(Morris Levy/Frankie Lymon)
Song written by Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy which was a top-ten hit for Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers in 1956. It also went to #1 in the U.K. At the time Lymon was the youngest artist to do so, at thirteen.
It has been covered by The Beach Boys, Petula Clark, The Diamonds, Joni Mitchell, and Diana Ross, who took it back into the top ten in 1981.
Although Morris Levy is credited with co-writing this song, it has been a point of dispute for many years. Levy was a record producer who bought the rights to the song in 1964 from the song’s original producer, George Goldner, who had listed himself as having co-written it with Lymon. Once Levy got hold of it, he did the same. Goldner had told Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers that only two people could be listed on a copyright. Levy was infamous for slapping his name on records he never wrote. Twenty-three years later, original Teenagers Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago took Levy to court and sued him for royalties. The judge ruled in favour of Levy. In the early ’90s, another court ruled in favour of Merchant and Santiago. It was later overturned.
Diana Ross recordings
RCA (PB-12349-A) (US 45)
Sources:
- http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2033
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Do_Fools_Fall_in_Love_%28song%29