Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers - Rock & Roll (CD)

All Music Guide

After a threeyear (1955 1958) meteoric rise to international fame, Frankie Lymon (vocal) was ready to emerge from beneath the shadow of The Teenagers, with whom he'd scored the Top 20 Pop entries "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," "I Want You To Be My Girl" and "Goody Goody" for Gee Records. It was just one of several labels founded in the midtolate '50s in New York City by record producer George Goldner, Joe Kolsky and nightclub owner Morris Levy. The trio felt Roulette Records, another of their 'holdings', might prove a more suitable venue for Lymon to strike out as a solo artist. With his trademark falsetto still in tact, the vocalist was paired up with Roulette's AR department heads Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore one of the most important producing/engineering partnerships of the preBritish Invasion golden age of American pop music. Their contributions to Lyman's debut long player Rock'N Roll (1958) are particularly noteworthy. Nowhere is that as evident than the remakes of "Wake Up Little Suzie" and "Little Bitty Pretty One" as the singer can be heard doubletracking his own leads. The resulting resonance created a richer texture for the harmonies. Elsewhere, Lymon's phrasing on the wailing opener "Waiting In School," the swinging "It Hurts To Be In Love," as well as an update of the early West Coast RB raveup "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz" are among the best of the lesserknown titles. Here he likewise places his stamp on material that had become indelibly linked to other artists such as Elvis Presley and "Jailhouse Rock" or Paul Anka's "Diana". While a slight departure from most of the album, the jazzy and optimistic "Send For Me" and the midtempo ballad "Silhouettes" reveal Lymon's criminally underutilized potential as a crooner. Half a century after it its initial release, Collectors' Choice Music reissued Rock'N Roll in 2008, marking its availability for the first time in several decades.

- Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide