Louie Lymon

Though he has always been remembered primarily as Frankie Lymon's brother, Louie Lymon attained some notoriety on his own. He was 12 when he began singing with some neighborhood friends in Harlem. Rossilio Roca, Lyndon Harold, and David Little were the other members of the Teen Chords. The Teen Chords earned an audition with Bobby Robinson by pirating vocalist Ralph Vaughan from backstage at the Apollo, where he was waiting to audition for his brother Frankie's group. They went to Robinson's record shop and sang. Robinson eventually launched the Fury label with The Teenchords single "I'm So Happy/Lydia." The song was a huge East Coast hit, and The Teenchords were soon touring with such major acts as Jerry Butler and The Impressions, Jessie Belvin, and Mickey and Sylvia. They issued two more singles on Fury. They later recorded for End, and appeared in the film Jamboree. But by 1960, they disbanded. Louie Lymon then recorded with the Townsmen, and did some unsuccessful duets with his brother at the Apollo. He started a new version of the Teenchords in 1971 with Ralph Ramos, Louis Vasquez, Velmont Miller, and Frank San Pietro. Lymon tried with another edition of the Teenchords in 1983, and they recorded a version of the Teenagers' "I Want You to Be My Girl" in 1984 for Starlight. They cut "Dance Girl" for the same label in 1985. This lineup included John O'Keefe, Mike Nicoletti, Thomas Camuti, and Andre Gains, along with Lymon. Lymon subsequently left and co-wrote a book about his experiences that was never published. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide