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Before Michael Jackson, there was Frankie Lymon the lead child prodigy of the group "The Teenagers"...
Franklin Joseph Lymon was born on September 30, 1942 in Harlem, New York to Howard & Jeanette Lymon...
Franklin Joseph Lymon was born on September 30, 1942 in Harlem, New York to Howard & Jeanette Lymon...
Although Frankie's parents were respectable & hardworking people, Frankie grew up in a poor family who could barely make ends meet so he spent alot of time hustling in the streets while working part time jobs here & there as a grocery boy.
He started singing seriously at the age of 12 in 1954 after hearing a local doo-wop group known as the "Coup De Villes" at a school talent show that would eventually become "The Teenagers" after befriending the lead singer Herman Santiago.
One day a neighbor gave the group a few love letters written to him by his girlfriend to give them new music inspiration which inspired their biggest hit record "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". They got their first shot at fame after impressing Richard Barrett of "The Valentines"
which led to a group audition with record producer Richard Goldner. This is where things got funny, lead singer Herman Santiago was late for the audition so Frankie stepped up because he knew his part because he helped write it & the rest was history. The group became known as
Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers after a successful audition. Goldner signed the group to Gee Records & "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" became the first single which peaked to #6 on the Billboard Pop Charts followed by four other top 10 singles over the next year or so.
Frankie Lymon went solo in 1957 after The Teenagers broke up while on tour in Europe. Goldner began pushing Lymon as a solo act. As a solo artist Lymon was nearly as successful as he was with the Teenagers. His high charting solo hit was a cover of Bobby Day's
"Little Bitty Pretty One" which peaked at #58 on the Hot 100 pop charts in 1960. We all remember the infamous performance in front of the racist crowd. Lmaoooo
Unfortunately Lymon popularity dwindled sharply in the 1960s & what made it worst is that he was addicted to heroin since the age of 15. According to an interview with Ebony Magazine, Lymon was introduced to heroin at 15 by a woman he was dealing with twice his age.
He entered a drug rehabilitation program in 1961 without success, into the late 1960s Lymon struggled with short lived deals with 20th Century Fox Records & Columbia Records. Frankie was married 3 separate times, one to his first wife Elizabeth Waters in 1964 where they had his
only child who died two days after birth. Their marriage wasn't legal because she was still married to her first husband at the time. After that failed marriage he moved to L.A. and began a relationship with singer Zola Taylor where she claimed they got married in Mexico in 1965
but ended because of Lymon's drug habits. After his final performance in 1965, Lymon was arrested on an heroin charge and drafted into U.S. Army in the lieu of a jail sentence, while training in Georgia, he met a schoolteacher named Emira Eagle. They wed in 1967, Lymon went AWOL
a few times to secure singing gigs at small Southern Clubs. After being dishonorably discharged from the Army he traveled back to New York after being signed by his manager, staying at his granny's house in Harlem he celebrated his fortune with heroin after being clean for 3
years. On February 27, 1968 he was found dead of a heroin overdose at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom with a syringe by his side. All of this can be found in the movie Why Do Fools Fall in Love starring Larenz Tate as Lymon himself, and Halle Berry,
Vivica A. Fox & Lela Rochon as his three wives fighting over his estate.
As far as inspiration, Lymon's high pitched voiced sound is said to be a direct predecessor of the girl group sound, and the list of performers who named him as an influence includes the great Michael Jackson, Ronnie Spector, Diana Ross, George Clinton, The Temptations, Smokey
Robinson & the Beach Boys. The Jackson 5 along with MJ directly got their style from Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers were Motown founder Berry Gordy based much of their sound. The Teenagers were believed to be the model for many of the other Motown groups he cultivated.
Frankie Lymon was the clear predecessor to Michael Jackson, before then children were never the lead singers of Boy Bands. Happy Black History month to the great Frank Lymon. 
