TRAGIC NYC Apt & Grave of FRANKIE LYMON & The TEENAGERS Why Do Fools Fall In Love 

Frankie Lymon still being talked about and thought of in 2024? Legendary.

Such a tragedy for a group of young men that had so much to give but ended abused by drugs Thanks to both Jordan and Katie

His biopic is an underrated classic. It might have it's problems, but it put his life into context. Such a tragic end to a talent with limitless potential. It's a shame how fast you can lose it all when the industry decides you're not needed anymore.

For such a young kid he had a hell of a voice and you gotta think his group had to inspire later ones like the Jackson 5

STILL love Frankie Lymon ! His voice is stunning and powerful 💪♥️

What a sad story. Thank you, Jordan and Katy, for telling their story. May Frankie rest in peace. You and Katy stay safe and take care.

Such a young man when he passed away. I wish alot of these musicians that died at a young age could live longer enough to see how much the world changed.

The song "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was originally supposed to be a ballad, or a slow tune, but as the song developed, it began to be sung uptempo, or a "jump tune", as such songs were called then. The Teenagers had no idea of how phenomenal the song would become; they thought it would just be a local hit, but it became an international hit. The song became so famous that there were several versions of it the same year-1956 alone-it reached No. 5 on the Billboard Charts in January of 1956. They even performed the song in England, at the Royal Command of Queen Elizabeth. There was no teenage doo-wop at the time group that had the international acclaim that Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers had. They weren't just an ordinary local doo-wop group or street- corner amateurs, they were a supergroup. And just to think, it started with just five kids singing on a streetcorner in the ghetto.

I grew up during this time and remember that Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers did not last long, but never knew their story. Thank you for telling it Jordan, along with your beautiful Katie! I like the way you present the information in your videos, straight-forward with no drama. Frankie's story is very sad, as is the story of Billie Hollday. Of all the channels I subscribe to, yours has become my favorite for the interesting people, subjects and places you choose to tell about.

Absolutely love Why Do Fools Fall in Love! Thank you for sharing Frankie's life with us. May he rest in peace.

This was great! I wish you could’ve went inside Frankie’s old apartment.

Great video as always, Jordan. From 1980 until 2008, I was a member of the United in Group Harmony Association (UGHA) which was based out of Rutherford & Clifton, New Jersey. In 1980, UGHA was responsible for bringing the surviving members of the Teenagers, Herman Santiago & Jimmy Merchant out of retirement, and helped them to reform the group with Pearl McKinnon of the 1950's R&B vocal group, The Kodaks, as their lead vocalist. She sang just like Frankie and was a great sound-alike. They added member Derek Venturo and began performing at the Bottom Line in NYC and in various clubs in the tri-state area. This all began at a UGHA meeting-show at Schuetzen Park's Banquet Hall in North Bergen, New Jersey. In 1986, UGHA president-founder Ronnie "I" Italiano found out that Frankie's grave had no head stone. He organized a special fundraising concert to help raise money to purchase a nice head stone with his picture and a nice saying that said "Frankie Lymon-We Promise to Remember. Dedicated by his friends and fans from the United in Group Harmony Association. UGHA had to wait until one woman was found out to be his legal wife, which was Elmira Eagle. Her lawyer wanted UGHA to pay them money in order to place the head stone on his grave. Ronnie I told him F-YOU, and decided to make the stone a part of a shrine to Frankie Lymon in his Clifton Music Store in Clifton, New Jersey. The magazine The Globe published a story about all of this which they titled "Frankie Lymon-Rest in Pieces". Elmira placed her stone on the grave out of guilt. The UGHA stone is a much nicer stone than the one she put on the grave. In 1991, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers were voted into the UGHA Hall of Fame by the voting members of UGHA, which I am a member of and one of many to vote them into the hall, at an induction ceremony which was held at Symphony Space Performing Arts Center in New York City. The Teenagers had the now-deceased Jimmy Castor of the group Jimmy Castor & The Castor Bunch as lead singer and also included the now late-great Louis Lymon, Frankie's brother, of the 1950's R&B vocal group The Teen Chords. In the mid 1990's, my now late-great friend, Timothy Wilson, of the 1950's R&B vocal group Tiny Tim & The Hits, and the singer of many great Soul recordings in the 1960's, became their new lead singer after Jimmy Castor left the group. They performed at many UGHA shows and also in the UK and all over the USA and performed on the PBS Doo-Wop shows. I became friends with Timothy in the early 1990's. I would see him and the Teenagers perform at various venues. I saw Timmy and the Teenagers perform at a UGHA Meeting-Show at Schuetzen Park's Casino Hall in North Bergen, NJ in 2002. I also spoke with Timmy and with Louis Lymon in the dressing room after their performance on that same evening at that performance. I last saw them perform at Jon "Bowzer" Bowman's Rock & Roll Show at the Wildwoods Convention Center in Wildwood, NJ in 2016. Ronnie "I" Italiano contracted cancer and died at age 67 in early March of 2008. His widow, Sandi "I" Italiano, operated Clifton Music until 2012, when she decided to sell the building and close the store. Sandi operated Clifton Music as an on-line business, but also closed that after a few years of operation. The headstone was given to UGHA member Pam "Dream Girl" Nardella. She created a Frankie Lymon Memorial Garden and placed the stone there in the back yard of her home in Midland Park, NJ. It remained there for a few years until it was donated to a museum in Michigan. News Jersey 12 featured stories about the closing of Clifton Music and the stone's donation to the music museum. Also, Weird New Jersey Magazine featured the story of the Frankie Lymon head stone in a story titled: "Now Appearing Live at Clifton Music, Frankie Lymon's Headstone". Sandi "I" Italiano moved out of Clifton, NJ and now lives a quiet life in Upstate New York. I no longer have any contact with her. I have no contact with Pam "Dream Girl" Nardella. As far as I know, the Teenagers no longer perform as a group. The movie "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is a good movie, but not 100% accurate. The great part about that movie is that it uses the original recordings of The Teenagers on the musical sound-track. I have a four CD collection of every Teenagers songs, including songs recorded featuring their leads after Frankie left the group, and Frankie's solo recordings as well as unreleased performances and various live performances and interviews with Frankie. He grew up fast, and knew everything that there was to know about sexually pleasing women at the age of 13, which was the same for me at that age. Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers will always be one of my favorite R&B Vocal Groups. I am proud to have voted them into the UGHA Hall of Fame back in 1991. I feature their music on my internet radio shows, which can be listened to at FACE BOOK/THE TONY JAMS MISTER ROCK AND ROLL RADIO SHOW GROUP and at youtube/anthonyjamroz. I have many video performances of Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers as well as the PBS documentary from the mid 1980's titled "Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers: We Promise to Remember". The late-great Ronnie "I" Italiano and our friend, ex-WCBS FM 101.1 Disc-Jockey Bobby Jay, who was also a member of The Teenagers in later years, are a part of that documentary. I also created a print-media album of The Teenagers which can be seen in my Face Book group. MAY FRANKIE LYMON, LOUIS LYMON, SHERMAN GARNES, JOE NIGRONI, AND JIMMY CASTOR ALL REST IN HARMONY.

Jordan, this is simply a FABULOUS video of Frankie!! Just so happy for you and Katie...what a beautiful couple!!! RIP Frankie.....you and The Teenagers were the best and are truly missed!!!

Hey Jordan and Katie! Frankie Lymon had such an amazing voice and the band had so many hits. It's just unfortunate that he had a short life. I've never heard of his life story. I'm so glad you shared his talent and story with us. Thank you! ❤

That is such a sad and tragic story. RIP Frankie Lymon. As for the Yankees hat, welcome to the NY Yankees fans! Thank you Katie & Jordan.

Thank you Jordan and Katie. I did not know Frankie Lymon by name but knew the music of Frankie and the Teenagers. I looked him up on YT music and listened to his hits. He was born a year before my mom and she passed 2 years ago. Listening to Frankie's voice reminds me of my mom dancing and snapping her fingers and her smile listening to Frankie's music. Her generation was doing the sock hops at school lunch time. I miss her so much but this is comforting.

You're a wonderful storyteller Jordan. Thank you for sharing this and the tour. Hi to Kadee (I hope the spelling is correct)

Very sad 😞 ending for Frankie, such a shame. Such a wonder talent for such a short time. Makes you wonder what could have been, if drugs had not come into his life. ❤️Jodie 🇦🇺

What talent , what a great voice Frankie Lymon had , it’s so sad that these amazing talents find life to difficult to handle sometimes , but it’s a tough business to be in & I guess once your not the flavour of the month anymore it must be heart breaking for an artist . What great music that era had .

Nice tribute to Frankie, made even better by seeing the place where he grew up. Thanks Jordan & Katie!

My aunt & uncle lived above them in that same building. Never knew it until years later..... I went to stitt in 78.

I love watching his videos he had a true gift they all did when his voice matured he sings sea breeze ( look it up) beautiful song sand he sings so flawless to perfection.Rest in Peace 🙏🏾♥️🙏🏾

The movie is more about his ex-wives than him. My favorite song of his is "Goody Goody". Also LOVE Billie Holiday. I have about everything she ever recorded! ❤

Good video, Great singer .😀

This cycle of young groups growing into adulthood and then self destructing is a story as long as music has been performed. It’s an ugly truth that I wish would end. Every generation can name a batch of musicians that came to tragic conclusions. Another great vlog with you and the Ms.!

Thank you for this vlog…I’ve always loved Frankie and his group….its so sad how it all ended.

Hi, Jordan, This was a very sad and informative video on Frankie Lymon. Thank you for sharing this story on these young men. I learned a lot about them.

Love that you did this one.

Both of you 🫡. That’s actually my 7th and 8th grade school as well so the groups story really impacted me. You would hear they were from what is today Washington Heights but I never knew the specifics. I was born in ‘69. Thank you and especially for the reminder of the blend of ethnic groups in the band.

PHENOMENAL VIDEO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING 😊😊😊😊😊

My mother was a young kid when Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers came out, and my mother always made it her business to share her music and the 1950s and 1960s with us, so we knew all about Frankie Lymon and his tragic, short life. I've watched the movie "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" a thousand times and I've searched high and low to hear more music by Frankie. But for some reason as an older adult I'm more touched and haunted by his story, life and death.

Zola Taylor was the one he married in Mexico. My friends who passed away ex husband Herb Reed was in the group Platters with her

Well researched, engaging and compassionate vlog - thank you I heard the name but never knew about Frankie Lymon - what a talent and trailblazer- appreciate your sharing

This is a good video Jordan ! I was born and lived about 3 miles from Yankee stadium for about 10 years. I never went to see Frankie lyman' s grave. But I have his greatest hit DVD. I since moved to MONTANA it's much safer out here.!! THANK you Frank from montana......

So sad that drugs have ruin d so many lives, ty Jordan for the lovely tribute, a little before my time but I remember the music so well, RIP Frankie J Lyman🐾😎

Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers were a vocal "group". When the word "band" is used, usually it indicates that guitarists, a drummer, a piano player, etc etc, are involved. It was Dick Clark who encouraged them to change the title of, "Why Do Birds Sing So Gay" to it's well known title of, "Why Do Fool's Fall In Love".

Thank you, Jordan, for teaching me that I live 3 minutes from that grocery store, now known as word-up.

OMG. You're IN NYC with your car! That can be a nightmare - both driving and parking!! Whew - you're not downtown or midtown.

That was great Katie & Jordan. I worked across the street from the cemetery. My old neck of the woods. Thanks

Jordan you did an amazing job on this vlog. What a fascinating & tragic story. So sad that things ended the way they did. Love this song & have it on my play list. You do an amazing job at putting all the pieces together to tell the story even when complicated. Love seeing Katie with you! You guys look so happy. Cute couple you are! ❤ Thanks Jordan.

Great video as usual Jordan. How is your grandpa doing? I hope he's doing well!

Such a great video as always jordan!! I look forward to watching your videos every day and appreciate all the content you provide for us!! Have you ever thought about visiting the grave of Bobby vee in Minnesota ? Have always wanted to check it out. He had such a cool story and was such a great person. Cheers jordan!

What a great video. Thank you for sharing with the rest of us Frankie Lymon fans.

That is Herman Santiago doin the split with Frankie...and to this day Herman continues to perform with The Teenagers, his wife handles bookings, and Herman has proven to be a champion of and for the group..and brother Louis (who sang Lydia) sometimes joins in....and for all these years not a hint of trouble...Thank You Herman for all the memories

I remember, Why Do Fools Fall In Love. I liked it back in the day. Some of the first rock and roll songs I listened to, along with Heart Break Hotel, Hound Dog and Don’t Be.Cruel. I was and still am an Elvis fan. I was like 11/12 years old then. Jordan I’ve been following you for several years. I live in WV. not far from where you grew up. I’ve been to Ohio many times, family lived there. I went to see Elvis in concert, July 18, 1975, at the Richfield C. there near Cleveland.

I’m 20 and I love Learning about Musicians before my time.

Such a talent. It’s a glaring testament on how the music industry can truly chew up and spit you out. I recommend anyone to find “Seabreeze”. Frankie recorded it well after puberty, but talent didn’t fade. Thank you ,Jordan. And a happy new year to you and all of your viewers! 🎉❤

Such a sad story, many thanks Katie and Jordan for this tribute.

Jordan if you are in NYC you need to take the Yankee Stadium tour and visit the grounds of the old stadium. It would make for some great content. I was there last week and you can stand on the spot where all the history happened.

This was great thank you!!!

A voice from heaven that returned there far too soon. The music was amazing then and still now. Thanks for doing this story Jordan...Their music was and is timeless. When I first heard of the whole story about Frankie it made me so sad.

he was another person that was talked into going solo such a sad life after he got older and ps Frankie was the voice who inspired Aretha and song acts getting RIPPED OFF was sadly nothing new it happened all the time and still does. the one group I know that didn't happen to was the Fleetwoods

God only knows what kind of impact Frankie Lymon would’ve made in the music industry. They need to make another movie about *HIM* and not his ex-wives

I can't believe you don't have more subscribers. Your content is Awesome. I Love your videos.

One of my favorite songs. He lived a hard life. Gone way too soon.

Frankie Lymon was a good dancer and singer too bad he passed away so young nice resting place for him good vlog.jordan and Katie vickie napa california

I Wish You Would Have Recorded all The locations you visited. I live in Harlem and His Grandmother's Apartment Was Said to Be at 140th Street. I Live One Block Over. 🤦🏾

Always love when you vlog in NYC! Thanks Jordan and Katie! Happy 🎄Holidays. ~Love&Light♥️Carli

I loved the movie Why Do Fools Fall in Love about him it was great. Great video as always.

Enjoyed, thanks for sharing again Jordan and Katy, Jah

I don't ever remember Michael ever stating he was inspired by Frankie Lymon. Michael always stated that he studied " the greats" ....Lymon's career was so short and over with by the time Michael was in diapers. Michael's biggest influencers were James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and the like.

Your fiancee is so adorable and beautiful. May Jehovah God continue to bless you two. As always great video

Always enjoy your work Jordan!! Ty

Thanks much for the visit. Love his song when i was a teenager..have a great day

Awesome video yall. RIP Frankie❤😢 RIP Billie ❤😢 music legends

I remember seeing footage of Frankie Lymon singing “Goodie Goodie” on the Ed Sullivan Show. I think it was inserted at the end of the biopic. He was definitely a talented dancer. So tragic - and he’s in a cemetery with another famous person who was addicted to heroin - Billie Holiday. So much wasted potential for both 😔

Great song and I love that it’s very easy to sing along to, very catchy.

so happy you did this frankie Lymon was great

Love it!! Merry Christmas, y'all, and God bless.

Great episode! Thanku.

Thank you Jordan.

4:36 Great song and what an awesome piece of history from that little section of the building. Thanks for the info and video dude.

Amazing story! Thanks!

Very Entertaining and Informative, Thank You.

Great video this was nice to see and enjoy, thank you.

Love the video dude

There are a lot more tragic stories in the entertainment industry than success stories.

Great coverage Jordan!

Thanks for the video

Wow, very interesting video. Thanks for sharing.

Welcome to New York folks! Great vlog Jordan.

Great and informative video.

Great video 🙏

Many years ago there was a documentary on Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. In the documentary a commemorative plaque was on that apartment building where the song was written. I guess it’s gone now.

Such a tragedy and such a talent!

Great video sir. I have been there many times while working in Harlem. Been in the apartment and all. I was the secretary for the ProBoards Frankie Lymon fan club.

I have visited this building afew times

My hometown!!!! Hi all! I was a big Yankees fan too Katie! Stay warm!

You are a great story teller Thank you.

great seeing you guys as always..... sad story little frankie.....thank you from TACOMA WASHINGTON..your pall bill

Hi Jordan & Katie you tube channel Love my favorite one fan Big New York city Love my favorite one fan Big 💖💖💖💖💖⭐️⭐️🎶🗽

Great storytelling ❤

I’m going to be directing a real movie about Frankie & the Teenagers. Not that crappy movie. (why do fools…) I’m connected to one of the Teenager’s daughters (Herman Santiago). This is cool.

Frankie lymon had a brother named Louis lymon that look and sounded just like him and was with a group called The Teenchords that put recorde out in 1957 - 1961 Louis lyman also sang with the Teenagers in later years and he died 2013 there are quute a few videos Of him on RU-vid

I love little bitty pretty one I heard it when I watched Matilda

Nicely done

This just shows how not only the music industry but other professions can eat you up and discard you. People don’t give a dam about you , they only want what they can get out of you at your expense. When that manager or whoever separated him from the group and made him a solo act Frankie was DONE!!!! They use Frankie when Frankie couldn’t think as an adult when this happened. Like an old man filling a young girl mind up to get what he wants. Don’t know if this was a true story but it was said that Joe Jackson Luke to keep a whipping on his bouts to keep them in line but when tbe Jackson 5 made it big Joe was getting ready to put a strap in Michael Jackson behind and guess what Michael told him “if you beat me again I won’t sing anymore” guess what happened Joe Jackson stop the whipping because he knows where his money is and that’s MJ being the lead singer.

While you're in New York might be interesting if you did a video on the last days of Syd and Nancy.

DIDNT RICHARD BARRETH Also Managed the CHANTELLS? My Favorite Girls Group.❤

Welcome to my city. Have a great time and stay safe.