Franklin Joseph was a black rock and roll/rhythm and blues songster, most popularly known as the boy high-pitched lead singer of a New York City based early rock and roll group called The Teenagers.
The assemblage included five boys, all in their early to mid teens. The innovative lineup of the Teenagers, an incorporated group, built-in three African-American members, Frankie Lymon, Jimmy Merchant and Sherman Garnes, and two Puerto Rican members, Herman Santiago and Joe Negroni.
The Teenagers’ first hit, 1956’s “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”, was also their only hit. After Lymon went individual in mid-1957, both his career and those of the Teenagers fell into decline.
Lymon eventually became a heroin addict, and died in 1968 at the age of 25. watch a YouTube video of Frankie Lymon below and tell us if you’re a big fan of this fella.