136-777: Franklin Joseph Lymon (September 30, 1942 – February 27, 1968) was an American rock and roll / rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City -based early rock and roll doo-wop group The Teenagers . The group was composed of five boys, all in their early to mid-teens. The original lineup of The Teenagers, an integrated group, included three African-American members, Lymon, Jimmy Merchant , and Sherman Garnes ; and two Puerto Rican members, Joe Negroni and Herman Santiago . The Teenagers' first single, 1956's " Why Do Fools Fall in Love ",
272-417: A distorted electric guitar solo with warm overtones created by his small valve amplifier . However, the use of distortion was predated by electric blues guitarists such as Joe Hill Louis , Guitar Slim , Willie Johnson of Howlin' Wolf 's band, and Pat Hare ; the latter two also made use of distorted power chords in the early 1950s. Also in 1955, Bo Diddley introduced the " Bo Diddley beat " and
408-531: A double bass (string bass). After the mid-1950s, electric bass guitars ("Fender bass") and drum kits became popular in classic rock. Rock and roll had a profound influence on contemporary American lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language, and is often portrayed in movies, fan magazines, and on television. Some people believe that the music had a positive influence on the civil rights movement , because of its widespread appeal to both Black American and White American teenagers. The term "rock and roll"
544-458: A blues number), " Baby Let's Play House ", " Lawdy Miss Clawdy ", and " Hound Dog ". The racial lines, however, are rather more clouded by the fact that some of these R&B songs originally recorded by black artists had been written by white songwriters, such as the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller . Songwriting credits were often unreliable; many publishers, record executives, and even managers (both white and black) would insert their name as
680-461: A children's choir and a 30-piece orchestra. Invited guests included Adele and One Direction . From 2011 to 2012, the Palladium became home to Andrew Lloyd Webber 's new production of The Wizard of Oz which featured new songs by Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice and starred Michael Crawford , Danielle Hope , Hannah Waddingham , Russell Grant , Sophie Evans and Des O'Connor . This was followed by
816-409: A composer in order to collect royalty checks. Covers were customary in the music industry at the time; it was made particularly easy by the compulsory license provision of United States copyright law (still in effect). One of the first relevant successful covers was Wynonie Harris 's transformation of Roy Brown 's 1947 original jump blues hit " Good Rocking Tonight " into a more showy rocker and
952-496: A defiant teen dates a rock and roll-loving boy but drops him for one who likes traditional adult music—to her parents' relief. In Britain, where postwar prosperity was more limited, rock and roll culture became attached to the pre-existing Teddy Boy movement, largely working class in origin, and eventually to the rockers . "On the white side of the deeply segregated music market", rock and roll became marketed for teenagers, as in Dion and
1088-722: A flooded ring. It then became the National Skating Palace – a skating rink with real ice. However, the rink failed and the Palladium was redesigned by Frank Matcham , a famous theatrical architect who also designed the Coliseum, on the site that had previously housed Hengler's Circus . The theatre retains many of its original features and was Grade II* listed in September 1960. The building now carries Heritage Foundation commemorative plaques honouring Lew Grade and Frankie Vaughan . The Palladium had its own telephone system so
1224-588: A grocery boy at age 10. At the age of 12 in 1954, he heard a local doo-wop group known as the Coupe De Villes at a school talent show. Lymon became friends with the lead singer Herman Santiago , and eventually became a member of the group, now calling itself both the Ermines and the Premiers. One day in 1955, a neighbor gave the Premiers several love letters that had been written to him by his girlfriend, hoping to give
1360-633: A hit USA gold status double LP for RCA records called " Alive Alive O! " in April 1969 On 6 December 1970 Dorothy Squires gave a concert at the Palladium, recorded for an LP release the following year. In January 1973, glam rock band Slade played a gig in the theatre which resulted in the venue's balcony nearly collapsing. In July 1974, singer Cass Elliott performed for two weeks. 48 hours after her final performance she died in her sleep in her rented flat in Mayfair. Also in 1974, Josephine Baker performed in
1496-462: A live concert at the venue. The performance documented on the resulting double LP, entitled Live at the London Palladium and released in 1977. In 1981, the cellars of the Palladium housed a waxworks museum, aptly called "The Palladium Cellars", headlined by a Yul Bryner live projection automaton, as the cowboy Gunslinger from Westworld . In the late 1980s, the Palladium was once again
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#17328590643441632-507: A major influence on British Invasion acts and particularly on the song writing of the Beatles and through them on the nature of later rock music. Many of the earliest white rock and roll hits were covers or partial re-writes of earlier black rhythm and blues or blues songs. Through the late 1940s and early 1950s, R&B music had been gaining a stronger beat and a wilder style, with artists such as Fats Domino and Johnny Otis speeding up
1768-505: A member of the Platters. Taylor claimed to have married Lymon in Mexico in 1965 although their relationship ended several months later, purportedly because of Lymon's drug habits. However, Lymon had been known to say that their marriage was a publicity stunt, and Taylor could produce no legal documentation of their marriage. In Major Robinson's gossip column of June 6, 1966, Zola said the whole thing
1904-454: A new production of The Wizard of Oz was revived at the Palladium for a limited season starring Gary Wilmot , Ashley Banjo , Jason Manford , Dianne Pilkington , and Christina Bianco . In summer 2024, a revival of Hello, Dolly! directed by Dominic Cooke , starring Imelda Staunton , Jenna Russell , Andy Nyman and Tyrone Huntley ran for a limited season. As well as this, in July 2024
2040-683: A new production of the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opened starring Jason Donovan in the title role with Linzi Hateley as the Narrator. Phillip Schofield later replaced Donovan in the title role. In 1994, Cameron Mackintosh produced a new revival of Lionel Bart 's musical Oliver! , directed by Sam Mendes . It starred Jonathan Pryce as Fagin and Sally Dexter as Nancy. In 1998, Arlene Phillips directed and choreographed
2176-575: A perkier vocal more appropriate for an audience unfamiliar with the song to which James's song was an answer , Hank Ballard 's "Work With Me, Annie". Presley's rock and roll version of "Hound Dog", taken mainly from a version recorded by the pop band Freddie Bell and the Bellboys , was very different from the blues shouter that Big Mama Thornton had recorded four years earlier. Other white artists who recorded cover versions of rhythm and blues songs included Gale Storm (Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You Knockin ' "),
2312-655: A preacher (October 1957), the departure of Presley for service in the United States Army (March 1958), the scandal surrounding Jerry Lee Lewis ' marriage to his thirteen-year-old cousin (May 1958), riots caused by Bill Haley 's ill-fated tour of Europe (October 1958), the deaths of Buddy Holly , The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in a plane crash (February 1959), the breaking of the Payola scandal implicating major figures, including Alan Freed , in bribery and corruption in promoting individual acts or songs (November 1959),
