Who Was Frankie Lymon? [S01E01]
In this episode we focus on the young 50s artist, Frankie Lymon, the emergence of Rock & Roll, racial division, and the dark side of fame.
Have you ever heard of Frankie Lymon or listened to his music? Well have to ever heard of Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson or Diana Ross? What if I told you he influenced these artist? Franklin Joseph Lymon was part of what you would called a ‘boy band’ of his time, The Teenagers; a group of 5 young Doo Wop artists in the 50s that literally took the music nation by storm.
I recommend checking out Mysteries N Scandals documentary series' episode on Frankie Lymon.
A child star from Harlem, loved by all black and whites for his demeanour and energy, with a promising career in music, who came to a timely demise due to his heroin addiction at just 26.
In just 18 months, this artist topped the charts and hit rock bottom. A man who went from being one of the most influential teens in the world to someone people only recalled in hindsight. Once fame had left him, he sold everything he owned to support his drug addiction and his former producers swooped in to claim his publishing rights to his hit records. The global acceptance Lymon received is a notable one.
Franklin Joseph Lymon was born in Harlem, New York on September 30, 1942. His father was a truck driver and is mother was a maid, they both sang in a gospel group called the Harlemaires. His family struggled to make ends meet so at age 10 he got his first job as a grocery boy but his musical background would ignite his love for music.
When he was 12, in 1954, he heard a Doo-Wop group known as the Coupe De Villes singing at a school talent show and became friends with the lead singer, Herman Santiago. He eventually became a member of the group renamed, The Premiers.
One day in 1955, a neighbour gave The Premiers several love letters that had been written to him by his girlfriend, which would give the boys the inspiration to write their first hit, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love".
Just imagine, Frankie was just 13 years old when him and his friends wrote their first love song. But what could this young schoolboy possibly know about women?
“When I was 10 ... I knew every prostitute in our neighbourhood and I’d get a commission for every customer I brought them. I was a fresh young kid and some of them thought I was cute. Sometimes, they’d pay me off with something extra. I learned everything there was to know about women before I was 12 years old. ”
So the story goes, the group, now called The Teenagers would sing under the window of a local singer, Richard Barrett pestering him for a shot at the big time. Armed with a new song, they impressed him and Barrett got them an audition with a record producer, George Goldner at Gee Records under the pretense that it was a Latin Group. To Goldner’s surprise, three African Americans and two Puerto Rican Americans strolled into his office.
On the day of the audition, lead singer Herman was late and Frankie took lead. By the end of their audition, Goldner hadn't a care in the world that they were not a Latin group and they were signed on the spot. The song hit the charts and rose so quick, no one knew what to do with them, so they threw them out there quickly and it changed their lives.
I recommend checking out this amazing video explaining How Doo Wop Music Changed The Music World.
In 1957, mob associate, Morris Levey took over the small recording label and became the new manager to the group. Levey was responsible for ripping off the group for the music they created. He was the leading force behind the group’s split the magical 18 months after being signed.
He was rising up, he was known everywhere, everyone loved him, his race wasn’t the first thing that people noticed and that’s something really big, back then the 50s when everything was racially divided and segregation was mainstream. Everything was golden… and then all of a sudden it wasn’t.
London Poladian 1957 was Frankie’s first solo effort. His voice was changing, and by 17 his signature pitch was history. But he had an even bigger heroin problem. His drug dependence grew while suffering from the fleeting fame and success of his 2nd solo album in 1958. He was alone surrounded by people who did not have his best interests in mind manipulating his career for their own benefit.
In the early 1960's, Frankie had recorded a few singles, "Little Bitty Pretty One" being his most notable solo record. The label, however, were still trying to capitalize on his older records, why you might ask when Frankie was young and fully capable of writing new songs? Drugs was what Frankie was living for. It became a rare sight to see Frankie sober, as he was usually strung out as a result of all the drugs he was taking.
In 1961, he was admitted into drug rehab for the first time, which did help him a bit, just not his career in anyway, and it was certainly not going to be his last rehabilitation.
By age 20 his hopes of rebooting his career was long gone. He managed to get a few performances here and there, change the octaves at bit to suit his new range but it sounded horrible. So he would lip sing to his childhood recordings.
In his 1965 Hollywood GoGo performance he had a missing tooth, skin was in bad shape. When he could no longer get gigs, he started to sell all he owned to support his addiction. His former manager claimed his publishing rights for "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", Frankie sold it to him for a messily 600 dollars.
The racial divisions, segregation and brutality towards people of colour during the years of Frankie’s chart topping reign was, for the most part, blurred. As with the majority of the coloured celebrities, their commodifiable talent allowed them certain privileges while on stage. However, the silver spoon stopped there, and once Frankie fell from fame, he returned to his cultural place on the social chain as a "negro".
When Frankie's money ran out, he resulted to theft, and was arrested for stealing a drum kit from a recording studio, which landed him in front of a judge who made him an offer he couldn't refuse and he enlisted into the US Army during the Vietnam War in 1966.
Stationed in Augusta Georgia, he met a woman he thought could help him change his life around, Emira Eagle and married on June 30th 1967. For a while marriage and military seemed to put his life back on track. But being on stage was one drug that Frankie could not give up. He sang in night clubs and when they asked him to sing his old songs, he could no longer do it which both frustrated and devastated him.
Feb 1968 after 8 months of marriage, 26 year old was itching for one more shot at the big time. He was in a much better state than he had been in over a decade, he had his new manager Sam Bray; who had convinced him to go to rehab for the second time, backing him. He was being managed by someone who had his best interest in mind, and he also had a handful of brand new songs that accentuated his mature range.
He was drawn back to New York by his obsession to sing and in the end his other obsession took over. He was about to go into the studio to record a new song, and the night before, May 11th 1968, he was at his grandma’s apartment celebrating, and he “shot up” and he died in the bathroom on the floor.
In 1998, director Gregory Nava made a movie adaptation of the late star’s life entitled, “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” featuring Larenz Tate as Frankie Lymon, Halle Berry as Zola Taylor, Vivica A. Fox as Elizabeth Waters, and Lela Rochon as Elmira Eagle. It also featured famed artist and friend to Frankie Lymon, Little Richard as himself.
The movie centred around the infamous 3 Widow Trial of 1986. When Lymon’s wife, Emira Eagle went to collect royalties from mob associate and former manager, Morris Levey, she discovered her late husbands lively love life. Levey offered $20 million to the woman that could prove she was indeed the legal widow of Frankie Lymon. The trial lasted for 2 years and a court appeal granted Emira royalties to her husbands estate.
Now, I know this type of child star downward spiral continues to happen today especially in North America with with a lot of Disney Stars for example, but I wonder if there is anything we can change within society or the music industry to attempt to lessen these problems.
K-pop for example, is a popular music genre originating in South Korea. Artists go through an intensive training program before being let out onto the stage, and into the public eye. From vocal to dance to language classes and public speech, just about their entire public persona is constructed in this Bootcamp, or “K-pop Factory” as it is colloquialized. Perhaps Western music should take on a similar approach and prepare young artists for the publicity.
In 1993, Frankie Lymon and the living members of The Teenagers were recognized and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition, the group was honored a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Frankie Lymon left a lasting mark on Rock and Roll. He lived fast and died young.