Born on 30 September 1942 in Washington Heights, New York, USA, Frankie Lymon passed away on 28 February 1968 in New York City. Frequently promoted as the “boy wonder,” he entered the industry in 1954 by joining the Premiers, a neighborhood vocal quartet whose members included Jimmy Merchant (born 10 February 1940), Sherman Garnes (born 8 June 1940, died 26 February 1977), Herman Santiago (born 18 February 1941) and Joe Negroni (born 9 September 1940, died 5 September 1978). The Gee label promptly signed the reconfigured lineup as the Teenagers, and their first release, the arresting “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?,” appeared on 1 January 1956. It soon entered the US Top 10 alongside early sides by Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, topped the British chart and eventually sold two million copies. Lymon promptly dropped out of school to accompany the group on an extensive touring schedule; for their follow-up, “I Want You To Be My Girl,” the thirteen-year-old received top billing over the rest of the act.
With its combination of high tenor, deep bass, soprano leads and lyrics aimed squarely at teenagers, the Teenagers created one of the most recognizable sounds in 1950s pop. After modest American successes with “I Promise To Remember” and “The ABCs Of Love,” the quartet achieved stronger recognition in Britain when “I’m Not A Juvenile Delinquent,” featured in the film Rock Rock Rock, reached the UK Top 12 and earned Lymon a London Palladium booking. So pronounced was his popularity that the single’s flip side, “Baby Baby,” received independent promotion and climbed to number 4. While touring the UK he cut the solo track “Goody Goody” with producer Norrie Paramor, which charted in the Top 30 on both sides of the Atlantic. By the summer of 1957 Lymon had parted company with the Teenagers; his subsequent career collapsed as he indulged in cigars, heavy drinking and sexual relationships with women old enough to be his mother.
Although he completed a well-regarded album, the loss of his distinctive soprano when his voice broke eroded his novelty appeal. By 1961 the former child star had become a heroin addict and admitted himself to Manhattan General Hospital for treatment. Attempts to revive his fortunes, including sessions with Dizzy Gillespie and studies in dance and jazz drumming, proved unsuccessful as the addiction persisted. A 1964 narcotics conviction left him financially ruined, while three marriages added further turmoil to his personal life. In February 1968 he was found dead beside a syringe on the bathroom floor of his grandmother’s New York apartment at the age of twenty-five. The remaining Teenagers continued to perform intermittently; in the 1980s Santiago and Merchant reconstituted the group with Pearl McKinnon assuming Lymon’s vocal role, and the original lineup was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