2448-489: A relationship with Elizabeth Mickey Waters, who became his first wife in January 1964 and gave birth to his only child, a baby girl named Francine who died two days after birth at Lenox Hill Hospital. Lymon's marriage to Waters was not legal because she was still married to her first husband at the time. After the marriage failed, Lymon moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s, where he began a romantic relationship with Zola Taylor ,
2584-415: A result heard each other's music and even began to emulate each other's fashions. Radio stations that made white and black forms of music available to both groups, the development and spread of the gramophone record , and African-American musical styles such as jazz and swing which were taken up by white musicians, aided this process of "cultural collision". The immediate roots of rock and roll lay in
2720-451: A return season of Scrooge: The Musical starring Tommy Steele . In 2013 it became home to a revival of A Chorus Line starring John Partridge , Scarlett Strallen and Leigh Zimmerman . Since 2013, excluding 2014, 2015 and 2016, Britain's Got Talent have held Judges' auditions at the Palladium as one part of their audition tour which usually lasts from mid-January to late-February. In 2014, Really Useful Group split in two, and
2856-600: A rock and roll standard. As interest in rock and roll was beginning to subside in America in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was taken up by groups in British cities like Liverpool , Manchester , Birmingham , and London . About the same time, a British blues scene developed, initially led by purist blues followers such as Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies who were inspired by American musicians such as Robert Johnson , Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf . Many groups moved towards
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#17328590643442992-472: A slightly younger generation than before with the release of American Graffiti , which included "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" on its soundtrack. In September 1979 at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Joni Mitchell performed a version of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" which subsequently appeared on the release of her album of the concert entitled "Shadows and Light" the following September. During the opening mix of
3128-451: A stage musical adaptation of Saturday Night Fever starring Adam Garcia and Ben Richards . In 2000, ownership of the theatre changed once again when Stoll Moss was acquired by Andrew Lloyd Webber 's Really Useful Group . From 3 May 2000 to 5 January 2002, the Palladium played The King and I starring Elaine Paige and Jason Scott Lee . This production was a West End transfer of the hugely successful 1996 Broadway production. Before
3264-618: A string of replacement singers, the first of whom was Billy Lobrano. In 1960, Howard Kenny Bobo sang lead on "Tonight's the Night" with the Teenagers; later that year, Johnny Houston sang lead on two songs. The Teenagers, who had been moved by Morris Levy to End Records, were released from their contract in 1961. The Teenagers briefly reunited with Lymon in 1965, without success. Over the next four years, Lymon struggled through short-lived deals with 20th Century Fox Records and Columbia Records . He began
3400-476: A time of considerable technological change, soon after the development of the electric guitar, amplifier , 45 rpm record and modern condenser microphones . There were also changes in the record industry, with the rise of independent labels like Atlantic , Sun and Chess servicing niche audiences and a similar rise of radio stations that played their music. It was the realization that relatively affluent white teenagers were listening to this music that led to
3536-496: A unique electric guitar style, influenced by African and Afro-Cuban music and in turn influencing many later artists. Rock and roll was strongly influenced by R&B, according to many sources, including an article in The Wall Street Journal in 1985, titled, "Rock! It's Still Rhythm and Blues". In fact, the author stated that the "two terms were used interchangeably", until about 1957. The other sources quoted in
3672-432: A white market, or a new hybrid of black and white forms. In the 1930s, jazz , and particularly swing , both in urban-based dance bands and blues-influenced country swing ( Jimmie Rodgers , Moon Mullican and other similar singers), were among the first music to present African-American sounds for a predominantly white audience. One particularly noteworthy example of a jazz song with recognizably rock and roll elements
3808-492: A white teenage girl while he was performing. Lymon's actions caused a scandal, particularly among Southern TV station owners, and The Big Beat was subsequently canceled. Lymon's slowly declining sales fell sharply in the early 1960s. His highest-charting solo hit was a cover of Bobby Day 's " Little Bitty Pretty One ", which peaked at No. 58 on the Hot 100 pop chart in 1960 and which had been recorded in 1957. Addicted to heroin since
3944-509: A wider scale than any other single performer and by 1956, he had emerged as the singing sensation of the nation. Bill Flagg who is a Connecticut resident, began referring to his mix of hillbilly and rock 'n' roll music as rockabilly around 1953. In July 1954, Presley recorded the regional hit " That's All Right " at Sam Phillips' Sun Studio in Memphis. Three months earlier, on April 12, 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded "Rock Around
4080-519: Is Big Joe Turner with pianist Pete Johnson 's 1938 single " Roll 'Em Pete ", which is regarded as an important precursor of rock and roll. The 1940s saw the increased use of blaring horns (including saxophones), shouted lyrics and boogie-woogie beats in jazz-based music. During and immediately after World War II , with shortages of fuel and limitations on audiences and available personnel, large jazz bands were less economical and tended to be replaced by smaller combos, using guitars, bass and drums. In
4216-459: Is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz , rhythm and blues , boogie-woogie , electric blues , gospel , and jump blues , as well as country music . While rock and roll's formative elements can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s,
Frankie Lymon - Misplaced Pages Continue
4352-472: Is defined by Greg Kot in Encyclopædia Britannica as the music that originated in the mid-1950s and later developed "into the more encompassing international style known as rock music ". The term is sometimes also used as synonymous with "rock music" and is defined as such in some dictionaries. The phrase "rocking and rolling" originally described the movement of a ship on the ocean, but by
4488-677: Is general agreement that it arose in the Southern United States – a region that would produce most of the major early rock and roll acts – through the meeting of various influences that embodied a merging of the African musical tradition with European instrumentation. The migration of many former slaves and their descendants to major urban centers such as St. Louis , Memphis , New York City , Detroit , Chicago , Cleveland , and Buffalo meant that black and white residents were living in close proximity in larger numbers than ever before, and as
4624-466: Is often identified with the emergence of teen culture among the first baby boomer generation, who had greater relative affluence and leisure time and adopted rock and roll as part of a distinct subculture. This involved not just music, absorbed via radio, record buying, jukeboxes and TV programs like American Bandstand , but also extended to film, clothes, hair, cars and motorcycles, and distinctive language. The youth culture exemplified by rock and roll
4760-660: Is rock 'n' roll. I think that 'Rocket 88' is R&B, but I think 'Rocket 88' is the cause of rock and roll existing". In terms of its wide cultural impact across society in the US and elsewhere, Bill Haley 's " Rock Around the Clock ", recorded in April 1954 but not a commercial success until the following year, is generally recognized as an important milestone, but it was preceded by many recordings from earlier decades in which elements of rock and roll can be clearly discerned. Journalist Alexis Petridis argued that neither Haley's "Rock Around
