 when he landed a record deal with Big Apple, but on 27^th of February, 1968, Lymon was found dead in his grandmother’s bathroom from a heroin overdose.

Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 12^th January, 1993.  A biopic of his life, Why Do Fools Fall In Love, was released in 1998.

Diana Ross recordings
Why Do Fools Fall In Love (Morris Levy/Frankie Lymon)

Sources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Lymon
2. http://www.history-of-rock.com/lymon.htm
3. http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/frankie-lymon-and-the-teenagers
4. http://www.tsimon.com/lymon.htm
5. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123324/
6. British and Americans Hit Singles:  1946-1997 by Chris Davies (Batsford)