The Doo-Wop Dynasty: Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers' Trailblazing Journey

Step back in time with me, your host Harriet West-Moore, as we trace the remarkable journey of Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers from humble beginnings to rock 'n' roll legends. Our episode unfolds the story of these young talents, who started as the Earth Angels and soared to stardom, changing their name and the musical landscape along the way. Discover an unexpected twist that propelled Frankie to the forefront and how their hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" became an anthem that broke through racial barriers and bridged the R&B and pop charts, setting the stage for music's evolution.

As we celebrate the group's meteoric rise, we won't shy away from the tumultuous times that followed. The spotlight on Frankie's solo career illuminates a tale of struggle and change, highlighting the fickleness of fame and the Teenagers' quest to maintain their success. Their story is a poignant reminder of the era's racial tensions, yet their influence on bands like the Jackson 5 and the Beach Boys speaks volumes about their enduring legacy. Join me for an episode filled with harmony, heartbreak, and a toast to the indelible mark left by these pioneers of doo-wop.

Website: https://moorewineandmusic.com
Email: moorewinemusic@gmail.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:23

Happy Friday everybody. This is more wine and music podcast, the podcast where we discuss music over a glass of wine. I am your host, harriet Westmore. Before we get into episode number 29 of season three, I want everybody to hit that share, hit that like, hit that subscribe button and become a Patreon member that will be behind the scenes of the actual music. I'll be talking more in depth about the tragic side of some of the artists that I will be portraying on the regular podcast episodes, but not necessarily on the podcast itself. So for $5, you can listen through the actual video of me actually talking about the different stories and different legends urban legends, urban tales and the truth about what happened to some of the tragic stories of a lot of the artists. And for $10, upon the video itself, you'll also have access to 10% discount on the more online mall and that's my last name M O O R E where you can get 10% discount on all the items that are available on the website. So join us on Patreon and get all the cool stuff that are available to you.

Speaker 1: 1:48

All right, episode 29, season three. We're in the early rock and roll stages and we are talking this week about Frankie Lyman and the teenagers. We all know who Frankie Lyman and the teenagers were. The teenagers we all know who Frankie Lyman and the teenagers were and for the sake of the podcast, I am not going to go into the specifics about Frankie Lyman himself. That will be saved behind the music on the Patreon page. I'm just going to focus on them as a group. So before they became Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, they were called the Earth Angels, the Coop Devils, the Irmines and the Premiers and the members were as follows Jimmy Merchant, herman Santiago, joe Negroni or Negroni, probably Negroni Negroni, which is Joe like Joe Black in English, somewhat Sherman Garns and then later Frankie Lyman.

Speaker 1: 3:01

The group started at the Edward W Stitt Junior High School located in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan, new York. When Frankie joined the group he was only like 12 or 13 years old. When he met the boys. They were already a group in and of themselves and the story goes how they met was that Frankie was working at a grocery store and he wanted to join in with the rest of the members. And you know he obviously had a voice, the little innocent high falsetto voice, and you know, so he was able to join the group. Now they, you know, pretty much. At that time I think they were the prime years. They don't prior to the other names that I mentioned before. Frankie wasn't a part of that but you know, after the final name change, before they became Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, they were the premieres and that's when Frankie had joined the group.

Speaker 1: 4:15

At that time and you know, as most boys did, most little teenage boys did in that era, they would practice songs on the street corners and they would go over each other's houses and hone in their harmonized crap, just emulating what the songs said were already out on the radio. So they would try to sing exactly like their favorite artists that were already playing on the radio. So they would try to sing exactly like their favorite artists that were already playing on the radio and eventually all the practicing and all the singing out in Stoop if you're in New York or on the street corners, it paid off because they were discovered by Richie Barrett, who was at the time the lead singer for the Valentines In 1956, the song why Do Fools Fall in Love originally came from a love letter that a lot of the neighborhood people would give the boys to use hopefully use as some kind, you know, as an inspiration for lyrics of songs that they wanted to write and record. So in my research I saw that it wasn't originally why do foods fall in love. It was why Birds Sing so Gay, something like that. But that didn't sound right with Richie Barrett. So with Richie Barrett seeing the potential for these boys, he introduced them to someone he knew who was the owner of the Rayma and G records. His name was George Goldner, and so the actual song why Do Birds Sing so Gay was actually written by Herman Santiago, and I think Jimmy Merchant had a hand in it and actually Frankie himself. But it was actually Herman Santiago who was supposed to sing the least of the song. But the day of the audition with George Goldner, herman became sick, he had the flu, and so Frankie was asked to step in and sing Herman's part.