4896-589: The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and his orchestra, Bob Hope , Liza Minnelli , Lena Horne , Ella Fitzgerald , Peggy Lee , Frank Sinatra , Sammy Davis Jr. , Frankie Laine and Johnnie Ray , freezing out many British stars of the day, who were relegated to second-billing. From 1955 to 1967, the theatre was the setting for the top-rated ITV Network variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium hosted first by Tommy Trinder , followed by Bruce Forsyth , Norman Vaughan , and Jimmy Tarbuck . The programme
5032-588: The Brit Awards Icon, subsequently broadcast on ITV1 . Robbie Williams promoted his new album Swings Both Ways , the UK's 1000th No. 1 album, with a one-night performance on 8 November 2013 that was filmed for television broadcast (BBC One). He was joined by members of the cast of The Muppet Show ( Kermit the Frog , Miss Piggy , Fozzie Bear , Gonzo , Statler and Waldorf ), Lily Allen , Rufus Wainwright , his father,
5168-477: The British Invasion would become the superseding forms of rock music during the mid-1960s, a few American artists were nonetheless able to achieve chart successes with rock and roll recordings during this time. The most notable of these was Johnny Rivers , who with hits such as "Memphis" (1964), popularized a " Go-go " style of club-oriented, danceable rock and roll that enjoyed significant success in spite of
5304-520: The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Family Show . In 2017, The Wind in the Willows with songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe ran for a summer season starring Rufus Hound , Simon Lipkin , Neil McDermott , Gary Wilmot and Denise Welch . In 2018, Sir Bruce Forsyth 's ashes were laid to rest under the Palladium's stage, with a blue plaque commemorating him on a nearby wall, featuring
5440-596: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000. Lymon's music and story were eventually re-introduced to modern audiences with Why Do Fools Fall in Love , a 1998 biographical film directed by Gregory Nava , also the director of the Selena biopic. Why Do Fools Fall in Love tells a comedic, fictionalized version of Lymon's story from the points of view of his three wives as they battle in court for
5576-490: The Royal Variety Performance 43 times, most recently in 2019. Walter Gibbons , an early moving-pictures manager, built the Palladium in 1910 to compete with Sir Edward Moss 's London Hippodrome and Sir Oswald Stoll 's London Coliseum . The facade (on the site of Argyll House , demolished in the 1860s, from which the pub opposite took the name The Argyll Arms ), dates back to the 19th century. Formerly it
Frankie Lymon - Misplaced Pages Continue
5712-457: The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that abolished the policy of " separate but equal " in 1954, but leaving a policy which would be extremely difficult to enforce in parts of the United States. The coming together of white youth audiences and black music in rock and roll inevitably provoked strong white racist reactions within the US, with many whites condemning its breaking down of barriers based on color. Many observers saw rock and roll as heralding
5848-654: The US pop charts – topped the British charts later that year and again in 1956 and helped identify rock and roll with teenage delinquency. The initial response of the British music industry was to attempt to produce copies of American records, recorded with session musicians and often fronted by teen idols. More grass roots British rock and rollers soon began to appear, including Wee Willie Harris and Tommy Steele . During this period American Rock and Roll remained dominant but in 1958 Britain produced its first "authentic" rock and roll song and star, when Cliff Richard reached number 2 in
5984-590: The beat music of rock and roll and rhythm and blues from skiffle, like the Quarrymen who became the Beatles , producing a form of rock and roll revivalism that carried them and many other groups to national success from about 1963 and to international success from 1964, known in America as the British Invasion. Groups that followed the Beatles included the beat-influenced Freddie and the Dreamers , Wayne Fontana and
6120-428: The rhythm and blues , then called " race music ", in combination with either boogie-woogie and shouting gospel or with country music of the 1940s and 1950s. Particularly significant influences were jazz, blues , gospel , country, and folk . Commentators differ in their views of which of these forms were most important and the degree to which the new music was a re-branding of African-American rhythm and blues for
6256-415: The tempos and increasing the backbeat to great popularity on the juke joint circuit. Before the efforts of Freed and others, black music was taboo on many white-owned radio outlets, but artists and producers quickly recognized the potential of rock and roll. Some of Presley's early recordings were covers of black rhythm and blues or blues songs, such as " That's All Right " (a countrified arrangement of
6392-843: The 1800s; the recording can be heard on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. Various gospel, blues and swing recordings used the phrase before it became widely popular. " Bosom of Abraham ", an African-American spiritual that was documented no later than 1867 (just after the Civil War ), uses the phrase "rock my soul" frequently in a religious sense; this song was later recorded by musicians from various genres, including various gospel musicians and groups (including The Jordanaires ), Louis Armstrong (jazz/swing), Lonnie Donegan ( skiffle ), and Elvis Presley (rock and roll/pop/country). Blues singer Trixie Smith recorded "My [Man] Rocks Me with One Steady Roll" in 1922. It
6528-426: The 1935 Alfred Hitchcock spy thriller The 39 Steps was filmed at the Palladium. The theatre was hit by an unexploded German parachute mine on 11 May 1941. The device had fallen through the roof, becoming lodged over the stage. A Royal Navy bomb disposal team was sent to deal with it. After the mine was located, the fuse locking ring had to be turned to allow access to the fuse itself. Rather disconcertingly,
6664-474: The 1950s, by leading white and black kids to listen to the same music, put the radio personality 'at the vanguard' and made him 'a really important figure ' ". After Freed was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , the organization's Web site offered this comment: "He became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under
6800-428: The 1992 Stephen King short story " You Know They Got a Hell of a Band ". Lymon is named as the one who cut off the waitress Sissy's finger for trying to help the protagonists, Mary and Clark Willingham, escape from the town of Rock & Roll Heaven, Oregon, which is inhabited by Janis Joplin , Otis Redding , Roy Orbison , and other musicians who died young. In 1993, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers were inducted into
6936-506: The 50th Anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's and Tim Rice’ Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat . The production starred Sheridan Smith as the Narrator, Jason Donovan as the Pharaoh (having previously played the title role in the 1991 Palladium revival) and Jac Yarrow in the title role. The production was due to return in summer 2020, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic it
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#17328590643447072-574: The Army two years earlier. On February 27, 1968, Lymon's uncle found him dead by a heroin overdose, with a syringe next to him on his grandmother's bathroom floor. He was 25 at the time of his drug-related demise. The overdose was a result from "acute intravenous narcotism," according to Lymon's death certificate. Lymon was buried at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx , New York City, New York. "I'm Sorry" and "Seabreeze" are
