"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is a song by American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

band

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 ...

the Teenagers 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. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young Frankie Lymon as lead s ...

that was released on January 10, 1956. It reached No. 1 on the R&B chart, No. 6 on '' Billboard'''s Pop Singles chart, and No. 1 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in July. Many renditions of the song by other artists have also been hit records in the U.S., including versions by

the Diamonds The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (ba ...

(in 1956),

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

(in 1964), and Diana Ross (in 1981). The song was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings—published in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981)—and ranked No. 314 on the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

Background and authorship

In late 1955, The Teenagers (at that time calling themselves The Premiers) auditioned a song called "Why do Birds Sing So Gay?" for

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 ...

, recording producer and owner of

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 ...

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 ...

, tenor of the group, had written the song based on a line from some love letters given to the guys by a tenant in bassist

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 ...

' apartment building. One of them featured the words "Why do birds sing so gay?," which fit in with lyrics of other songs that Herman had been writing based on a 1-6-2-5 chord pattern. Herman adjusted the harmony to take advantage of Frankie Lymon's high tenor/soprano. Along the way, at Goldner's suggestion, some of the lyrics were changed. During the audition, Frankie's voice stood out and Goldner recommended the lead in subsequent recording sessions be given to Frankie. Frankie did some improvising and recreated the melody to match his own style. According to Jimmy Merchant, what happened at the recording session was a combination of "Frankie's singing ability coupled with George Goldner's special ability to bring out the best in Frankie." Although early vinyl single releases of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" credit Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago, and George Goldner as co-writers of the song, later releases and cover versions were attributed only to Lymon and record producer George Goldner. Goldner's name was later replaced by

Morris Levy Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...

when Levy bought Goldner's interest in Gee Records, the Teenagers' record company. After a lengthy court battle, songwriting credits were awarded to original Teenagers members Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant in December 1992. However, in 1996, this ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit under the statute of limitations and authorship, because Santiago and Merchant did not bring the case to court soon enough. This gave the song rights back to Lymon and Levy. The current publisher of the song is

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by parent company Sony Corporation of America. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending ...

, which still lists these two as the songwriters.

The Beach Boys version

The song was used as a B-side for

single " Fun, Fun, Fun", which reached #5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1964. The Beach Boys' version of the song charted at #120. It was included on the Beach Boys 1964 album ''

Shut Down Volume 2 ''Shut Down Volume 2'' is the fifth album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released March 2, 1964 on Capitol Records. Produced by Brian Wilson, it is the follow-up to the band's ''Little Deuce Coupe'', released the previous October, a ...

'' and had only appeared in mono since the release of the single back in 1964. The single mix of the song was later found and used on the 2007 ''

The Warmth of the Sun "The Warmth of the Sun" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1964 album ''Shut Down Volume 2'' and as the B-side of the " Dance, Dance, Dance" single, which charted at ...

'' compilation and on '' The Original US Singles Collection The Capitol Years 1962–1965''. This box set, released in 2008, also used a recently found mono single edit mix. In 2009, a new stereo mix was created with a newly discovered intro, thanks to the discovery of the original multitrack masters by

Jon Stebbins Jon Stebbins is a Los Osos, California-based musician, songwriter, documentary producer and author of four books about The Beach Boys, as well as two other books. Music career Stebbins was a member of a music band called 'The Point' which was ac ...

and is featured on the band's compilation '' Summer Love Songs''. The song was also performed as part of the band's 50th Anniversary Tour, usually during the first half of the shows. One of the performances was later included on the

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

from the tour.

Personnel

Sourced from Craig Slowinski. The Beach Boys *

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as "Help Me, Rho ...

– harmony and backing vocals *

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bas ...

– intro bass vocal, harmony and backing vocals * Brian Wilson – lead, harmony, and backing vocals, upright piano * Carl Wilson – harmony and backing vocals *

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...

– harmony and backing vocals Additional musicians * Leon Russell – upright piano, tack piano *

Al de Lory Alfred V. De Lory (January 31, 1930 – February 5, 2012) was an American record producer, arranger, conductor and session musician. He was the producer and arranger of a series of worldwide hits by Glen Campbell in the 1960s, including John H ...

– grand piano *

Bill Pitman William Keith Pitman (February 12, 1920 – August 11, 2022) was an American guitarist and session musician. As a first-call studio musician working in Los Angeles, Pitman played on some of the most celebrated and influential records of the ro ...

– acoustic guitar *

Tommy Tedesco Thomas Joseph Tedesco (July 3, 1930 – November 10, 1997) was an American guitarist and studio musician in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He was part of the loose collective of the area's leading session musicians later popularly known as The Wrec ...

– electric guitar *

Ray Pohlman Merlyn Ray Pohlman (July 22, 1930 – November 1, 1990) was an American session musician and arranger who played both upright bass and bass guitar, and also did sessions as a guitarist. He is credited with being the first electric bass player ...

– bass guitar *

Jimmy Bond Jimmy Bond is a fictional character in the American Fox television shows ''The Lone Gunmen'' and ''The X-Files'', two science fiction shows about government conspiracies to hide or deny the truth from the people. Portrayed by American actor ...

