The Teenagers are an American music group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young

Frankie Lymon Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll doo-wop group Th ...

as lead singer, is also noted for being rock's first all-teenaged act. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

History

The Teenagers had their origins in the Earth Angels, a group founded at Edward W. Stitt Junior High School in the Washington Heights section of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

by second tenor

Jimmy Merchant Jimmy Merchant (born February 10, 1940) is an American singer and musician. He was a member of the doo-wop group The Teenagers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. He retired from The Teenage ...

and bass

Sherman Garnes Sherman Garnes (June 8, 1940 – February 26, 1977) was an American singer who was a member of the doo-wop group The Teenagers. Garnes attended Edward W. Stitt Junior High School where he met Jimmy Merchant. They formed a group, The Earth Angel ...

. Eventually, Garnes and Merchant had added lead singer

Herman Santiago Herman Santiago (born February 18, 1941) is a Puerto Rican rock and roll pioneer and songwriter who was previously a member of the vocal group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. He (disputedly) co-wrote the group's iconic hit " Why Do Fools Fall ...

and baritone

Joe Negroni Joe Negroni (September 9, 1940 – September 5, 1978) was an American singer of Puerto Rican descent. He was a rock and roll pioneer and founding member of the rock and roll group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. Early years Negroni's family ...

to their lineup and evolved into The Coupe De Villes. In 1954, 12-year-old

joined the Coupe De Villes, who changed their name to first the Ermines and later the Premiers. The same year Lymon joined the group, he helped Santiago and Merchant rewrite a song they had composed to create " Why Do Fools Fall In Love". The song got the Teenagers an audition with

George Goldner George Goldner (February 9, 1918 – April 15, 1970) was an American record label owner, record producer and promoter who played an important role in establishing the popularity of rock and roll in the 1950s, by recording and promoting many ...

Gee Records Gee Records was a New York-based American record label formed as a subsidiary to George Goldner's Tico Records and Rama Records labels in 1953 to honor the million selling hit song " Gee" (1953). Sometime in 1955 Goldner (an inveterate gambler) sol ...

, but Santiago was too sick to sing lead on the day of the audition. Lymon sang the lead on "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" instead, and the group was signed to Gee as The Teenagers, with Lymon as lead singer. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was the Teenagers' first and biggest hit. The group, known for both their harmony and choreography, also had hits with " I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent" and "

The ABC's of Love "The ABC's of Love" is a song written by George Goldner and Richard Barrett and performed by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers featuring Jimmy Wright and His Orchestra. It reached #8 on the US R&B chart and #77 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart in 1 ...

". By 1957, the group was being billed as "Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers". This caused in-fighting, and by September, Goldner had pulled Lymon out of the group to record solo. Lymon had little success as a solo artist. He became a heroin addict at the age of 15 and his sales dropped quickly in the early 1960s. In 1966, he stopped using heroin after being forced to go to the army, but on February 27, 1968, he decided to celebrate his good fortune by taking heroin (he was planning to launch a comeback) and died of a heroin overdose at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother’s bathroom. He had been clean since entering the army two years earlier. The Teenagers continued recording, bringing in a new lead. Billy Lobrano, as the group's first white member, made them more racially mixed, now with two black, one white, and two Hispanic members. The group had little success with Lobrano, and he left. Sherman Garnes died of a heart attack in 1977, while Joe Negroni died a year later due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Their replacements were Bobby Jay and Frankie's brother Lewis Lymon, respectively. In the 1980s, the Teenagers had resorted to using a female singer to imitate Lymon's prepubescent voice, and Pearl McKinnon joined the band. The members at that time were Jimmy Merchant, Herman Santiago, Eric Ward, and Pearl McKinnon. By 1983, Ward had been replaced by Derek Ventura, and in 1984 Phil Garrito took over for Ventura. Roz Morehead replaced McKinnon, and Marilyn Byers moved into Morehead's lead spot. Later in the 1980s the group had settled on a new lead,

Jimmy Castor James Walter Castor (January 23, 1940 – January 16, 2012) was an American funk, R&B, and soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", " The Bertha Butt Boogie", an ...

. Castor remained lead until the 1990s, when he was replaced by Timothy Wilson, former lead of Tiny Tim and the Hits. This line-up appeared on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

special ''Doo Wop 51'' in 2000. The group's current line-up is Herman Santiago, Bobby Jay, Terry King and Terrance Farward. They are often billed as Frankie Lymon's Legendary Teenagers or The Legendary Teenagers.

Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers discography

Albums

Singles

''Notes:'' * ¹ Released as by "The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon" * ² Early copies released as by "The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon"; billing on later pressings changed to "Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers" * ³ Frankie Lymon solo recordings released under the group's name

Films

* '' Rock, Rock, Rock'', 1956, with

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

the Moonglows The Moonglows were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group in the 1950s. Their song "Sincerely (song), Sincerely" went to number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, R&B chart and number 20 on the ''Billboard'' Juke Box chart. They wer ...

, and

the Flamingos The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as one of the finest and ...

References

Bibliography

* Nava, Gregory, Andrews, Tina, and Hall, Paul (1998). Audio commentary track from '' Why Do Fools Fall in Love'' (DVD release). Los Angeles:

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teenagers, The Doo-wop groups Apex Records artists Musical groups established in 1954 1954 establishments in New York City