7208-710: The Army, Lymon moved into his wife's home and continued to perform sporadically. Traveling to New York in 1968, Lymon was signed by manager Sam Bray to his Big Apple label, and the singer returned to recording. Roulette Records expressed interest in releasing Lymon's records in conjunction with Big Apple and scheduled a recording session for February 28. A major promotion had been arranged with CHO Associates, owned by radio personalities Frankie Crocker, Herb Hamlett, and Eddie O'Jay. Lymon, staying at his grandmother's house in Harlem where he had grown up, celebrated his good fortune by taking heroin ; Lymon had remained clean ever since entering
7344-572: The Beach Boys and Billy Joel , among others. The performers most inspired by and derivative of Lymon and the Teenagers' style are the Jackson 5 and their lead singer and future superstar Michael Jackson . Motown founder Berry Gordy based much of the Jackson 5's sound on Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' recordings, and the Teenagers are believed to be the original model for many of the other Motown groups he cultivated. In 1973, Lymon became known to
7480-505: The Belmonts ' " A Teenager in Love " (1959). From its early 1950s beginnings through the early 1960s, rock and roll spawned new dance crazes including the twist . Teenagers found the syncopated backbeat rhythm especially suited to reviving Big Band-era jitterbug dancing. Sock hops , school and church gym dances, and home basement dance parties became the rage, and American teens watched Dick Clark 's American Bandstand to keep up on
7616-547: The Clock" nor Presley's version of "That's Alright Mama" heralded a new genre: "They were simply the first white artists' interpretations of a sound already well-established by black musicians almost a decade before. It was a raucous, driving, unnamed variant of rhythm and blues that came complete with lyrics that talked about rocking". Other artists with early rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry , Bo Diddley , Little Richard , Jerry Lee Lewis , and Gene Vincent . Chuck Berry's 1955 classic " Maybellene " in particular features
7752-462: The Clock". Although only a minor hit when first released, when used in the opening sequence of the movie Blackboard Jungle a year later, it set the rock and roll boom in motion. The song became one of the biggest hits in history, and frenzied teens flocked to see Haley and the Comets perform it, causing riots in some cities. "Rock Around the Clock" was a breakthrough success for the group; traditionally,
7888-694: The Diamonds (The Gladiolas' "Little Darlin ' " and Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?"), the Crew Cuts (the Chords' "Sh-Boom" and Nappy Brown's "Don't Be Angry"), the Fountain Sisters (The Jewels' "Hearts of Stone") and the Maguire Sisters (The Moonglows' "Sincerely"). Some commentators have suggested a decline of rock and roll starting in 1958. The retirement of Little Richard to become
8024-495: The Joint " (1949) (later covered by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1952), " Rocket 88 " by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats ( Ike Turner and his band The Kings of Rhythm and sung by Brenston), was recorded by Sam Phillips in March 1951. This is often cited as the first rock n' roll record. In an interview however, Ike Turner offered this comment: "I don't think that 'Rocket 88'
8160-483: The London Palladium was staged at the venue, produced for the ITV network. The show included a performance by the Beatles on 13 October 1963; one newspaper's headlines in the following days coined the term " Beatlemania " to describe the hysterical interest in the band. While the theatre hosts resident shows, it is also able to host one-off performances, such as concerts, TV specials and Christmas pantomimes . It has hosted
8296-639: The London Palladium, The Victoria Palace and even the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , Prince Littler organised a take-over to save the theatres and Val Parnell retired to live in France. The new managing director of Stoll-Moss was Louis Benjamin , who took on the role while continuing as MD of Pye Records within the ATV Group. By 1965, the Wine Society was operating out of a cellar under the Palladium. Additionally, it
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#17328590643448432-473: The Louis Prima rocker "Oh Babe" in 1950, as well as Amos Milburn 's cover of what may have been the first white rock and roll record, Hardrock Gunter 's "Birmingham Bounce" in 1949. The most notable trend, however, was white pop covers of black R&B numbers. The more familiar sound of these covers may have been more palatable to white audiences, there may have been an element of prejudice, but labels aimed at
8568-686: The Mindbenders , Herman's Hermits and the Dave Clark Five . Early British rhythm and blues groups with more blues influences include the Animals , the Rolling Stones , and the Yardbirds . Rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. In addition, rock and roll may have contributed to the civil rights movement because both African-American and European-American teens enjoyed
8704-473: The Palladium also ran as a cinema. Following this ' cine-variety ' episode the theatre fell dark for a short period in the autumn of 1928. From 3 September 1928, the Palladium reopened under the directorship of the impresario/producer George Black as part of the General Theatre Corporation (GTC). When Black took control the theatre was close to bankruptcy. He revived its fortunes by returning to
8840-952: The Palladium in November 2006. The production ran for just over two years, before closing on 21 February 2009. It starred Connie Fisher and Summer Strallen as Maria, Simon Shepherd , Alexander Hanson and Simon MacCorkindale as Captain Von Trapp and Lesley Garrett and Margaret Preece as the Mother Abbess. A production of Sister Act the Musical opened on 2 June 2009, starring Patina Miller as Deloris, Sheila Hancock as Mother Superior, Ian Lavender as Monsignor Howard, Chris Jarman as Shank, Ako Mitchell as Eddie, Katie Rowley Jones as Sister Mary Robert, Claire Greenway as Sister Mary Patrick and Julia Sutton as Sister Mary Lazarus. Rufus Wainwright held two sold out Judy Garland tribute concerts at
8976-506: The Palladium on that night. He was later killed, on 19 August 1941, while en route for Gibraltar on board the torpedoed troopship SS Aguila . Val Parnell took over as managing director after George Black's death in 1945. He adopted a controversial, but very successful, policy of presenting high-priced, big-name American acts at the top of the bill. Among many, the list included Carmen Miranda , Judy Garland , Sophie Tucker , Bing Crosby , Danny Kaye , Rosemary Clooney , Channing Pollock ,
9112-527: The Palladium was soon gaining praise again as 'The World's Leading Variety Theatre'. In 1935, Black initiated the Crazy Gang revues at the Palladium (for which he is chiefly remembered) with Life Begins at Oxford Circus . The revues continued at the Palladium as an annual event until they transferred to the Victoria Palace theatre in 1940. Black managed the Palladium until his death in 1945. The climax of
9248-630: The Royal Variety Performance. The 1991 film The Josephine Baker Story implied that, like Cass Elliott, she died after a show there, but this is not true. She actually died in Paris four days after a show there. Bing Crosby performed for two weeks at the Palladium starting on 21 June 1976. The resulting live album Bing Crosby Live at the London Palladium reached No. 9 in the UK album charts in November 1977. In October 1976, Marvin Gaye recorded
9384-592: The Teenagers broke up while on a tour in Europe. During an engagement at the London Palladium , Goldner began pushing Lymon as a solo act, giving him solo spots in the show. Lymon began performing with backing from pre-recorded tapes. The group's last single, " Goody Goody " backed with "Creation of Love," initially retained the "Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers" credit, but they were actually solo recordings (with backing by session singers). Lymon had officially departed from
9520-409: The age of 15, Lymon fell further into his habit, and his performing career went into decline. According to Lymon in an interview with Ebony magazine in 1967, he was first introduced to heroin when he was 15 by a woman twice his age. In 1961, Roulette, now run by Morris Levy , ended their contract with Lymon and he entered a drug rehabilitation program. After losing Lymon, the Teenagers went through
9656-510: The album, Mitchell also spliced sections of "I'm Not A Juvenile Delinquent" into the title track refrains. The Fall referenced Lymon in "No X-mas for John Quays" on their March 1979 album Live at the Witch Trials . The English band Everything but the Girl , on their 1991 album Worldwide , include the song "Boxing and Pop Music" which references Lymon throughout the song. Lymon was mentioned in
9792-439: The arrest of Chuck Berry (December 1959), and the death of Eddie Cochran in a car crash (April 1960) gave a sense that the initial phase of rock and roll had come to an end. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the rawer sounds of Presley, Gene Vincent , Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly were commercially superseded by a more polished, commercial style of rock and roll influenced pop music. Marketing frequently emphasized
9928-564: The article said that rock and roll combined R&B with pop and country music. Fats Domino was one of the biggest stars of rock and roll in the early 1950s and he was not convinced that this was a new genre. In 1957, he said: "What they call rock 'n' roll now is rhythm and blues. I've been playing it for 15 years in New Orleans". According to Rolling Stone , "this is a valid statement ... all Fifties rockers, black and white, country born and city-bred, were fundamentally influenced by R&B,
10064-504: The band's first appearance on the show on 13 October 1963, Beatlemania took off in the UK. Their performance was watched by 15 million viewers. One national paper's headlines in the following days coined the term "Beatlemania" to describe the phenomenal and increasingly hysterical interest in the Beatles – and it stuck. Parnell became associated with a property development company and began to sell Moss Empires' theatres for redevelopment. When it became known in 1966 that this fate awaited
10200-532: The black popular music of the late Forties and early Fifties". Further, Little Richard built his ground-breaking sound of the same era with an uptempo blend of boogie-woogie, New Orleans rhythm and blues, and the soul and fervor of gospel music vocalization. Less frequently cited as an influencer, LaVern Baker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. The Hall remarked that her "fiery fusion of blues, jazz and R&B showcased her alluring vocals and set
10336-502: The boys inspiration to write their own songs. Jimmy Merchant and Santiago adapted one of the letters into a song called "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". The Premiers, now calling themselves the Teenagers, got their first shot at fame after impressing Richard Barrett , a singer with the Valentines . Barrett, in turn, got the group an audition with record producer George Goldner . On the day of the group's audition, original lead singer Santiago
10472-553: The charts with " Move It ". At the same time, TV shows such as Six-Five Special and Oh Boy! promoted the careers of British rock and rollers like Marty Wilde and Adam Faith . Cliff Richard and his backing band, the Shadows , were the most successful home grown rock and roll based acts of the era. Other leading acts included Billy Fury , Joe Brown , and Johnny Kidd & the Pirates , whose 1960 hit song " Shakin' All Over " became
10608-623: The concept of rock and roll had been defined, Billboard magazine columnist Maurie Orodenker started to use the term to describe upbeat recordings such as "Rock Me" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe ; her style on that recording was described as "rock-and-roll spiritual singing". By 1943, the "Rock and Roll Inn" in South Merchantville, New Jersey , was established as a music venue. In 1951, Cleveland , Ohio, disc jockey Alan Freed began playing this music style, and referring to it as "rock and roll" on his mainstream radio program, which popularized
10744-415: The crossover of African-American "race music" to a growing white youth audience, the popularization of rock and roll involved both black performers reaching a white audience and white musicians performing African-American music. Rock and roll appeared at a time when racial tensions in the United States were entering a new phase, with the beginnings of the civil rights movement for desegregation , leading to
10880-464: The description "Without question the UK's greatest entertainer, he rests in peace within the sound of music, laughter and dancing… exactly where he would want to be." For the 2018 summer season Bartlett Sher 's Tony Award -winning revival of The King and I ran direct from Broadway starring Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe reprising their roles as Anna and the King. In summer 2019, the Palladium staged
11016-588: The development of what was to be defined as rock and roll as a distinct genre. Because the development of rock and roll was an evolutionary process, no single record can be identified as unambiguously "the first" rock and roll record. Contenders for the title of " first rock and roll record " include Sister Rosetta Tharpe 's " Strange Things Happening Every Day " (1944), " That's All Right " by Arthur Crudup (1946), " Move It On Over " by Hank Williams (1947), " The Fat Man " by Fats Domino (1949), Goree Carter 's " Rock Awhile " (1949), and Jimmy Preston 's " Rock
11152-416: The early 20th century was used both to describe the spiritual fervor of black church rituals and as a sexual analogy. A retired Welsh seaman named William Fender can be heard singing the phrase "rock and roll" when describing a sexual encounter in his performance of the traditional song " The Baffled Knight " to the folklorist James Madison Carpenter in the early 1930s, which he would have learned at sea in
11288-427: The electric guitar as its centerpiece, adapting his rock band instrumentation from the basic blues band instrumentation of a lead guitar, second chord instrument, bass and drums. In 2017, Robert Christgau declared that "Chuck Berry did in fact invent rock 'n' roll", explaining that this artist "came the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together". Rock and roll arrived at
11424-511: The electric guitar, creating what is instantly recognizable as rock guitar. This proposal by Richards neglects the black guitarists who did the same thing before Berry, such as Goree Carter , Gatemouth Brown , and the originator of the style, T-Bone Walker . Country boogie and Chicago electric blues supplied many of the elements that would be seen as characteristic of rock and roll. Inspired by electric blues , Chuck Berry introduced an aggressive guitar sound to rock and roll, and established
11560-451: The electronic treatment of sound by such innovators as Joe Meek , and the " Wall of Sound " productions of Phil Spector , continued desegregation of the charts, the rise of surf music , garage rock and the Twist dance craze. Surf rock in particular, noted for the use of reverb-drenched guitars, became one of the most popular forms of American rock of the early 1960s. While the sounds of
11696-1180: The entity owning the theatre became the Really Useful Theatres Group. A revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber 's Cats played for a season in late 2014 starring Nicole Scherzinger as Grizabella (later Kerry Ellis ). It returned for another season in late 2015 starring Beverley Knight . In December 2016, the annual Christmas pantomime returned for the first time in 29 years with Cinderella , produced and directed by Michael Harrison for Crossroads Pantomimes (previously Qdos Entertainment ). The pantomimes have returned every year since welcoming star casting including Julian Clary , Nigel Havers , Gary Wilmot , Paul Zerdin , Paul O'Grady , Dawn French , Ashley Banjo and Diversity , Elaine Paige , Charlie Stemp , Amanda Holden , Lee Mead , Count Arthur Strong , Emma Williams , Danielle Hope , Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone , Matt Baker , Sophie Isaacs , Janine Duvitski , Beverley Knight , Donny Osmond , The Tiller Girls , Alexandra Burke , Rob Madge , Natalie McQueen , Jennifer Saunders and Frances Mayli McCann . The 2017 pantomime Dick Whittington won
11832-462: The first definition. In the earliest rock and roll styles, either the piano or saxophone was typically the lead instrument. These instruments were generally replaced or supplemented by the electric guitar in the mid-to-late 1950s. The beat is essentially a dance rhythm with an accentuated backbeat , almost always provided by a snare drum . Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or more electric guitars (one lead , one rhythm ) and
11968-445: The fuse began ticking as soon as it was touched. This caused a rapid evacuation of the immediate area, but the mine did not detonate. The two team members cautiously returned, extracted the fuse and removed other hazardous components, rendering the mine 'safe'. It was then lowered to the stage and disposed of. The George Medal for gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty was given to Sub Lieutenant Graham Maurice Wright for his action in
12104-446: The genre did not acquire its name until 1954. According to the journalist Greg Kot , "rock and roll" refers to a style of popular music originating in the United States in the 1950s. By the mid-1960s, rock and roll had developed into "the more encompassing international style known as rock music , though the latter also continued to be known in many circles as rock and roll." For the purpose of differentiation, this article deals with
12240-463: The greatest Black musicians like BB King, Arthur Crudup and Fats Domino. His style of music combined with black influences created controversy during a turbulent time in history. Many other popular rock and roll singers of the time, such as Fats Domino and Little Richard , came out of the black rhythm and blues tradition, making the music attractive to white audiences, and are not usually classed as "rockabilly". Presley popularized rock and roll on
12376-453: The group by September 1957; an in-progress studio album called Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers at the London Palladium was instead issued as a Lymon solo release. As a solo artist, Lymon was not nearly as successful as he had been with the Teenagers. Beginning with his second solo release, "My Girl", Lymon had moved to Roulette Records . On a July 19, 1957, episode of Alan Freed 's live ABC TV show The Big Beat , Lymon began dancing with
12512-631: The latest dance and fashion styles. From the mid-1960s on, as "rock and roll" was rebranded as "rock", later dance genres followed, leading to funk , disco , house , techno , and hip hop . London Palladium The London Palladium ( / p ə ˈ l eɪ d i ˌ ʊ m / ) is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street , London , in Soho . The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many with televised performances. Between 1955 and 1969 Sunday Night at
12648-399: The levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm". In discussing Alan Freed's contribution to the genre, two significant sources emphasized the importance of African-American rhythm and blues. Greg Harris, then the executive director of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, offered this comment to CNN : "Freed's role in breaking down racial barriers in U.S. pop culture in
12784-451: The music impresario who retained possession of Lymon's copyrights and his royalties. The complex issue resulted in lawsuits and counter-lawsuits, and in 1986 the first of several court cases concerning the ownership of Lymon's estate began. Trying to determine who was indeed the lawful Mrs. Frankie Lymon was complicated by more issues. Waters was already married when she married Lymon; she had separated from her first husband, but their divorce
12920-576: The music. Many early rock and roll songs dealt with issues of cars, school, dating, and clothing. The lyrics of rock and roll songs described events and conflicts to which most listeners could relate through personal experience. Topics such as sex that had generally been considered taboo began to appear in rock and roll lyrics. This new music tried to break boundaries and express emotions that people were actually feeling but had not discussed openly. An awakening began to take place in American youth culture. In
13056-659: The name of rock and roll". Not often acknowledged in the history of rock and roll, Todd Storz , the owner of radio station KOWH in Omaha , Nebraska, was the first to adopt the Top 40 format (in 1953), playing only the most popular records in rotation. His station, and the numerous others which adopted the concept, helped to promote the genre: by the mid 50s, the playlist included artists such as " Presley , Lewis , Haley , Berry and Domino ". The origins of rock and roll have been fiercely debated by commentators and historians of music. There
13192-453: The next year or so: " I Want You to Be My Girl ", " I Promise to Remember ", " Who Can Explain? " (the B side of " I Promise to Remember " but which charted on its own), " The ABC's of Love ", and " I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent ". "I Want You To Be My Girl" gave the band its second pop hit, reaching No. 13 on the national Billboard Hot 100 chart. " Goody Goody " (written by Matty Malneck and Johnny Mercer and originally performed by Benny Goodman)
13328-499: The occupants of boxes could call one another. It also had a revolving stage. The theatre started out as The Palladium , a premier venue for variety performances. Pantomimes were also featured there. In 1926, the pantomime starred Lennie Dean as Cinderella, footage of which remains to this day. The theatre is especially linked to the Royal Variety Performances, where many were, and still are, held. In 1928, for three months
13464-471: The ongoing British Invasion. Another example was Bobby Fuller and his group The Bobby Fuller Four , who were especially inspired by Buddy Holly and stuck with a rock and roll style, scoring their most notable hit with "I Fought the Law" (1965). In the 1950s, Britain was well placed to receive American rock and roll music and culture. It shared a common language , had been exposed to American culture through
13600-423: The opening, the box office had already taken in excess of £7 million in ticket sales. This version of the show was a lavish affair, with new dialogue and music added, while the original material was updated. During the run, Josie Lawrence played the role of Anna and Paul Nakauchi and Keo Woolford played the role of the King, respectively. After the production closed, the famous (but outdated) revolving stage
13736-401: The original ethos of the Palladium by staging large variety shows, with a capital 'V' – and as well as headlining Britain's homegrown acts he brought over big American stars such as Duke Ellington and his Orchestra (on 12 June 1933, his first ever concert hall performance), Adelaide Hall , Louis Armstrong and Ethel Waters for two-week engagements. Before too long, under Black's management
13872-418: The phrase. Several sources suggest that Freed found the term, used as a synonym for sexual intercourse, on the record " Sixty Minute Man " by Billy Ward and his Dominoes . The lyrics include the line, "I rock 'em, roll 'em all night long". Freed did not acknowledge the suggestion about that source in interviews, and explained the term as follows: "Rock 'n roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on
