People sometimes compare him with the young Michael Jackson, who also knew how to combine innocence and knowingness. And Emira, if she wins, will continue her federal case against Levy, a matter growing steadily more complex. Like the jazz and blues artists before them, the rock 'n' rollers of the '50s and '60s were often ripe for rip-offs. Then he called Elizabeth and urged her to join him. It didnt last long, however. Not that their relationship was entirely maternal. Yes, the three women are gorgeous and talented, and it is fun to see them having at one another. It makes him not only a good soldier, but a better individual. Lymon C. Reese Lymon Clifton Reese was born in Stanley, Pike County, Arkansas, on April 27, 1917, to Samuel Wesley Reese and Nancy Elizabeth (Betty) Daniel Reese. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoed Zola. He was a master manipulator, however, and it was just two months after his less than honorable discharge for repeatedly being AWOL that he went to New York, telling Emira that he wanted to see about reviving his career while also secretly planning to contact lady friends and drug pushers in the city. Elizabeth, 43, of Philadelphia, claims she married Lymon in Alexandria, Va., in 1964, and that the couple had a child who died. "Frankly, we do not believe that the claims set forth in the federal court case have merit," says Terrance McKnight, one of Zola's attorneys. The Associated Press AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Funeral services have been held for the widow of '50s rock star Frankie Lymon. Emira came to New York to arrange for Frankies funeral mass and burial. He told his family that night he was on his way to a gig. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. I know its been good for me.. He got on that stage, and baby he was huge! If Emira won, she would share the proceeds with Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy. With the trial about to begin and still believing that he had a firm agreement with Emira, Ronnie ran a second benefit concert in the fall of 1985 to raise additional funds for Frankie Lymons tombstone. "If you have any kind of heart at all," she said, "you know that he went through hell.". 507 residents | Coed by wing | Single and double rooms. "Remember, Frankie needed the money badly," Borstein says. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Span wrote that Frankies relationship with Zola was not entirely maternal. The pair claimed they wrote "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" with Frankie Lymon and asked for a declaration of rights to the copyright of the hit song. Her divorce didn't come through until 1965. The Happenings' 45. As legacies go, it's not bad. She knew a soldier., Frankie was interviewed by The Augusta Chronicle while he was stationed at Ft. Gordon. Zola testified that their affair continued off and on for several more years. "Frankie was that kind of person, your honor," she said. (All three women used the surname Lymon in court documents at least part of the time.) 05:00 PM - 08:00 PM. -- a classic bit of doo-wop doggerel with Lymon credited as coauthor -- are murky. The beautiful granite tombstone that Ronnie ordered weighed over 1,000 pounds. Borstein, Levy's attorney, says the charges are "complete speculation; there's absolutely no proof.". Taylor,. Neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite figure Emira Eagle Lymon, the 48-year-old third wife from Augusta, Ga. Frankie marrying a schoolteacher? She attempted to recover all the royalties from the date of the records release because she alleged that neither Levy nor his predecessor as co-writer, George Goldner who discovered and recorded the Teenagers, was actually a songwriter. It is Frankie Lymon's only real legacy, that two minutes and 15 seconds of doo-wop. It spent months on the pop charts, led to national tours and TV appearances and bubble-gum cards with the Teenagers' picture on them. He can't remember what Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers sounded like that day -- the girls' shrieks all but drowned them out -- but he recalls the excitement. Her only marriage lasted 4.1 years. Emira's attorneys argue that Elizabeth and Frankie separated in mid-1965 and never lived together as man and wife thereafter, invalidating her claim to a common-law marriage. She was 19 and sympathetic; she wanted to help him regain what he'd lost. 1/28/23, noon until 2pm service at Small's Mortuary. Kids didnt know about royalties said Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. In fact, Rubin calls them "mundane, everyday.". 1200 Observatory Drive | Madison, WI 53706-1212 | Map. And yet -- what was it about him? Published by Mobile Register and Baldwin County from Jan. 25 to Jan. 27, 2023. Frankie Lymon died in New York. Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation? That don't make me a Catholic. And that led to his 1955 smash hit "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?," singing for Queen Elizabeth II at the London Palladium and performing in nightclubs and theaters worldwide. The Taylor sections are the most fun, largely because Taylor knew Lymon when he was at his performing peak and director Gregory Nava, whose last film was Selena, does an energetic job of re-creating the exuberant rock stage shows of the period. NEW YORK -- It's been 32 years, but the song still shimmers and bops: first that calliope-like bass ("ehhh toom ah-ta toom ah-ta toom ah doe doe"), then a wash of "ooh-wahs," followed by the swooping soprano of 13-year-old Frankie Lymon, asking his immortal musical questions: Why do birds sing so gay? Lymon was one of hundreds of kids in Harlem who had taken to street-corner harmonizing in the 1950s, rehearsing in apartment house hallways and echoey subway stations. When she left to tour Japan with the Platters in December 1965, she says, she left Frankie living in her hillside house with instructions to pay the bills out of an allowance forwarded by her attorney. Privacy Policy Agreement * I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy. None of the many tracks they made together or separately ever duplicated the jubilance of their early records. Whie serving at Ft. Gordon in Georgia, Frankie married again. They were there in Surrogate Court -- the three would-be widows and their teams of lawyers and witnesses -- for 10 days this past December and January, raking over the past. The two surviving members of the Teenagers claim that they wrote the song with Lymon when they were all Harlem street-corner harmonizers hoping for a break. For his part, Rubin's not opposed to generating new income from old music. Kenneth Turan is the former film critic for the Los Angeles Times. A memorial service. 22, 2021. "He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother," Elizabeth explained during the trial. So the trial went forward. So Lymon was already a 20-year-old has-been when he met Elizabeth Waters backstage at the Audubon Ballroom. Her troubles with drugs and the law continued long after Frankie's death. Though Navas soapy directing style makes Fools watchable enough in a campy way, the films unsophisticated nature undermines its better qualities. Though this success was short-lived, Lymon on a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no. Only after the trial to expose his wife was revealed, Fox was appointed as the producer. Though other people testify in the trial, notably Little Richard playing himself and saying things like I am the originator, the emancipator, the motivator, most of Fools is told in flashback as each woman takes the stand and relates her portion of Lymons life. Mini Bio (1) Frankie Lymon was born on September 30, 1942 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. ", Doo-wop historian Philip Groia, author of "They All Sang on the Corner," attended one of Alan Freed's legendary rock 'n' roll shows at the Brooklyn Paramount in the spring of 1956. He is skeptical, too, about some of the harrowing descriptions of Lymon that have surfaced during the legal jousting. The elephant in the room was the large sum of money that would be awarded to whoever was determined to be the songwriters of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love. It was copyrighted in the names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy. 1 pop hit for Diana Ross in 1981 and recently turned up in a greeting card commercial. Ash Taylor, Elizabeth Waters, and Amira Eagle reached out to Morris Levy, a music entrepreneur who retained Lymons copyrights and copyrights, claiming to be Lymons legal widow; Lymon didnt bother to divorce any of them. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. ("I thought royalties was a dessert," says Elizabeth.). "Even though she had said no, she had said yes in the beginning; so Ronnie went ahead without going back and contacting Emira again. She'd come with two girlfriends to meet her onetime idol. He followed it with Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent, I Want You to Be My Girl and other songs characterized by his trademark piercing high voice. "She was speechless, actually unable to talk," reported the attorney, Dwight Peterson. Frankie was that kind of person, Your Honor, Elizabeth said. They fought and separated continually. In 1986, the women, who were never divorced from Lymon, filed copyright claims in federal court in New York for Lymons songs. Levy had been arrested earlier in 1986 as part of the F.B.I. They point to the absence of documentation from Mexico as evidence that Zola and Frankie never married at all. Frankie Lymon had been on his record label for most of his career, and Levy knew much more about the singer than Emira, who had only been with him for a year. Waters provides convenient access to libraries, the . Fox as three women claiming to be the legal wife of Lymon and heir to his recording royalties. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. This legal drama was made into a movie earlier this year, named after his hit song Why fools fall in love. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. She told the judge that Frankie Lymon was a charmer. Most record buyers did not become aware of this latest change until the Happenings recorded a cover version of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" in 1967 with Levy's name listed on the label. The next morning, Feb. 27, an uncle found him unresponsive on the bathroom floor and called police. Years later, in the wainscoted courtroom where Lymon's love life was being retraced in painful detail, Elizabeth turned to the judge. Similar to the stars of today, whenever the press cites "exhaustion" it's drug related. Frankie, bouncing at the mike, was "this adorable little boy, with this little smile, the little suit; you wanted to take him home All I remember was the girls screaming about how cute he was.". He told Zola that the new house guest was "a friend from New York," Zola remembers. Nava, whose credits besides Selena include My Family and El Norte, is given to pitching things as broadly as the law allows, and what Fools is most reminiscent of is love story comics from the 1950s with titles like Realistic Romances and Teen-Age Temptations.. Rubin's 200 or so clients constituted an honor roll of early rock and roll. As the lead vocalist for the Teenagers, Lymon (played by Larenz Tate) helped turn Why Do Fools Fall in Love into one of the biggest hits of 1956. It was Rubin who, several years ago, came to the conclusion that Lymon's estate was not receiving appropriate royalties. "The only thing {Morris Levy} had to do with it was to collect the money," Santiago says. His widow in 2013 said she was lucky to know and love Lymon at a good time in his life when he was happy being in the Army and still had hopes for the future. Required fields are marked *. But I couldnt get my hands on him, couldnt find him. According to Elizabeth and several other witnesses, Frankie was back in New York telling them that his marriage to Zola had only been a publicity stunt. Paula Span reported that Frankie and Elizabeth got married in Alexandria, Virginia, in early 1964. When a star-struck group like the Teenagers finally got to audition for a doo-wop impresario, such matters as copyright barely figured in the conversation. "A lot of people say I knew him so long I became like him.". Production design Cary White. And the true imponderable, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?". The film travels back and forth in time to explore their relationship with the singer. This trio first meets as a group in 1985 in the offices of Morris Levy (Paul Mazursky), the shrewd operator whose company released Lymons hits. During his brief lifetime, Lymon became world-famous for his hit singles with The Teenagers including "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" Instead, he has posthumously provoked a trial that will determine which of the three women he is said to have married -- without ever scrupling to divorce any of them -- is really his widow and heir. Visit Sat. He decided to head to California in hopes that his old friend Zola Taylor could help him get some singing gigs in Los Angeles. It is copyrighted in the names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy, head of Roulette Records, an independent label that bought out the Gee label, which originally released the record. The small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. She says he didn't mean to hurt her, and blames his behavior on his addictions. She has never remarried. US fails miserably against Russia at the crucial UN Vote. Left-Wing Meloni: Italys Attempt to Replicate Giorgia Meloni, Europe is dumping its migrants in Africa in exchange of money, Antoinette Giancana Biography, Family and Movies, David Von Drehle: Biography, Career, Education and Books, Uplift Suasion: the notion to change racism, Mexicos constitutional crisis has its roots in Washington, The EU-Mercosur Deal: Macrons Duplicity Unveiled, Paraguay declares Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. "He sort of changed my life for me," Elizabeth says. She turned to heroin and cocaine herself, she acknowledged on the stand, and to support her daughter from her first marriage, she became a prostitute. Each woman suspected he was sleeping with the other, and both were apparently correct. Elizabeth's lawyers maintain her marriage is valid, which means that neither Zola's nor Emira's can be. Lymon is always short of money, no childhood, and, in most descriptions, lacks calmness, but when a small star appears on the stage, he always steals the limelight. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. Elizabeth Waters was a struggling part-time bill collector from Philadelphia. "I can't just sit here and tell the court anything different. As a result, they fought and separated numerous times. "Remember, Frankie needed the money badly," Borstein said. ELIZABETH OGLE WATERS OBITUARY. Last to the altar is Eagle, the sister of one of the singers Army buddies. Also a plus is the entertainment value of the films infectious classic rock soundtrack, which (besides the Teenagers hits sung by Lymon) includes songs like The Great Pretender, Try a Little Tenderness and Heat Wave., Hampering this on the negative side, besides the films awkwardness with its dark moments, is an inability to provide more than the most superficial look at anything. Back in 1956, the hit song had first been credited to Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago, and George Goldner - head of Gee Records. He was a hustler, a liar and a thief. He was apparently a bigamist, or maybe a trigamist. As a been-around woman never at a loss for an insulting put-down (He dropped you like a whores panties is one example), Fox gives Fools most engaging performance. In fact, Elizabeth says she saw him the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. When you made a deal with Ronnie, it was usually oral, a real old-school type of business person. A pop record might have seemed disposable before the rise of the nostalgia industry. For part of Lymons appeal to women was how uncommonly young he was; the singers first hit came before he was 14, younger than most romantic leads can play. He was a charmer, they all agree on that much. Zola never saw him alive again. The doo-wop classic (its earnings boosted by Diana Ross' 1981 version and by its use in a greeting card commercial) was recorded by Lymon's group the Teenagers. Elizabeths lawyers, on the other hand, maintained her marriage was valid, which meant that neither Zolas nor Emiras could have been. Her singing group, the Platters, was sometimes referred to as the Four Platters and a Dish; Zola, in her low-cut gowns, was the dish. But Anne Pomeroy of the Artists Rights Enforcement Corp. (which has played a major role in the Lymon case, and about which more later) spoke with Emira at length. She told the judge that Frankie Lymon was a charmer. "Some drug users, they rob, they steal, they do everything to sustain that habit." Why Do Fools Fall in Love With Frankie Lymon is more like it. Rochon portrayed Bryant, who married Lymon on June 30, 1967, at Beulah Grove Baptist Church near Paine College when Lymon was stationed that year at Fort Gordon. Paula Span reported that, during the trial, the judge even raised the disquieting possibility that none of his three supposed marriages was legally contracted, that Lymon had no widow. He told Elizabeth that "Zola and I aren't doing anything; it's just a motherly relationship," Elizabeth testified. -- those he abused and betrayed seem loath to condemn him. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. According to the obituary published Sunday in The Augusta Chronicle, funeral arrangements will be announced by W.H. Waters bore Lymon's only known child, a daughter who died shortly after birth. Both Elizabeth's and Zola's attorneys say Emira offered their clients 20 percent (for Elizabeth) and 5 percent (for Zola) of the estate. "He had the type of personality," says Elizabeth Waters Lymon, Wife No. They're awaiting the decision now, the quiet schoolteacher from Georgia, the brassy singer from California and the struggling part-time bill collector from Philadelphia, all nursing their separate memories of life with a former teen idol. Elizabeth Waters - Director STEM Outreach - The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art | LinkedIn Elizabeth Waters Director STEM Outreach at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of. Zola, the older woman, was 17. That wasn't his style. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." Her attorneys advised her that it might look bad for her in court if she allowed an outside organization to place a headstone on Frankies grave. Last in line is Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon), a demure, well-bred Southern educator. He was staying in his grandmother's apartment on West 165th Street. The fact came to notice from a judge during a trial where three middle-aged women (Ash Taylor, Elizabeth Waters, and Amira Eagle) spoke about their miseries. Her divorce from Phillips was not finalized until 1965. Pearl, who emulated Frankie Lymon with a distinctive sound all her own, sealed the deal for Robinson, and the Kodaks were signed to the Fury label. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon said. "The only thing Morris Levy had to do with it was to collect the money," Santiago said. Morris Levy - Roulette Records. Frankie was arrested at least three times in New York for grand larceny or heroin possession and the Selective Service, hungry for recruits as the war in Vietnam escalated, was after him. Frankies funeral mass and burial Levy, a real old-school type of personality, Zola. Emails and networks took his last, fatal dose of heroin him unresponsive on the other,... On that much ( all three women are gorgeous and talented, and were. 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