Speaker 1: 6:52

And, as we all know, that came history. They didn't like the title of the why Do Birds Sing so Gay? So they rewrote some lyrics and changed the title to why Do Fools Fall In Love, and then from here on it became Frankie's song, the Singing Lee. Again, he was only like 13 years old at that time, and once that song was recorded, well, that was it? That was the song that took off and you know again. You know, like I said, they were asked to perform everywhere and because of the song itself, if you listen to it, it has a, it does have a crossover feel to it.

Speaker 1: 7:45

Not only did it make it in the R&B charts, it crossed over into the pop as well, which was a great market at that time. And that's something that you had to do in order to kind of, you know, really become you know, an artist. You know, really become, you know, an artist. You really had to create songs that both, please, appease both, you know, not just a certain type of market, but, you know, to cross over into mainstream America period. And, incidentally, as what most managers do, they didn't like the name, the premieres and since, you know, frankie was so cute and he just had that, you know, that boyish voice and that high falsetto, they wanted to really focus on him. So they renamed the group Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers.

Speaker 1: 8:54

Of course, as we all know, when you put a certain member out more in the forefront, it kind of creates a dissension within side of the group, and that you know basically what happened. Not only you know, there was some resentment there, you know, because of Frankie. And you know, obviously you know I'm thinking the other boys in their minds. You know he's just a kid, how is he getting more of the attention? And you know he's the youngest one in the group. But again, it's all about marketing. And Frankie, you know, had the look. He was a look like this charming little boy with a nice, very good, high falsetto, pre-adolescent voice. That was just marketable. And so, you know, on a business standpoint, why not? You know it'll benefit the group in and of itself. So you know, why not? You know, use that to your advantage.

Speaker 1: 10:09

As you can imagine, with all the fame and the popularity, they were asked to perform on the different TV shows that were out at that time. The different TV shows that were out at that time, shows like the Ed Sullivan Show, the American Bandstand, and then in 1957, while they were performing on the Alan Freed, which was called the Big Beat Show. This is where a little incident had occurred. Obviously, you know the boys were performing and you know, as most innocent I mean, this is just, you know you get into the music and the groove and everything. Well, frankie did something that was at that time. He crossed the line. We're talking about the 50s, it's still. I don't care if you were a entertainer, a star or not, especially if you are a black entertainer. There's just certain things you don't do. It was still very much segregated. It was very, very much racist and he crossed the line.

Speaker 1: 11:39

Still a kid didn't understand, you know, know, didn't realize what he had done while performing. He um started dancing with a white girl. Well, you know to most, you know to the audience and to the, to the tv show managers and execs and everything, I mean that's like the end of the world. So that caused a little scandal, that he started dancing with a white girl. You know that's the beginning of the end. So the show was pulled off the air. They did not show that particular show on TV and it caused a scandal. But the group itself, they recovered from that. But still, like I said, he was a teenager probably getting excited. He was dancing and everybody's having a good time, they're performing. He did something he was not allowed to do at that time. So of course it was a big deal. Well, they went on to record. Besides, why Do Fools Fall in Love? They recorded three more, I'm sorry, five more songs that actually kept stayed in the top ten Billboard charts, which was I Want to Be your Girl who Can Explain and the ABCs of Love.

Speaker 1: 13:30

In addition to performing music, and you know, they also did cameo appearances in movies. One in particular is I Am Not a Juvenile Delinquent, so I mean the boys were very popular. I mean they created the what we call the doo-wop style and they were like American, you know teenage sweethearts, you know clean-cut boys. Nothing you know raunchy or anything about them. They were just used to thinking about you know teenage stuff and the kids in the audience loved it. They loved it. The young people, the teenagers of that time. They loved them.

Speaker 1: 14:26

But you know, in the beginning of this was in between 1956, 1957, going into 1958, people started to get into Frankie's ear and people that I meet when I say people, I'm talking about you know producers and recording producers. And keep in mind he was only like by this time, maybe like 14, 15 years old, still a teenager, still naive, very naive and still a kid. But they, you know, because he was bringing in the money, so to speak, he was the voice of the of the group People started getting into his ear that they wanted to have him go solo, wanted to have him go solo. So eventually he did. He left the group in 1957.

