Frankie Lymon
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Image:Frankie Lymon.jpg Frankie Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 28, 1968) was the leader of a doo wop group called The Teenagers. The group released their debut single, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", to considerable success. A Top 40 success at age 13, Lymon was perhaps the first black teen idol. After several hits, including "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent", "I Want You to Be My Girl", and "Baby, Baby", Lymon's manager attempted to turn him into a solo artist, leaving his old friends in the group behind in London at their London Palladium tour. Neither Lymon's solo career nor the group's attempts to carry on were successful.
Born in Harlem, New York, Lymon was credited as songwriter on "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", but his authorship was disputed. In December 1992, the United States federal court ruled that Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant, original members of the group, were co-authors of the song. However, in 1996 the ruling was reversed by the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (on the basis of the statute of limitations), and authorship of Why Do Fools Fall in Love currently remains in the names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy, not Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant [1].
Lymon died of a drug overdose in 1968. The film Why Do Fools Fall in Love is a fictionalized version of his story, told from the point of view of three of his ex-wives jousting over royalties from the title song, which was released in a cover version by Diana Ross in the 1980s and became a hit all over again. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.