14008-506: The physical looks of the artist rather than the music, contributing to the successful careers of Ricky Nelson , Tommy Sands , Bobby Vee , Jimmy Clanton , and the Philadelphia trio of Bobby Rydell , Frankie Avalon , and Fabian , who all became "teen idols". Some music historians have also pointed to important and innovative developments that built on rock and roll in this period, including multitrack recording , developed by Les Paul ,
14144-530: The rights to his estate. The film stars Larenz Tate as Frankie Lymon, Halle Berry as Zola Taylor, Vivica A. Fox as Elizabeth Waters and Lela Rochon as Emira Eagle. Why Do Fools Fall in Love was not a commercial success and met with mixed reviews; the film grossed a total of $ 12,461,773 during its original theatrical run. The song "Harlem Roulette" by the Mountain Goats , off its 2012 album Transcendental Youth , contains references to Frankie Lymon, to
14280-493: The ruling was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on the basis of the statute of limitations : copyright cases must be brought before a court within three years of the alleged civil violation while Merchant and Santiago's lawsuit was not filed until 30 years later. Authorship of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" currently remains in the names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy. Although their period of success
14416-517: The same period, particularly on the West Coast and in the Midwest , the development of jump blues , with its guitar riffs, prominent beats and shouted lyrics, prefigured many later developments. In the documentary film Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll , Keith Richards proposes that Chuck Berry developed his brand of rock and roll by transposing the familiar two-note lead line of jump blues piano directly to
14552-449: The set of Sister Act was able to be hoisted completely above the stage out of view in an area called the Fly Loft . The London Palladium turned 100 years old on Boxing Day 2010, and a one-hour television special entitled '100 Years of the Palladium' aired on BBC Two on 31 December 2010. Sir Elton John performed at the venue in September 2013 in a special show where he was presented with
14688-617: The setting for the popular ITV variety show, Live From the Palladium , compered by Jimmy Tarbuck . During this time, the theatre was under the ownership of the Stoll Moss Theatres Group, and the management of Margaret and David Locke, who were both major shareholders of Stoll Moss at the time. In 1988, the Edinburgh Gang Show appeared as part of the British Musical Hall Society's Silver Jubilee. In 1991,
14824-562: The song "Seabreeze", and to Roulette Records. Frontman John Darnielle has stated that the song is about the last night of Lymon's life. Much of Lymon's kinescoped footage from shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show , American Bandstand , Saturday Night Beechnut Show and the Mike Douglas Show remains unavailable due to copyright claims. Rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll , rock-n-roll , rock 'n' roll , rock n' roll , Rock n' Roll or proto-rock )
14960-570: The song has been seen as the major breakthrough for the rock and roll genre, as its immense popularity introduced the music to a global audience. In 1956, the arrival of rockabilly was underlined by the success of songs like " Folsom Prison Blues " by Johnny Cash , " Blue Suede Shoes " by Perkins, and the No. 1 hit " Heartbreak Hotel " by Presley. For a few years it became the most commercially successful form of rock and roll. Later rockabilly acts, particularly performing songwriters like Buddy Holly , would be
15096-489: The stage for the rock and roll surge of the Fifties". "Rockabilly" usually (but not exclusively) refers to the type of rock and roll music which was played and recorded in the mid-1950s primarily by white singers such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins , Johnny Cash , and Jerry Lee Lewis , who drew mainly on the country roots of the music. Presley was greatly influenced by and incorporated his style of music with that of some of
15232-567: The stationing of troops in the country, and shared many social developments, including the emergence of distinct youth sub-cultures, which in Britain included the Teddy Boys and the rockers . Trad jazz became popular in the UK, and many of its musicians were influenced by related American styles, including boogie woogie and the blues . The skiffle craze, led by Lonnie Donegan , used amateurish versions of American folk songs and encouraged many of
15368-510: The subsequent generation of rock and roll, folk, R&B and beat musicians to start performing. At the same time British audiences were beginning to encounter American rock and roll, initially through films including Blackboard Jungle (1955) and Rock Around the Clock (1956). Both movies featured the Bill Haley & His Comets hit " Rock Around the Clock ", which first entered the British charts in early 1955 – four months before it reached
15504-524: The theatre on 18 and 25 February 2007. On 20 May 2007 the London Palladium hosted the 2007 BAFTA awards, which were broadcast on BBC television , and in 2010 the BAFTA Television Awards returned to the Palladium. While the Theatre has a resident show, it is still able to have one-off performances; this is enabled by the scenery of the resident show being designed to be easily removed. For example,
15640-640: The two songs that Lymon had recorded for Big Apple before his death, and were posthumously released later in 1969. There is a typo that spelled "Lyman" on each side of a vinyl . Apart from the posthumous releases of these songs, Lymon's troubles extended to others after his death. After Diana Ross returned "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" to the Top Ten in 1981, a major controversy concerning Lymon's estate ensued. Having neglected to divorce any of them and each claiming to be Frankie Lymon's rightful widow, Zola Taylor , Elizabeth Waters, and Emira Eagle approached Morris Levy,
15776-476: The venue staged Bill Kenwright 's production of Scrooge – The Musical which closed on 14 January 2006. The show starred Tommy Steele , making a return to the Palladium. From February 2006, the theatre played host to a new musical production entitled Sinatra At The London Palladium , which featured a live band, large screen projections and dancers performing Frank Sinatra's greatest hits. Lloyd Webber and David Ian's production of The Sound of Music opened at
15912-442: The venue, the production starred many celebrities. This show proved to be the most successful in the theatre's long history and reunited, 50 years later, the show's choreographer Gillian Lynne , with the theatre in which she had appeared as the Palladium's Star Dancer during the early 50s. On 1 November 2004 and 22 November singer-songwriter Jackson Browne performed two concerts during his solo acoustic tour. For Christmas 2005–06,
16048-451: The way for desegregation, in creating a new form of music that encouraged racial cooperation and shared experience. Many authors have argued that early rock and roll was instrumental in the way both white and black teenagers identified themselves. Several rock historians have claimed that rock and roll was one of the first music genres to define an age group . It gave teenagers a sense of belonging, even when they were alone. Rock and roll
16184-799: The white market also had much better distribution networks and were generally much more profitable. Famously, Pat Boone recorded sanitized versions of songs recorded by the likes of Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Flamingos and Ivory Joe Hunter. Later, as those songs became popular, the original artists' recordings received radio play as well. The cover versions were not necessarily straightforward imitations. For example, Bill Haley's incompletely bowdlerized cover of " Shake, Rattle and Roll " transformed Big Joe Turner's humorous and racy tale of adult love into an energetic teen dance number, while Georgia Gibbs replaced Etta James ' tough, sarcastic vocal in "Roll With Me, Henry" (covered as "Dance With Me, Henry") with
