Doo-wop is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. It features vocal group harmony that carries an engaging melodic line to a simple beat with little or no instrumentation. Lyrics are simple, usually about love, sung by a lead vocal over background vocals, and often featuring, in the bridge, a melodramatically heartfelt recitative addressed to the beloved. Harmonic singing of nonsense syllables is a common characteristic of these songs. Gaining popularity in the 1950s, doo-wop was "artistically and commercially viable" until the early 1960s and continued to influence performers in other genres.
Franklin Joseph Lymon 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. 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.
The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of the lead singer Veronica Bennett, her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. They had sung together since they were teenagers, then known as "The Darling Sisters". Signed first by Colpix Records in 1961, they moved to Phil Spector's Philles Records in March 1963 and changed their name to "The Ronettes".
The Teenagers were an American music group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ Alan Freed. The group, which made its most popular recordings with young Frankie Lymon as lead singer, is also noted for being rock's first all-teenaged act. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Many musical styles flourished and combined in the 1940s and 1950s, most likely because of the influence the radio had in creating a mass market for music. World War II caused great social upheaval, and the music of this period shows the effects of that upheaval.
Alexis Cruz is an American actor, known for his performances as Rafael in Touched by an Angel and as Skaara in Stargate and Stargate SG-1.
George Goldner was an American record label owner, record producer and promoter who played an important role in establishing the popularity of rock and roll in the 1950s, by recording and promoting many groups and records that appealed to young people across racial boundaries. Among the acts he discovered were the Crows, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, and Little Anthony and the Imperials.
Why Do Fools Fall in Love may refer to:
Shadows and Light is the second live album by Canadian musician Joni Mitchell. It was released in September 1980 through Asylum Records, her last release for the label. It was recorded in September 1979 at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, California.
Why Do Fools Fall in Love is a 1998 American biographical drama film directed by Gregory Nava. Released by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the true story of Frankie Lymon, lead singer of the pioneering rock and roll group The Teenagers for one year. Moreover, the film highlights the three women in his life, each of whom claim to have married Lymon and lay claim to his estate.
"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is a debut single by American rock and roll band Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers that was released on January 10, 1956. It reached No. 1 on the R&B chart, No. 6 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, and No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in July. Many renditions of the song by other artists have also been hit records in the U.S., including versions by the Diamonds, the Beach Boys, and Diana Ross.
Joe Negroni was an American singer of Puerto Rican descent. He was a rock and roll pioneer and founding member of the rock and roll group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.
Why Do Fools Fall in Love is the twelfth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on September 14, 1981, by RCA Records. It was Ross' first of six albums released by the label during the decade. It peaked at No. 15 in the United States, No. 17 in the United Kingdom and the top ten in Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.
Zoletta Lynn Taylor was an American singer. She was the original female member of The Platters from 1954 to 1962, when the group produced most of their popular singles.
Gina Thompson is an American R&B singer. Born to Edward L. Thompson, Sr. and Eugenia Thompson, Gina Thompson began singing at an early age and was signed to her first recording contract with Mercury Records shortly after graduating from high school.
"The ABC's of Love" is a song written by George Goldner and Richard Barrett and performed by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers featuring Jimmy Wright and His Orchestra. It reached #8 on the US R&B chart and #77 on the Billboard pop chart in 1956. The song was featured on their 1956 album, The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon.
"I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent" is a song written by George Goldner and performed by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers for the 1956 film Rock, Rock, Rock!, which also appeared on the soundtrack for the film's 50th anniversary. It reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1957. It was released in November 1956 in the US and February 1957 in the UK, and is the last song featured on the 1956 album The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon.
The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon is the only album by The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon and was released in 1956.
Jimmy Merchant is an American singer and musician. He was a member of the doo-wop group The Teenagers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. He retired from The Teenagers in 2005.
Sherman Garnes was an American singer and member of the doo-wop group, The Teenagers. Garnes attended Edward W. Stitt Junior High School, where he met Jimmy Merchant. Garnes and Merchant formed a group called The Earth Angels, and in 1954 they formed the Coupe de Villes along with Herman Santiago and Joe Negroni. This group, with the addition of Frankie Lymon, later became The Teenagers and had a hit song with Why Do Fools Fall in Love. Garnes died on February 26, 1977, from a heart attack when he was only 36 years old. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers.
