Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers began in 1954 as aย singingย group founded at Edward W. Stitt Junior High School in theย Washington Heightsย section ofย Manhattanย (New York City,ย New York) by second tenorย Jimmy Merchantย and bassย Sherman Garnes. They initially called themselves the Earth Angels. Eventually they added lead singer,ย Herman Santiago, and baritone,ย John Seda,ย to their lineup and evolved into The Coupe De Villes. By the end of 1954, Frankie Lymon joined the band and they changed their name to Ermines and later The Premiers.
Lymon was born in New York City on December 30, 1942. When he was 12 years old and working in a grocery store, he met The Premiers.ย Lymon, who was was already singing gospelย music in his fatherโs church, transitioned to secular music after meeting The Premiers.
After joining the group Lymon helped lead singer Herman Santiago rewrite what would become their most popular song, โWhy Do Fools Fall in Love.โ The song got the group an audition with Gee Records in 1955. On the day of the audition Santiago fell ill and was unable to sing.ย Lymon replaced him. After hearing Lymon sing, Gee Records agreed to sign the band as The Teenagers with Lymon as the lead singer.
Released in 1956, โWhy Do Fools Fall in Loveโ quickly became the number one R&B song in the United States and the number one pop hit inย Great Britain. Music critics credit the songโs success as the likely result of Lymonโsย agile, ingenuous, and utterly charming performance. The song remains one of the key records by which the doo-wop style is defined and remembered. Moreover, its success in an era of racialย segregationย allowed Lymon to become the first black teenage pop star.
The group went on to star in Alan Freedโs package shows and movies and later appeared onย The Ed Sullivan Showย andย American Bandstand. By the end of 1956, after touring through all of the United States and in Great Britain, the group was arguably the most popular band in the nation.
In 1956 and 1957 the Teenagers released five more singles which reached the Billboard R&B top ten list, and three of these songs โ”I Want You to Be My Girl,” “Who Can Explain?” and “The ABCโs of Love”โ all reached the U.S. pop charts as well. As the band toured in 1957 Lymon left the group and began to record solo singles produced by Roulette Records.
Lymon continued to make records, as did the Teenagers but neither his solo career nor the Teenagersโ career ever matched their early success in 1956. On February 27, 1968, Frankie Lymon was found dead of a heroin overdose in his grandmotherโs New York City apartment bathroom floor. He was only 25 years old. “I’m Sorry” and “Seabreeze,” the two songs Lymon had recorded forย Big Apple Recordsย before his death, were released later in 1968.
In 1993 Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.ย They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.