"Emira's Frankie Lymon is not this drunken bum," Pomeroy says. and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team, This website uses cookies. Opened 1940 | Named after Elizabeth Waters. Zola Taylor had also been a teen-aged star. When a touring musical about Lymon's life came to the Imperial Theater in May of 2013, the cast invited Bryant to be the honored guest with her family and took photos with her after the show. And while Fools ends with an on-screen disclaimer that it is a dramatization based upon certain historical events and the lives of real people, its inability to incorporate key elements of the real Lymon story hampers it dramatically. "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." "Up to a point." It was the hit that made him and the Teenagers famous back in 1956, and the one song that he recorded that remained both popular and valuable over the years. Span wrote that Frankie was a soldier for most of his brief marriage to Emira. She'll use a 16-piece band and her own group, Zola Taylor's Platters, as backup singers. For his part, Rubin's not opposed to generating new income from old music. Lymon related that he started singing publicly with his three brothers in a choral group at Gospel Church in New York City. It is in fact three wives who face the camera, one after another, each claiming to be Lymons true love and legal spouse. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. It was painfully revealed in court testimony, however, that Frankie Lymon, for all his talent, was a bigamist, hustler, liar, and thief. Debunking the Myth: Is Maduro a Dictator? Her only marriage lasted 4.1 years. They fought and separated continually. "She never disputed his role in the creation and authorship of this song," her attorney says. He took the bus to the post from her familys home each day. "Even though she had said no, she had said yes in the beginning; so Ronnie went ahead without going back and contacting Emira again. Frankie had started using heroin again, and she was forced to hide the money from his occasional gigs in a hole in the wall of their apartment to prevent him from using it to buy drugs. He left no fortune, but his name was listed as one of the songwriters of Why Do Fools Fall In Love. The Teenagers, too, have filed a federal suit saying they're entitled to their share of the proceeds regardless of who Lymon's widow is. -- those he abused and betrayed seem loath to condemn him. If none of the women is Frankie's widow, the surviving members of his family stand to inherit. Neither has Elizabeth or Zola. They got married at City Hall in Alexandria, Va., early in 1964. She claimed to have . It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. She told the judge that Frankie Lymon was a charmer. And that song, which he wrote or helped to write and which will bear his boyish vocal signature forever. The beautiful granite tombstone that Ronnie ordered weighed over 1,000 pounds. Neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite figure Emira Eagle Lymon, the 48-year-old third wife from Augusta, Ga. Frankie marrying a schoolteacher? Aside from Waters, the winner of this legal round is Morris Levy, head of Roulette Records, among the defendants when Eagle brought a federal suit in 1984. And that was that, the last of the hits. Thats why were here today.. Unfortunately for Zola, she was unable to locate records documenting her Mexican wedding to Frankie, or documentation of her Mexican divorce from her previous marriage (her second). The small wedding party celebrated by getting very drunk, not an uncommon state for Frankie at the time. "I'm not a person to hold a grudge. If none of the women was found to be Frankie's widow, the surviving members of his family stood to inherit. Zola and Elizabeth declined, but say they were willing to accept an equal, three-way split. Her divorce didn't come through until 1965. Morris Levy - Roulette Records. After learning of this, Elizabeth went to court to request the suspension of the law. Levy ruled his empire with an iron hand, using both fear and intimidation as part of his business model. Leon Borstein, Levy's attorney, said that Levy "assisted in the writing of the song; you have to remember, if he added one word, that's sufficient" to justify co-authorship. Recording costs and commissions for everyone from managers to choreographers could siphon off much of a group's earnings. "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." This legal drama was made into a movie earlier this year, named after his hit song Why fools fall in love. Lymon's 1967 marriage to Eagle, marked by a ceremony at the Beulah Grove Baptist Church, was invalid, according to the opinion, because he was still married to Waters. And it stalls or kills a federal lawsuit Eagle had brought to reclaim control of the publishing rights to his song. And then he went out and proved it. 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. Wiki User. co-starring Halle Barry, Lela Rochon and Vivica A. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon told The Chronicle. They pointed to the contracts that Elizabeth and Zola signed with Levys publishing business, Big Seven Music Corp. Each assigned the songs copyright to Big Seven in exchange for an advance ($10,000 for Elizabeth and $7,500 for Zola) against her share of future royalties. People sometimes compare him with the young Michael Jackson, who also knew how to combine innocence and knowingness. 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.". Waters bore Lymon's only known child, a daughter who died shortly after birth. Hell, the boy had so many needle marks on him, I thought he was a God-damned . Their affair continued off and on for several years. These scans come from my rather large magazine collection. She has never remarried. 