Frankie Lymon's net worth is 2021, age, height, weight, and Measurements.
The lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll group The Teenagers was Franklin Joseph Lymon.The group was made up of five boys.The Teenagers, an integrated group, had three African-American members and two Puerto Rican members."Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was the first single by the Teenagers.After he went solo in 1957, his career and that of the Teenagers fell into decline.He was found dead on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom from a heroin overdose at the age of 25.The 1998 film Why Do Fools Fall In Love dramatized his life.
On September 30, 1942, Jeanette and Howard Lymon were born in Harlem, New York.Howard and Jeanette were both employed as truck drivers.The Harlemaires also had a fourth brother, Timmy, who was a singer, though not with the group.At age 10, Lymon began working as a grocery boy.A doo-wop group known as the Coupe De Villes was heard at a school talent show in 1954.He became friends with the lead singer, Herman Santiago, and eventually became a member of the group.Dennis Jackson was one of the main influences.His personal donation helped start his career.There is a citation needed.
One day in 1955, a neighbor gave The Premiers several love letters that had been written to him by his girlfriend, hoping to give the boys inspiration to write their own songs.The song "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was adapted from one of the letters.The Teenagers got their first shot at fame after impressing RichardBarrett, a singer with The Valentines.The group was auditioning with George Goldner.Santiago was late for the group's auditioning.He told Goldner that he knew the part because he helped write it.Frankie and the Teenagers were called by the disc jockeys.There is a citation needed.
"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was the first single by the group.The single reached the top of the charts.6 on the pop chart and top of the R&B chart for five weeks.Over the next year or so, there were four other top 10 R&B singles.The B side of "I Promise to Remember" was the only one of its kind.The band's second pop hit was "I Want You To Be My Girl".The national Hot 100 chart has 13 on it."Goody Goody" was written by Johnny Mercer and originally performed by Benny Goodman.20 pop hit did not make the R&B chart.Two singles were placed in the lower half of the pop chart."I want you to be my girl" was the group's second single.The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon was the older name for the album that mostly compiled the singles released in 1956.
The Teenagers broke up while on a tour of Europe.During an engagement at the London Palladium, Goldner began pushing Lymon as a solo act, giving him solo spots in the show.The backing was from pre- recorded tapes.The group's last single, "Goody Goody" backed with "Creation of Love," initially retained the "Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers" credit, but they were actually solo recordings.By September 1957, the group had left and an in-progress studio album called "Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers at the London Palladium" was issued as a solo release.
He wasn't as successful as he had been as a solo artist.After his second solo release, "My Girl", he moved to Roulette Records.On a July 19, 1957 episode of Alan Freed's live ABC TV show The Big Beat, Lymon began dancing with a white teenage girl while he was performing.The Big Beat was canceled after his actions caused a scandal among Southern TV station owners.[10][11]
In the early 1960s, sales fell sharply.His cover of Bobby Day's "Little Bitty Pretty One" was his highest-charting solo hit.The Hot 100 pop chart had 58 on it in 1960.He was addicted to heroin since the age of 15 and fell further into his habit.He was introduced to heroin at the age of 15 by a woman twice his age.In 1961, Roulette ended their contract with Lymon and he entered a drug rehabilitation program.Billy was the first replacement singer for the Teenagers.Johnny Houston and Howard Kenny Bobo both sang lead on "Tonight's the Night" with the Teenagers in 1960.The Teenagers were released from their contract in 1961.There was a brief reunion between the Teenagers and Lymon in 1965, without success.
In the next four years, he had short-lived deals with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Records.He had a relationship with Elizabeth Mickey Waters, who became his first wife in January 1964 and gave birth to his only child two days later.She was still married to her first husband when she married Waters.He moved to Los Angeles in the 1960's to be with Zola Taylor, a member of the Platters.Taylor claimed to have married Lymon in Mexico in 1965, but their relationship ended several months later because of his drug habits.Taylor could not produce legal documentation of their marriage because they said it was a publicity stunt.Zola said in Major Robinson's gossip column that the whole thing was a joke that she went along with.[15]
He added a tap dance number to the Apollo show.In 1959 "Melinda" was the only live performance that rose on the charts.His final television performance was on Hollywood A Go-Go in 1965, where he lip-synced to the recording of his 13-year-old self singing "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".On June 21, 1966, he was arrested on a heroin charge and was drafted into the United States Army in lieu of a jail sentence.He reported to Fort Gordon for training.While in the Augusta area, Lymon met and fell in love with a teacher.In June 1967, the two were wed, and the other went AWOL to get gig at small Southern clubs.Dishonorably discharged from the Army, Lymon moved into his wife's home and continued to perform.Sam Bray, the singer's manager, signed him to his Big Apple label after he traveled to New York.A recording session for February 28 was scheduled by Roulette Records after they expressed interest in releasing the records with Big Apple.A major promotion had been arranged with the company.While living at his grandmother's house in Harlem, where he had grown up, he celebrated his good fortune by taking heroin, but had remained clean since entering the Army three years earlier.
He was found dead of a heroin overdose at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom.He was buried at Catholic Saint Raymond's Cemetery in The Bronx, New York."I'm Sorry" and "Seabreeze", the two songs he recorded for Big Apple before his death, were released later in 1968.
After his death, others had troubles of their own.There was controversy after Diana Ross returned "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" to the Top Ten.Morris Levy, the music impresario who retained possession of Lymon's copyrights and his royalties, claimed to be the rightful wife of Zola Taylor, Elizabeth Waters, and Emira Eagle.In 1986 the first of several court cases concerning the ownership of the estate began.
There were more issues to consider when trying to determine who was the lawful Mrs.The divorce of Waters and her first husband was finalized after she married Lymon.Taylor claimed to have married Lymon in Mexico in 1965, but could not prove it.The singer's marriage to Eagle was documented as having taken place at a church in Augusta, Georgia, in 1967, but he was still married twice and never divorced.In 1989, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court reversed the original decision and awarded the estate to Eagle.[20][21]
The details of the case brought up the question of whether mobster Morris Levy deserved the co-credit on "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".The early single releases of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" had co-writers, but later releases and cover versions were attributed to George Goldner.When Goldner sold his music companies to Morris Levy, Levy's name became synonymous with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".One result of Emira Eagle's legal victory was that the estate of Lymon would finally receive monetary compensation for his hit song.Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant were poor when they sued Morris Levy.The United States federal courts ruled in December 1992 that Santiago and Merchant were co-authors of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".The Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed the ruling in 1996 due to the statute of limitations, and Merchant and Santiago's lawsuit was not filed until 30 years later.The names of the authors of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" are still being used.[22]
Their string of hits were influential on the rock and R&B performers who followed them.A list of performers who named him an influence include Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, The Chantels and George Clinton.The Jackson 5 and their lead singer and future superstar Michael Jackson are the most inspired by and derivative of the style of Lymon and the Teenagers.The Teenagers' recordings are believed to be the original model for many of the other groups Berry Gordy created.[25]