The Teenagers Go "solo"
| External audio | |
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| You may view a performance by the Teenagers with Herman Santiago and listen to their version of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?" here | |
| and to the original version with Frankie Lymon here. | |
In 1957, Lymon left "the Teenagers" and went solo, turning in a pop direction with the hit "Goody Goody." He made several comeback attempts, and died of a heroin overdose in February 1968 at age 25. Lymon admitted to Ebony magazine in 1967, the year before his death, that he was first introduced to heroin by a woman twice his age, when he was 15. The rest of the group continued without him, recruiting various lead singers, making records of varying quality, and having no commercial success. The group broke up in 1961, with the members taking regular jobs.
The surviving members of the group reunited in the 1970s, with Pearl McKinnon of the Kodaks (who sounds remarkably like Lymon) singing lead for a time. But by 1978, Garnes had died from a heart attack and Negroni from a cerebral hemorrhage on September 5, 1978. Santiago and Merchant continued on with various new members including most notably Jimmy Castor, Lewis Lymon (Frankie's brother), and Timothy Wilson of Tiny Tim & the Hits, their most recent lead singer. As of 2005, Jimmy Merchant has retired.
Read more about this topic: Herman Santiago
Famous quotes containing the words teenagers and/or solo:
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