Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers

The Teenagers
The original five Teenagers; from left to right: Jimmy Merchant, Herman Santiago, Frankie Lymon, Joe Negroni and Sherman Garnes.
Background information
Also known as	The Coup De Villes, The Earth Angels, The Ermines, The Premiers, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
Origin	Harlem, New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Doo-wop, Rock and roll
Years active	1954–present
Labels	Gee, Roulette, End
Members	Herman Santiago Bobby Jay Terry King Scout Ford
Past members	Frankie Lymon (deceased) Jimmy Castor (deceased) Joe Negroni (deceased) Sherman Garnes (deceased) Jimmy Merchant Billy Lobrano Howard Kenny Bobo Johnny Houston Lewis Lymon (deceased) Pearl McKinnon Eric Ward Derek Ventura Dickie Harmon Timothy Wilson Thomas Lockhart

The Teenagers are an American integrated doo wop group, most noted for being one of rock music's earliest successes, presented to international audiences by DJ Alan Freed. 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.

The Teenagers had their origins in the Earth Angels, a group founded at Edward W. Stitt Junior High School in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan by second tenor Jimmy Merchant and bass Sherman Garnes. Eventually, Garnes and Merchant had added lead singer Herman Santiago and baritone Joe Negroni to their lineup and evolved into The Coupe De Villes. In 1954, 12-year-old Frankie Lymon joined the Coupe De Villes, who changed their name to first the Ermines and later The Premiers.

The same year Lymon joined the group, he helped Santiago and Merchant rewrite a song they had composed to create "Why Do Fools Fall In Love". The song got the Teenagers an audition with George Goldner's Gee Records, but Santiago was too sick to sing lead on the day of the audition. Lymon sang the lead on "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" instead, and the group was signed to Gee as The Teenagers, with Lymon as lead singer.

"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was the Teenagers' first and biggest hit. The group, known for both their harmony and choreography, also had hits with "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent" and "The ABC's of Love".

By 1957, the group was being billed as "Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers". This caused in-fighting, and by September Goldner had pulled Lymon out of the group to record solo. The Teenagers continued recording, bringing in a new lead. Billy Lobrano, as the group's first white member, made them more racially mixed, now with two black, two Hispanic, and one white member. The group had little success with Lobrano, and he left in mid-1958.