1 pop hit for Diana Ross in 1981 and recently turned up in a greeting card commercial. Frankie Lymon Music - Singer Why Famous: Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, band Age: 25 (8/30/1942 - 2/27/1968) Frankie Lymon's Relationships (3) Elizabeth Waters Other - Spouse He figured that once the case was over there would be no problem," Olb recalled. 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. Funeral services will be held Monday, February 27, 2023, at 3:00 PM from the chapel. "She was speechless, actually unable to talk," reported the attorney, Dwight Peterson. An act could rise and fall with astonishing swiftness then. No one foresaw that the people who grew up with the music would refuse to relinquish it, repeatedly recycling it into movie sound tracks and albums, cover versions, oldies compilations and TV commercials. Emira came to New York to arrange for his funeral mass and burial, and she paid the bill -- $2,000. He told Zola that the new guest was a friend from New York, Zola recalled. Zola Taylor Lymon. Zola, in her low-cut gowns, was the dish. Art director John Chicester. Eagle claimed that Levy had committed fraud and copyright infringement by crediting himself as coauthor of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (a not uncommon practice in the history of early rock 'n' roll). ", "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was part of the American Graffiti film soundtrack and album, a big pop hit single and album for Diana Ross in 1981, and had been used in a greeting card commercial. "Sell, sell, sell," he advises. Elizabeth Waters may be entitled to an estate worth $750,000 in accumulated royalties from Lymon 1956 hit and its more modern iterations, according to Surrogate Court Judge Marie Lamberts ruling. Elizabeths claim to be Frankies wife and heir was weakened by the fact that she was still legally married when she wed Frankie in 1964. 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. In a matter that grew steadily more complex, Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago, the two surviving members of the original Teenagers, filed their own federal suit against Levy and his companies, with Emira also named as a defendant. Span wrote that Frankies relationship with Zola was not entirely maternal. "Frankie was that kind of person, your honor," she said. Army discipline, I think, teaches a man how to protect himself. 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. Elizabeth Waters was not yet divorced when she married Lymon, but the marriage became lawful once her first husbands divorce was finalized. She met Frankie when he was 20-years-old, backstage at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. He told his family that night he was on his way to a gig. The way '50s singer Frankie Lymon is presented in "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is "mostly true. 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. When she and Frankie fought about it, Elizabeth told the court, he pulled a gun on her and fled. They had been married for 4.1 years. Sound Veda Campell. Unfortunately, shes also involved in the films least convincing area, the jarring sections that deal with the troubles brought on by Lymons habit. 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. As Water's claim went to court, Zola Taylor ex-member of the Platters, claimed that she had been sexually active with Lymon as early as the "Biggest Rock "n" Roll Show of 1956" tour. He had always regarded Zola as his stage mother, she said. "They wanted to impress their friends in school" by being on the radio. Levy declined direct comment of the Lymon matter. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. Despite hearing that Emira had changed her mind, Ronnie maintained faith in their original agreement and ordered a headstone from a company in North Arlington, New Jersey. Emira refused. Her obituary was posted on February 9, 2023. I know its been good for me.. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoes Zola. "A lot of people say I knew him so long I became like him.". 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. He was busy preparing for an April 11 trial for extortion and conspiracy in federal court in Camden, New Jersey, stemming from an F.B.I. He was a hustler, a liar and a thief. Zola Taylor, a former member of the teen-age doo-wop group the Platters, also said. The opinion dismisses the claims of Taylor, who was unable to produce "credible proof" of her marriage to Lymon or her divorce from her previous husband, both of which she said occurred in Mexico. And if he put others through hell too, well, didn't he say, right in that song, that love is a losing game? ", Meanwhile, Paula Span used both interviews and court testimony to profile each of the widows in her story. The losing widows might appeal. It spent months on the pop charts, led to national tours and TV appearances and bubble-gum cards with the Teenagers' picture on them. His bride was Emira Eagle, an elementary school teacher who lived with her family in nearby Augusta. Kids didnt know about royalties said Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. He then located Emira, put her in touch with an attorney, and helped line up witnesses and documentation. He was characterized as The Octopus by Varietymagazine for his far-reaching control and power in the record industry and his connections to organized crime. Elizabeths attorneys argued in response that she and Frankie lived in Philadelphia and therefore established a common-law marriage under Pennsylvania law. The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three . With the matter now in a confused state, the federal judge stayed Emiras lawsuit. William McCracken, who represents Emira Eagle, called her at the elementary school where she teaches. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Although Emiras attorneys advised her not to talk to Paula Span until the Surrogate Court reached a decision, Anne Pomeroy of the Artist Rights Enforcement Corporation, who was working with Emiras lawyers, spoke with the reporter. According to Paula Span, her sisters boyfriend introduced them, and soon after, Emira was cooking meals for Frankie and they were shopping for wedding rings. Emiras attorneys argued 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. LYMON REESE OBITUARY. Rubin's 200 or so clients, from the Del Vikings to the Coasters, constitute an honor roll of early rock 'n' roll. Published by Legacy on Jul. A memorial service. All these arguments are laid forth in voluminous briefs, memoranda and affidavits filed in Surrogate Court. If Emira wins, she'll share the proceeds with Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy. She told the court that she wanted to help him get back on his feet and regain all he had lost, but that trying to help him wasnt easy. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. Lymon in February 1967 talked about his life and show business career with Chronicle reporter P.K. The origins of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" Elizabeth Lymon says she married Lymon on Jan. 23, 1964, in Alexandria, Va., and bore him a daughter the following year. Privacy Policy Agreement * I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy. DAPHNE, AL 36526. "I'm not going to wear mink coats with {you} in jeans," she announced. Elizabeth testified that she saw him on that visit, as she had a number of times both before and after his wedding (which Elizabeth says she knew nothing of). The resulting trial was fascinating look into Frankie Lymons post-stardom personal life, and it was covered in great detail by Washington Post reporter Paula Span. By the time Waters connected with Lymon, he had become a junkie, and she ended up ruining herself trying to pay for his drugs. I loved him like a brother.". "Frankie had a very good appetite for the best of life," she says. As a child star, however, I was subjected to discipline from agents, managers and lawyers, but it was a discipline that protected me from myself so to speak. According to Bill Olb, the idea was suggested to Ronnie by Pearl McKinnon, who had recently left the reunited Teenagers. She told Span that she never recovered financially from the loss of her home and still feels "cheated." There was nothing in writing in regards to the fundraisers or purchasing the headstone, Olb said. Lymon didn't even leave a grieving widow to serve as keeper of his flame. Her published account of the trial and the three women contesting to be named Frankies legal wife and heir was titled The Three Wives: The Legacy Of Love. Frankie could fool you, he could fool me, Frankie could fool God. Depending on how the judge rules, the decision may reactivate a federal suit to wrest Lymon's royalties and publishing rights from the record industry executive who claims to own them. Yet she also talked about Lymon's ruptured family, and, again, his drug dependency. (Diana Ross also had a hit with it), "Goody Goody," "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent.". Frankie could fool you, he could fool me; Frankie could fool God. Back in Los Angeles, the club where Zola was performing tossed a celebration, with a cake and champagne. Last to the altar is Eagle, the sister of one of the singers Army buddies. The death certificate said he died of "acute intravenous narcotism.". The first decision was made in Waterss favor; Eagle appealed, and in 1989 the New York State Supreme Court Appeals Division overturned the original decision and transferred ownership of Lymon to Eagle. He was a soldier for most of their brief marriage, taking the bus from her family's home to the post each day. Gender inclusive room options available. It was also not uncommon for an agent, producer, or record label head to name himself co-writer of a groups songs, thereby entitling him to half of the authors publishing royalties. Span wrote that Elizabeth called her work as a prostitute moonlighting in her testimony, and that Elizabeth said she had been arrested for it 15 or 20 times. He also represented several of the artists featured on the "Dirty Dancing" album. In 1986, the women, who were never divorced from Lymon, filed copyright claims in federal court in New York for Lymons songs. Borstein also says that Lymon, who was always pestering Levy for money, sold Levy the copyright to all his songs and that Levy has a signed document to that effect. Visit our 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? I cant just sit here and tell the court anything different. Required fields are marked *. In lieu of sentencing, Frankie was allowed to undergo another rehab programAfter completing another rehab program and was inducted into the Army in December 1966. NEW YORK -- The judge who last winter heard three middle-aged women testify to their heartaches with the late Frankie Lymon -- the doo-wop idol who cowrote and sang "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" and died 20 years ago of a heroin overdose -- has found Elizabeth Waters, 46, of Philadelphia, to be Lymon's legal widow. But "I couldn't get my hands on him, couldn't find him." Ten years after his initial success, however, he was wearing an Army uniform as a private at Fort Gordon. Back in 1956, the hit song had first been credited to Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago, and George Goldner - head of Gee Records. Copy. Both Zola and Elizabeth think their agreements with Levy fair, and neither plans to take legal action against him if she is found to be Lymon's widow. Neither Zola nor Elizabeth could quite. They wanted to impress their friends in school by being on the radio. , A thief turns to prostitution to help Lymon fund his drug addiction. Mays Mortuary, 1221 James Brown Blvd. When trading Miss Thing"-type insults doesnt clear the air, a lawsuit to determine the identity of the true widow and heir to Lymons royalties becomes inevitable. He recorded other songs, alone and with his group the Teenagers, but none has inspired the same affection. It was not, for long, a happy one. 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