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Frankie Lymon | |
|---|---|
 Lymon in 1956 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Franklin Joseph Lymon |
| Also known as | Frankie Lymon |
| Born | September 30, 1942 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 27, 1968 (aged 25)[1][2][3][4] New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1954–1968 |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | The Teenagers |
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.
- ^ Stack, Peter (September 2, 1998). "The Fast Life of Frankie Lymon -- a Fool for Love at Just 14". SFGate.
- ^ "Ronnie Dyson To Resurrect Frankie Lymon In New Film". Jet. May 17, 1973 – via Google Books.
- ^ Hayden, Tom (2012). Long Sixties: From 1960 to Barack Obama. Routledge. ISBN 9781317256533. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- ^ Genovese, Peter (August 2, 2011). New Jersey Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780762769452 – via Google Books.
- ^ Abjorensen, Norman (May 25, 2017). Historical Dictionary of Popular Music. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538102152 – via Google Books.
- ^ Keister, Doug (2011). Stories in Stone New York. Gibbs Smith. p. 182. ISBN 9781423621027.
- ^ The New York Times, February 28, 1968, p. 50
- ^ Barbee, Bobbie (March 14, 1968). "Lymon Said: Addicts Gamble". Jet. Vol. 33, no. 23. pp. 60–62. ISSN 0021-5996.