Doo-Wop Featured Band
The Teenagers are an American music group, most noted for being one of rock music’s earliest successes. 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.
American vocal group popular in the mid-1950s, prime exponents of the doo-wop vocal style. The members were Frankie Lymon (b. Sept. 30, 1942, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Feb. 28, 1968, New York), Herman Santiago (b. Feb. 18, 1941, New York), Jimmy Merchant (b. Feb. 10, 1940, New York), Joe Negroni (b. Sept. 9, 1940, New York—d. Sept. 5, 1978, New York), and Sherman Garnes (b. June 8, 1940, New York—d. Feb. 26, 1977, New York).
The broad-based success of this vocal ensemble helped signal the emergence of rock and roll as a part of mainstream teenage culture. The prepubescent soprano of 13-year-old lead singer Lymon, sounding innocent and girlish, represented one of the most appealing sounds in early rock and roll, and many later pop groups would feature a preteen male lead, most notably the Jackson 5. The Teenagers’ first successful record, “Why Do Fools Fall In Love” (1956), was followed by five more singles that appeared on the national survey lists of the most popular records in the United States. The Teenagers also appeared in two popular rock-and-roll movies starring disc jockey Alan Freed, Rock, Rock, Rock (1956) and Mister Rock and Roll (1957).
Citation: Pruter, Robert D.. “Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers”. Encyclopedia Britannica, Invalid Date, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Frankie-Lymon-and-the-Teenagers. Accessed 27 July 2023.
The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three African-American members, Frankie 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. He was found dead at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother’s bathroom from a heroin overdose.[8] He 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.