A Letter To The Editor 3-15-13

Joe,

I got a flyer on my door yesterday announcing the appearance of Jimmy Merchant at Chesapeake East on the 15th (tomorrow) for a fundraiser for Debbie Campbell. My record collection still has albums by The Teenagers, and when I hear "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", I vividly remember a certain summer from my past. This will be an event I don't want to miss. (I'll be the one getting my albums autographed.)

I thought your readers, especially the younger ones, might like to have a little background on this artist, whose voice is still heard on the radio, so I patched something together.

Elected to the The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, The Teenagers had its roots in a group founded by Jimmy Merchant and fellow junior high student Sherman Garmes. The group evolved over a couple of years into The Coupe De Villes, The Ermines and The Premiers. It was in 1955 that Frankie Lyman joined them and helped rewrite a song penned by Jimmie Merchant and Herman Santiago that would get them an audition with Gee Records. That audition was a smash, and they were signed to a contract as The Teenagers. Shortly after the signing, the studio version of that song, "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?", in a matter of a few weeks became the #1 hit single on the charts, which, in those days, meant it was heard on any hip AM radio station at least once an hour, 24/7. Radio and television appearances and tour dates took the group into the limelight across the country, and their success was huge. Over the course of the next five years, The Teenagers, with some personnel changes, recorded five more albums and continued their personal appearances. The Teenagers still perform to sell-out crowds drawn by both nostalgia and the sound that will always exemplify a classic form of American rock & roll music.

Jimmy Merchant was a member of The Teenagers from its start. He now leads a life of peaceful semi-retirement in the quiet of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where he paints and, more than occasionally, leaves to make a much appreciated musical appearance. Check out his website at: http://www.theteenagers.com/.