"Frankie" Lymon was an American Rock and Roll / Rhythm & Blues singer and songwriter. He was best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll group, a. After Lymon went solo in mid-, both his career and those of the Teenagers fell into decline. At age , he was found dead in his grandmother's bathroom from a heroin overdose. Lymon is buried in an unmarked grave in New York but his tombstone is at Clifton Music in New Jersey. His life inspired the film, i Why Do Fools Fall In Love?/i.
Started singing at age 13.
Wrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" in 1955.
He used to be in a doo-wop group called the Teenagers but they broke up in 1957.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) in 1993.
He was polygamist and allegedly never filed divorce on any of his wives and remained married to three women up to his death.
Brother of The Teenchords lead singer Louis Lymon, with whom he sang his final hit "Goody, Goody" in a special duet at the Apollo Theater.
While on a guest appearance on a talk show, he was asked what his favorite style of music was, to which he replied "hot Jazz", surprising his rock n roll fans everywhere.
Is portrayed by LeRoy D. Brazile in Mr. Rock n Roll: The Alan Freed Story
The film Why Do Fools Fall in Love starring Halle Berry depicts the legal battle that his three wives fight against each other for his money after his death.
In January 1968, Ebony magazine ran a profile of Lymon, "Comeback of a Child Star", describing Lymons battle with drugs and his hopes after a 33-day hospital stay for treatment. The article mentions no marriages and no wives.
He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 1, 1994.
Inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame (as a member of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) in 2000.
Following his untimely death, he was interred at Saint Raymonds Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City.
