Jimmy Merchant (born February 10, 1940) is an American singer and musician. He was a member of the doo-wop group

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 ...

. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. He retired from The Teenagers in 2005.

Early life and career

Merchant was born on February 10, 1940 in New York City, U.S. In 1950, while attending Edward W. Stitt Junior High School, he met

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 ...

and formed The Earth Angels. then they formed The Coupe De Villes and

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 i ...

and

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 m ...

joined the group, Frankie Lymon watched the show before joining the group, They were evolved to The Ermines and The Premiers before renaming themselves The Teenagers, The song " Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was released in 1955. In 1956, Lymon left the group while Billy Lobrano join the band in 1957, after they have success with Lobrano, he left in 1958. Sherman Garnes died in 1977, and Joe Negroni died in 1978, Lewis Lymon (formerly of Lewis Lymon & The Teenchords) join the group while Pearl McKinnon (formerly of

The Kodaks ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

) join the group and Bobby Jay also join the group and Eric Ward also joins the group.

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", and ...

join as the lead singer before he left and was replaced by Timothy Wilson (formerly of Tiny Tim & the Hits), Thomas Lockhart join the group as well, He retired in 2005, but teamed up again with Herman Santiago in 2008. They were known as Frankie Lymon's Teenagers or The Legendary Teenagers. In 1997, Jimmy joined The Royal All Stars (Doo Wop All Stars). He took the place of BJ Jones, from the Dubs and along with Vito Balsamo from Vito and the Salutations, Artie Loria from The Earls, Randy Silverman from The Impalas and Eugene Pitt from the Jive Five, they became a mainstay in the "doo wop" circuit and toured relentlessly in the following years. Jimmy arranged a lot of the vocal harmonies for the group. The group performed and toured all over the country bringing the show to countless numbers of doo wop / oldies fans. Jimmy remained in the Doo Wop All Stars for 2 years, until he returned to The Teenagers.

References

The Teenagers members 1940 births Living people Singers from New York City {{US-singer-stub