– double bass *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

– drums, timpani *

Frank Capp Francis Cappuccio (August 20, 1931 – September 12, 2017), known professionally as Frank Capp, was an American jazz drummer. Capp also played on numerous rock and roll sessions and is considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew. Biography ...

– glockenspiel, temple blocks, castanets * Steve Douglas – tenor saxophone *

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sa ...

– tenor saxophone *

Jay Migliori Jay Migliori (November 14, 1930 – September 2, 2001) was an American saxophonist, best known as a founding member of Supersax, a tribute band to Charlie Parker. Biography Migliori started playing the saxophone after he received one as a birthday ...

– baritone saxophone

Diana Ross version

American singer Diana Ross released a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

on the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

label on September 25, 1981 as the first single from her album of the same name (1981). She also produced her rendition of the song. It was a hit, peaking at No. 2 on the US adult contemporary chart, No. 4 in the

, No. 6 on the US R&B chart, and No. 7 on '' Billboards Pop Singles Chart, and earning her a British Phonographic Industry silver disc award for sales in excess of 250,000 copies. It also reached No.1 in Belgium and the Netherlands and climbed to the top 10 in Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland as well as making the top 20 in Australia, Canada and West Germany. Unlike the original, this version contains echoes of the soul of the 1960s. A reissue of Ross' cover peaked at No. 36 on the UK chart in July, 1994. After Ross returned the song to the top ten, a major controversy ensued concerning Lymon's estate. Three women involved in lawsuits and countersuits over Lymon's copyrights and royalties each claimed to be Lymon's rightful widow. The string of court cases were portrayed in the 1998 film '' Why Do Fools Fall in Love''. In the music video, Ross performs the song on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.

Track listings

* 7" single # "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" - 2:51 # "Think I'm In Love" * UK remix CD #"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (159.0 bpm) - 2:53 #"I'm Coming Out" (Joey Negro Extended 12", 109.7 bpm) - 6:05 #"The Boss" (David Morales Club, taken from: ''Diana Extended/The Remixes'', 124.0 bpm) - 6:29 #"Love Hangover" (Joey Negro Hangover Symphony, 121.0 bpm) - 8:57 * UK reissue 7" #"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" #"I'm Coming Out" (Joey Negro 7" Mix)

Charts

Weekly charts Year-end charts

Certifications

Legacy

The recording by

The Teenagers 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. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young Frankie Lymon as lead s ...

features in the 1973 film ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronny ...

'' in the scene where

Charles Martin Smith Charles Martin Smith (born October 30, 1953) is an American actor, writer, and director of film and television, based in British Columbia. He is known for his roles in ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), '' Never Cry Wo ...

's character first notices the mysterious blonde girl. The same recording was also featured on the in-game radio station "Empire Central Radio" in the 2010 video game

Mafia II ''Mafia II'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by 2K Czech and published by 2K Games. It was released in August 24 2010 for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360. The game is a standalone sequel to 2002's ''Mafia'', and the second insta ...

. It is featured in the final episode of the first series of the 2012 BBC drama ''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Ha ...

'', when the character Chummy played by

Miranda Hart Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...

marries PC Noakes. In 1998, the legacy of the song and its author was the theme of the movie of the same name.

Other charting versions

*The Canadian group

did a more traditional doo wop version that came out two months after Lymon's in March 1956. This version stayed 19 weeks on the ''Billboard'' chart, topping out at No. 12. *

Gale Storm Josephine Owaissa Cottle (April 5, 1922 – June 27, 2009), known professionally as Gale Storm, was an American actress and singer. After a film career from 1940 to 1952, she starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, '' My Litt ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1956 that reached #9 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart. * Gloria Mann released a version of the song as a single in 1956 that reached #59 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart. *

Alma Cogan Alma Angela Cohen Cogan (19 May 1932 – 26 October 1966) was an English singer of traditional pop in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the "Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. C ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1956 that reached #25 in the UK. *

The Happenings The Happenings are a pop music group that originated in the 1960s. Members of the original group, created in the spring of 1961 and initially called "The Four Graduates" because all had just graduated from high school in Paterson, New Jersey, w ...

released a slower version of the song, in a harmony-driven soft rock arrangement, as a single in 1967 that reached #41 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. *

Ponderosa Twins Plus One Ponderosa Twins Plus One was an American soul vocal group formed in 1970 in Cleveland, Ohio. The group featured two sets of identical twins, Alfred and Alvin Pelham, and Keith and Kirk Gardner, along with Ricky Spicer. The group released one stud ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1972 that reached #40 on the US R&B chart and #102 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart. * Joni Mitchell, backed by

The Persuasions The Persuasions are an American a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid-1960s. The Persuasions were formed in Brooklyn in 1962, singing a cappella under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their ...

, released a live version of the song as a single in 1980 that reached #102 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

References

{{Authority control 1956 songs 1956 singles 1967 singles 1972 singles 1980 singles 1981 singles 1994 singles Songs written by Morris Levy The Teenagers songs The Diamonds songs Diana Ross songs The Beach Boys songs Gale Storm songs Joni Mitchell songs The Four Seasons (band) songs Mud (band) songs Tatyana Ali songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Gee Records singles Capitol Records singles RCA Records singles Dot Records singles Decca Records singles His Master's Voice singles B.T. Puppy records singles Asylum Records singles