Through watching the film "Rock! Rock! Rock!" last week, I heard Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers for the first time. Frankie Lymon joined the band "The Teenagers" in the mid-fifties. The band had a few hit singles together before they eventually broke up in the late fifties and Frankie went on to become a solo artist. I was originally fascinated by him because of the fact that he was a mere 13 years old (as introduced in the film). It was an interesting difference from many other successful rock artists, who were a bit older. I chose this song in particular because it expressed the sentiments of how rock-and-roll was viewed at the time by older, conservative Americans who viewed rock as a delinquent style of music. Looking at the lyrics of this song "It's easy to be good, it's hard to be bad, stay out of trouble, and you be glad, take this tip from me, and you will see, how happy you will be.", one can infer that the record company/management he was signed under intended to release this song as a way of boosting the image of not only this particular group, but also the rock genre as a whole.
One of my favorite doo-wop acts and hits! You may be able to hear their imprint on another group called the Jackson 5. And like Michael Jackson, Lymon had a sad ending, overdosing at 25.
ReplyDeleteWow! I can't believe Frankie Lymon was only 13 years old the time he was preforming, that seems so young. I agree with what you wrote, I also think this song was written to help the image of rock and roll. The older generation had such a hard time adjusting to this type of music.
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