16320-485: Was a No. 20 pop hit but did not appear on the R&;B chart. The Teenagers placed two other singles in the lower half of the pop chart. With the release of "I Want You To Be My Girl", the group's second single, the Teenagers became Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. However, the album that mostly compiled the singles released in 1956 came out under the older name: The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon . In early 1957, Lymon and
16456-496: Was a joke that she went along with at the time (October 1965). Lymon appeared at the Apollo as part of a revue, adding an extended tap dance number. He recorded several live performances (such as "Melinda" in 1959), but none rose on the charts. Lymon's final television performance was on Hollywood a Go-Go in 1965, where he lip-synched to the recording of his 13-year-old self singing "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". On June 21, 1966, Lymon
16592-401: Was a recurring source of concern for older generations, who worried about juvenile delinquency and social rebellion, particularly because, to a large extent, rock and roll culture was shared by different racial and social groups. In America, that concern was conveyed even in youth cultural artifacts such as comic books . In "There's No Romance in Rock and Roll" from True Life Romance (1956),
16728-471: Was a temporary wooden building called Corinthian Bazaar , which featured an aviary and aimed to attract customers from the recently closed Pantheon Bazaar (now the site of Marks & Spencers ) in Oxford Street . The theatre was rebuilt a year later by Fredrick Hengler, the son of a tightrope walker, as a circus arena for entertainments that included promenade concerts , pantomimes and an aquatic display in
16864-425: Was also their biggest hit. After Lymon went solo in mid-1957, both his career and that of The Teenagers fell into decline. In 1968, Lymon was found dead at the age of 25 on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom from a heroin overdose. Lymon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. His life was dramatized in the 1998 film Why Do Fools Fall in Love . Lymon
17000-520: Was also using one at Joiner Street under London Bridge Station and one at St James's Bond in Rotherhithe (which flooded at high tide). In 1968, Sammy Davis Jr. starred in Golden Boy , the first book musical to be produced in the venue. A Johnny Cash album was recorded there in 1968, but Columbia Records never released it. Bootlegs of the performance are in circulation. Jose Feliciano also recorded
17136-537: Was arrested on a heroin charge and was drafted into the United States Army in lieu of a jail sentence. He reported to Fort Gordon, Georgia , near Augusta, Georgia , for training. While in the Augusta area, Lymon met and fell in love with Emira Eagle, a schoolteacher at Hornsby Elementary in Augusta. The two were wed in June 1967, and Lymon repeatedly went AWOL to secure gigs at small Southern clubs. Dishonorably discharged from
17272-660: Was born in Washington Heights , New York City on September 30, 1942, to Jeanette and Howard Lymon. Howard was a truck driver and Jeanette was a maid. Both also sang in the gospel group the Harlemaires; Frankie and his brothers Lewis and Howie sang with the Harlemaire Juniors (a fourth brother, Timmy, was a singer, though not with the Harlemaire Juniors). The Lymons struggled to make ends meet, so Lymon began working as
17408-531: Was brief, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' string of hits were highly influential on the rock and R&B performers who followed them. Lymon's high-voiced sound is said to be a direct predecessor of the girl group sound, and the list of performers who name him as an influence include Michael Jackson , Ronnie Spector , Diana Ross , the Chantels , the Temptations , George Clinton , Smokey Robinson , Len Barry ,
17544-415: Was broadcast live every week by ATV , which was owned by the famous theatrical impresario Lew Grade. Production was by Val Parnell. Six programmes aired as special episodes in the United States between May and August 1966 on NBC . British stars on the show included Cliff Richard and the Shadows , Petula Clark , the Beatles and the Rolling Stones . The Beatles' publicist, Tony Barrow , said that after
17680-482: Was finalized in 1965, after she had married Lymon. Taylor claimed to have married Lymon in Mexico in 1965, but could produce no acceptable evidence of their union. Lymon's marriage to Eagle, on the other hand, was properly documented as having taken place at Beulah Grove Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia, in 1967; however, the singer was still apparently twice-married and never divorced when he married Eagle. The first decision
17816-579: Was late. Lymon stepped up and told Goldner that he knew the part because he helped write the song. The disc jockeys always called them "Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers". Goldner signed the group to Gee Records , and "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" became its first single in January 1956. The single peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard pop singles chart , and topped the Billboard R&;B singles chart for five weeks. Four other top 10 R&B singles followed over
17952-909: Was made in Waters' favor; Eagle appealed, and in 1989, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court reversed the original decision and awarded Lymon's estate to Eagle. However, the details of the case brought about another issue: whether mobster Morris Levy was deserving of the songwriting co-credit on "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". Although early single releases of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" credit Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago , and Jimmy Merchant as co-writers, later releases and cover versions were attributed to Lymon and George Goldner. When Goldner sold his music companies to Morris Levy in 1959, Levy's name began appearing as co-writer of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" in place of Goldner's. Lymon
18088-570: Was never paid his songwriting royalties during his lifetime; one result of Emira Eagle's legal victory was that Lymon's estate would finally begin receiving monetary compensation from his hit song's success. In 1987, Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant, both by then poor, sued Morris Levy's estate for their songwriting credits. In December 1992, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Santiago and Merchant were co-authors of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". However, in 1996
18224-578: Was postponed to summer 2021. Donovan and Yarrow reprised their roles with Alexandra Burke as the Narrator with Linzi Hateley playing the Narrator at certain performances (reprising her role from the 1991 Palladium revival). In 2022, Disney 's Beauty and the Beast ran for a limited summer season following its UK and Ireland tour starring Courtney Stapleton , Martin Ball , Gavin Lee , and Sam Bailey . In summer 2023,
18360-546: Was removed to make way for more modern technology. From April 2002 to 4 September 2005, the Palladium hosted a theatrical version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with songscore by the Sherman Brothers as a successor to The King & I, directed by Adrian Noble and choreographed by Gillian Lynne . The original cast included Michael Ball , Emma Williams , Anton Rodgers , Nichola McAuliffe , Brian Blessed and Richard O'Brien . Throughout its three-and-a-half-year run at
18496-466: Was used in 1940s recordings and reviews of what became known as " rhythm and blues " music aimed at a black audience. Huey "Piano" Smith credits Cha Cha Hogan , a jump-blues shouter and comic in New Orleans, with popularizing the term in his 1950 song "My Walking Baby". In 1934, the song "Rock and Roll" by the Boswell Sisters appeared in the film Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round . In 1942, before
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