R&B/Doo-Wop Musician. A native of the Harlem district of New York City, New York, Franklin Joseph 'Frankie' Lymon was considered one of the first African-American teenage pop stars. The multi-talented Lymon formed the music group, 'Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers,' in 1956, at the age of 13, and installed himself as their lead singer. The other members of the group included Herman Santiago, Jimmy Merchant, and the late Joe Negroni and Sherman Garnes. The group soon released there debut single, 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love,' which landed on the music charts and became a Top 40 hit. The group continued to release several memorable songs over the next few months including, 'Baby, Baby,' 'I Want You To Be My Girl,' 'I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent,' 'Goody Goody,' 'Please be Mine,' 'Paper Castles' and 'ABC's Of Love,' among many others. After being together for about 18 months, and numerous successes, Lymon's manager wanted him to try a solo career. Lymon took his manager's advice and after only playing half way through there London Palladium Tour in London, England, Lymon left the group behind and headed out on his own. Both Lymon's solo career and the 'Teenagers' career with out Lymon were unsuccessful and both parties fell apart. Though only together for a short period of time, the group did help pave the way for such personalities as 'The Jackson 5,' and Michael Jackson on his solo career. He also gave Motown founder Berry Gordy the idea to model his entire Motown production approach on him. Several artists have also used Lymon's type of music and sound including Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and Len Barry. Known for his 'hard way' of living Lymon's later life was plagued by several bad marriages, alcohol abuse, drug use, and his lust of fast cars. On February 27, 1968, at the young age of 25, Lymon died of an accidental heroin overdose. Following an outpouring of grief, Lymon was interred in the Saint Raymonds Cemetery in The Bronx, New York. In 1992, a court battle ensude over the rights of the group's recording of 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love.' Originally, it was noted Frankie Lymon was the author of the song, but in December 1992, the United States Federal Court ruled that Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant co-authored the song. In 1996, four years after the first ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit on the basis of the statute of limitations and authorship, gave the song rights back to Frankie Lymon and music producer Morris Levy. In 1998, a film based loosely on Lymon's life was released, simply entitled, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love." In 1993, the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, and in 2000, the group were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Sherman Garnes died of a heart attack in 1978, and Joe Negroni died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1978. Other songs by this group include: 'Teenage Love,' 'I'm Not A Know It All,' 'Am I Fooling Myself Again,' 'Love Is A Clown,' 'Share,''Out In The Cold Again' and 'Thumb Thumb.'