Frankie Lymon
Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942[5][6] – February 27, 1968[7]) 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 The Teenagers. The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid-teens. The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three African-American members, Lymon, Jimmy Merchant, and Sherman Garnes; and two Puerto Rican members, Joe Negroni and Herman Santiago. The Teenagers' first single, 1956's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", was also their biggest hit. After Lymon went solo in mid-1957, both his career and that of the Teenagers fell into decline. In 1968, Lymon was found dead at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom from a heroin overdose.[8] Lymon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. His life was dramatized in the 1998 film Why Do Fools Fall in Love.
Death[edit]
On February 27, 1968, Lymon was found dead of a heroin overdose at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom with a syringe by his side.[17][18] Lymon was buried at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx, New York City, New York. "I'm Sorry" and "Seabreeze", the two songs Lymon had recorded for Big Apple before his death, were released later in 1969.
Posthumous troubles[edit]
Lymon's troubles extended to others after his death. After Diana Ross returned "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" to the Top Ten in 1981, a major controversy concerning Lymon's estate ensued. Having neglected to divorce any of them and each claiming to be Frankie Lymon's rightful widow, Zola Taylor, Elizabeth Waters, and Emira Eagle approached Morris Levy, the music impresario who retained possession of Lymon's copyrights and his royalties. The complex issue resulted in lawsuits and counter-lawsuits, and in 1986 the first of several court cases concerning the ownership of Lymon's estate began.
Trying to determine who was indeed the lawful Mrs. Frankie Lymon was complicated by more issues. Waters was already married when she married Lymon; she had separated from her first husband, but their divorce was finalized in 1965, after she had married Lymon.[19] Taylor claimed to have married Lymon in Mexico in 1965, but could produce no acceptable evidence of their union.[14] Lymon's marriage to Eagle, on the other hand, was properly documented as having taken place at Beulah Grove Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, in 1967; however, the singer was still apparently twice-married and never divorced when he married Eagle. The first decision was made in Waters' favor; Eagle appealed, and in 1989, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court reversed the original decision and awarded Lymon's estate to Eagle.[20][21]
However, the details of the case brought about another issue: whether mobster Morris Levy was deserving of the songwriting co-credit on "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". Although early single releases of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" credit Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago, and Jimmy Merchant as co-writers, later releases and cover versions were attributed to Lymon and George Goldner. When Goldner sold his music companies to Morris Levy in 1959, Levy's name began appearing as co-writer of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" in place of Goldner's. Lymon was never paid his songwriting royalties during his lifetime; one result of Emira Eagle's legal victory was that Lymon's estate would finally begin receiving monetary compensation from his hit song's success. In 1987, Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant, both by then poor, sued Morris Levy's estate for their songwriting credits. In December 1992, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Santiago and Merchant were co-authors of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".[22] However, in 1996 the ruling was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on the basis of the statute of limitations: copyright cases must be brought before a court within three years of the alleged civil violation while Merchant and Santiago's lawsuit was not filed until 30 years later.[23] Authorship of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" currently remains in the names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy.
Legacy[edit]
Although their period of success was brief, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' string of hits were highly influential on the rock and R&B performers who followed them. Lymon's high-voiced sound is said to be a direct predecessor of the girl group sound, and the list of performers who name him as an influence include Michael Jackson, Ronnie Spector, Diana Ross, The Chantels, The Temptations, George Clinton, Smokey Robinson, Len Barry, The Beach Boys and Billy Joel, among others.[24][25] The performers most inspired by and derivative of Lymon and the Teenagers' style are The Jackson 5 and their lead singer and future superstar Michael Jackson. Motown founder Berry Gordy based much of the Jackson 5's sound on Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' recordings,[25] and the Teenagers are believed to be the original model for many of the other Motown groups he cultivated.[26]
In 1973, Lymon became known to a slightly younger generation than before with the release of American Graffiti, which included "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" on its soundtrack. In September 1979 at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Joni Mitchell performed a version of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" which subsequently appeared on the release of her album of the concert entitled "Shadows and Light" the following September. During the opening mix of the album, Mitchell also spliced sections of "I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent" into the title track refrains.
The Fall referenced Lymon in "No X-mas for John Quays" on their March 1979 album "Live at the Witch Trials". The English band Everything but the Girl on their 1991 album Worldwide include the song "Boxing and Pop Music" which references Lymon throughout the song. Lymon was mentioned in the 1992 Stephen King short story "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band". Lymon is named as the one who cut off the waitress Sissy's finger for trying to help the protagonists, Mary and Clark Willingham, escape from the town of Rock & Roll Heaven, Oregon, which is inhabited by Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Roy Orbison, and other musicians who died young.
In 1993, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[27] and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.[28]
Lymon's music and story were eventually re-introduced to modern audiences with Why Do Fools Fall in Love, a 1998 biographical film directed by Gregory Nava, also the director of the Selena biopic. Why Do Fools Fall in Love tells a comedic, fictionalized version of Lymon's story from the points of view of his three wives as they battle in court for the rights to his estate. The film stars Larenz Tate as Frankie Lymon, Halle Berry as Zola Taylor, Vivica A. Fox as Elizabeth Waters and Lela Rochon as Emira Eagle. Why Do Fools Fall in Love was not a commercial success and met with mixed reviews;[29] the film grossed a total of $12,461,773 during its original theatrical run.[30]
The song "Harlem Roulette" by The Mountain Goats, off its 2012 album Transcendental Youth, contains references to Frankie Lymon, to the song "Seabreeze", and to Roulette Records. Frontman John Darnielle has stated that the song is about the last night of Lymon's life.[31]
Much of Lymon's kinescoped footage from shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show, American Bandstand, Saturday Night Beechnut Show and the Mike Douglas Show remains unavailable due to copyright claims.