Speaker 1: 15:37

And now, you know, and that was pretty much the beginning of the end, that was the beginning of the end for both Frankie Lyman himself and the teenagers. It was apparent that one couldn't do without the other. When he left, obviously I'm sure there was a lot of hurt and a lot of it wasn't a good. You know, they didn't leave on good terms with, you know, his band, his group, the rest of the boys, because he's just pretty much, they just pretty much. He just pretty much left thinking he's going to do better on his own. And as always, you know, there's always somebody in his ear, young ear, and they're just doing it as a he's a commodity to these producers. So it wasn't obviously in his best interest. So he left and tried to pursue a solo career, which really didn't pan out.

Speaker 1: 16:40

I mean, at that point, like I said, both the teenagers they try to go on and he was replaced by a Bill Lombrano, who was the group's only first and only white member, because the group themselves they were two black Americans, they were black and two white. I'm sorry, there are three blacks and I think it was two Puerto Rican Races in the group. So you know very you know persons of color. There were no white Members in the group until Bill Lombrano, and you know, even with him becoming, you know, a part of the group, I mean the teenagers themselves they didn't really record anything that was nearly as popular as their songs when they were, you know, with Frankie Lyman and the teenagers. And on the flip side, frankie didn't really do that well either.

Speaker 1: 17:54

So it pretty much, you know, kind of came to a screeching halt. They had a very, very short career. It was a wild ride while it lasted. So I mean, you were talking about from 1954 to 1957, about three years, probably a little less than that. But they made their mark in that short time. And the UK, they just absolutely loved them. And you know, besides, you know American billboards, they actually became number one over in the UK as well.

Speaker 1: 18:56

Show, you know, sometimes going solo is, or splitting up too soon, just, sometimes it just does not, it does not work, it does not work. And they were obvious that one couldn't do without the other. So that's, that's the story of Frankie Ly lyman, the teenagers. They made so much such a mark because obviously they were a major influence for groups, young groups to come later on, you know, in the future, like obviously the jack five, the beach boys, frankie Valley, in the four seasons, among others, their doo-wop five, harmony style, has been and always will be the uh influence of uh American music. So there you have it, you guys. Like I said, I will talk about Frankie. There are plenty of stories out there, plenty of good YouTube videos about Frankie Lyman and his tragic life to be so young and to die so soon. So again, I will probably talk about him personally in the Patreon, on the Patreon page. But there we go. Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, you know, short-lived group but very impactful in the early 50s and in the music genre and they will never be forgotten. So again, don't forget to hit the subscribe and hit follow, listen to other history groups that I had portrayed from the past two seasons and please become a Patreon member.

Speaker 1: 20:55

You know, I think being you know, in that I'm wanting to trying to be more personable and I can, you know, say my little spiel or whatever. You know, everything that I say is it's going to be just based on um conversation, it's going to be just based on conversation. It's going to be based on just my personal observation and my opinion. Everybody has an opinion. I would love to hear other people's feedback and their opinion on the things that I talk about and if they have any more information or fact that they can contribute, I would definitely love to hear that, because I'm not only a musician, but I'm also. I love the history of music and I love to talk about the history of some of the artists who created a lot of the music that we have listened to back in the day to up to now, and there are some very talented people that have created and made the path for a lot of these musicians now. And you can still hear a lot of the influences in today's music. You can still hear a lot of the influences in today's music, maybe not as much, but in a lot of you know different genres, you can still hear the influence of our early musicians and artists. So join me on Patreon.

Speaker 1: 22:33

Next week I'm going to be talking about the Platters. Those are that's another group you know, we know, but we don't talk about. I don't really hear anything about them anymore, but they were definitely part of a group that was, you know, should be mentioned in part of the fifties genre. I mean, there's so many of them, but uh, so next week we're going to talk about the platters and then, um, patreon I'm going to go in depth about. We're still in the blues phase. We're still in the blues.

Speaker 1: 23:13

So I think I'm going to talk about Sonny Boy Williamson number one. Who was, if anybody? If you don't know who Sonny Boy Williamson number one was, I suggest you go back to some of the podcasts, go to episode number one and, I'm sorry, go back to season one of the blues genre of the podcast and you'll know the story behind him. But I want to really talk about which probably won't be long, about actually what happened to him and possibly kind of why it happened. I mean, was it just a freak accident or was it a setup when he was murdered in Chicago? All right, so we're going to talk about Sonny Boy Williamson number one in the Patreon page. Alright, you guys be safe. Happy holidays to you and I'll talk to you next week. Bye, we'll see you next time.