"I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers | ||||
from the album The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon | ||||
B-side | "Baby, Baby" | |||
Released |
| |||
Recorded | August–October 1956 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | Gee | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent" on YouTube |
"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. [1] It was released in November 1956 in the US [2] and February 1957 in the UK, [3] and is the last song featured on the 1956 album The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon . [4]
The song was originally written by Jimmy Merchant with the help of his older songwriter friend Robert Spencer (later finalized by Goldner). According to Merchant, it is notably the first protest song ever released by the Teenagers. Merchant described that the "words [of this song] object to being labeled as 'bad', but eclipse with a strong, uplifting truth in its opening line." [5] [6]
The Teenagers (including Sherman Garnes, Merchant, Joe Negroni, and Herman Santiago) recorded their harmony on August 4, 1956, without Frankie Lymon. Two months later, Lymon was brought into overdub as a lead singer. [7] In addition to the Teenagers' versions and Lymon's overdub, Merchant primarily constructed the harmony background. [8]
Although not confirmed, there are possibilities that lead to the composition of the song.
This song is mainly concerned with the widespread of juvenile delinquency in United States, particularly in 1954 to 1956. [9] [10] Concerning moral panic, there were media portrayals of juvenile delinquency in films that include Blackboard Jungle and Rebel Without a Cause . Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer (MGM) released Blackboard Jungle in 1955, the same year Rebel Without a Cause was released. Due to its release, Blackboard Jungle aroused controversies because integrated schools were believed to be the "environment of switchblade knives, marijuana, stabbings, rapes, violence, and blackboard jungles," and they were associated with belligerent males depicted in the movie. [11] On the other hand, Rebel Without a Cause demonstrates that "juveniles presented a significant threat" during post-World War II era. [12] Moral panic and media portrayals regarding juvenile delinquency in 1950s are possibly the factors of the song being made.
Besides moral panic and media portrayals, the insight into "I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent" is mainly concerned on how rock and roll was incorporated in American society. The term "juvenile delinquent" was previously unknown in Britain. However, it was easily translated into the perception of a threat perpetrated by teenagers, which revealed adults as "judgmental and wrong." [13] Regarding the insight, the Teenagers were known for their harmony along with integrated collaboration. They confronted "racist assumptions that tied delinquency to inner-city non-whites." Despite losing out on a contract, the Teenagers resisted their breakup pursued by record executives they encountered in addition to challenging racist assumptions. [14]
Filmed in Mikaro Studios (near botanical gardens) at Bedford Park, Bronx, New York, [15] [6] Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were on Rock, Rock, Rock! set performing on stage, dancing and apparently lip-syncing to the song in front of the audience.
A black-and-white video begins with Garnes extending his thumb toward his chest, uttering "I'm not a juvenile delinquent." After Garnes's opening, the video zooms out to show the rest of boys swinging their arms back and forth, and lifting their knees to do a walking motion in place rhythmically (accompanied by Negroni, Merchant, and Santiago); then it also reveals Lymon gesturing, especially the prayer hands. They are performing their dance almost the entire duration until the song ends, which results in the video slowly zooming into Lymon making a prayer gesture. While the audience is applauding and cheering for them, the boys conclude their performance with a smile and a pose, which they are seen pressing both index fingers to their cheeks, bending their knees with one foot in front of other, and then making prayer hands.
The song begins with Lymon saying "no" 19 times after Garnes sings "I'm not a juvenile delinquent" once in the beginning, and 22 times when the former chants "I'm not a juvenile" twice and after that in the end. [13]
The first-person narrative assumes the role of a person, presumably a boy, who is given an advice on making a right choice, and has a potential to "be in paradise." However, the boy acknowledges it and assures that he is not a juvenile delinquent throughout the song. [16] [17]
While stating that he is not a juvenile delinquent, the boy chants, quoting "It's easy to be good, it's hard to be bad / Stay out of trouble, and you['ll] be glad / Take this tip from me, and you will see / How happy you will be." [18] [19]
In early 1957, the British were fascinated by "I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent" playing on radio stations that they "loved" it. Therefore, it peaked number 12 on April. However, on the other hand, the broadcasting of the song in the United States was canceled and it "failed to chart," although the Teenagers were Americans. [6]
Chart (1957) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles (OCC) [20] | 12 |
This song is featured in the 1972 film Pink Flamingos in a scene when Divine is seen purchasing a steak and putting it under his skirt while running errands, and also the 1993 movie This Boy's Life when Toby (Leonardo DiCaprio) is seen exiting the building, styling his hair with a hair gel while looking into a window, walking with and hanging out with a teenage boy asking and talking about skipping schools and making out. It is also featured in the episode of The Young Ones titled "Bomb" when Rick (Rik Mayall), wearing a British Army barrack dress, is seen walking and then taunting a law enforcement officer looking away by flashing the V shape to him.
"Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1954 for American Decca. It was a number one single for two months and did well on the United Kingdom charts; the recording also reentered the UK Singles Chart in the 1960s and 1970s.
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 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.
The Delinquents is a 1957 American drama film written, produced, and directed by Robert Altman. As the directorial debut of Altman, he filmed it in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri during the summer of 1956 on a $63,000 budget. It is not only the first film Altman directed, but also the first to star Tom Laughlin.
Blackboard Jungle is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel The Blackboard Jungle by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks. It is remembered for its innovative use of rock and roll in its soundtrack, for casting grown adults as high school teens, and for the unique breakout role of a black cast member, film icon Sidney Poitier, as a rebellious yet musically talented student.
Herman Santiago is a Puerto Rican rock and roll pioneer and songwriter who was previously a member of the vocal group Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. He (disputedly) co-wrote the group's iconic hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".
"I Believe" is a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Abraham, Jack Mendelsohn and Al Stillman in 1953. The most popular version was recorded by Italian-American singer Frankie Laine, and spent eighteen weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.
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 Frankie Lymon and 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.
Richard Barrett, also known as Richie Barrett, was an American singer, record producer, and songwriter.
Rock, Rock, Rock! is the soundtrack album to the motion picture of the same name and was the first LP ever released by Chess Records labeled LP 1425 and Chuck Berry's first appearance on a long player. Only four songs from the album actually appear in the film. Eight additional songs by Chuck Berry, the Moonglows, and the Flamingos make up the balance of the songs. Other artists who appeared in the film were not on the album. Rock, Rock, Rock! is regarded as the first rock and roll movie to have had a soundtrack album issued.
Rock, Rock, Rock! is a 1956 musical drama film conceived, co-written and co-produced by Milton Subotsky and directed by Will Price. The film is an early jukebox musical featuring performances by established rock and roll singers of the era, including Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Teddy Randazzo, the Moonglows, the Flamingos, and the Teenagers with Frankie Lymon as lead singer. Later West Side Story cast member David Winters is also featured. Famed disc jockey Alan Freed made an appearance as himself.
Migration is the third studio album by The Amboy Dukes. It was released in 1969 on Mainstream Records.
"I Want You to Be My Girl" is a song written by George Goldner and Richard Barrett and performed by The Teenagers featuring Frankie Lymon. It reached #3 on the U.S. R&B chart and #13 on the Billboard pop chart in 1956. The song was featured on their 1956 album, The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon.
"I Promise to Remember" is a song written by Jimmy Castor and Jimmy Smith and performed by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers featuring Jimmy Wright and His Orchestra. It reached #10 on the US R&B chart and #57 on the Billboard pop chart in 1956. The song was featured on their 1956 album, The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon.
"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.
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.