B-side "Please Be Mine" Recorded November 1955 Length 2:20 | Released January 10, 1956 Genre Doo wop, rock and roll Label Gee | |
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"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is a song that was originally a hit for early New York City-based rock and roll group Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers in January 1956. It reached No. 1 on the R&B chart, No. 6 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, and number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in July.
Contents
- Writing credits
- Personnel
- Diana Ross version
- Music video
- Track listings
- The Beach Boys version
- Other charting versions
- Other cover versions
- Legacy
- References
The song helped to make Frankie Lymon a household name and would make him a rock and roll pioneer.
The Canadian group The Diamonds also did a more traditional doo wop version that came out the week after Lymon's, in March 1956. This version spent 19 weeks on the Billboard chart, topping out at No. 12.
The song was ranked #314 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song was the first hit recording made in the Bell Sound Studio in New York City. It was recorded in November of 1955.
Writing credits
In late 1955, The Teenagers (at that time calling themselves The Premiers) auditioned a song called "Why do Birds Sing So Gay?" for George Goldner, recording producer and owner of Gee Records. Herman Santiago, tenor of the group, had written the song based on a line from some love letters given to the guys by a tenant in bassist Sherman Garnes' apartment building. One of them featured the words "Why do birds sing so gay?," which fit in with lyrics of other songs that Herman had been writing based on a 1-6-2-5 chord pattern. So Herman worked with it, creating a song for Herman Santiago to lead, and adjusting the harmony to take advantage of Frankie Lymon's high tenor/soprano. Along the way, Herman changed some of the lyrics. During the audition Frankie's voice stood out and, at Goldner's suggestion, the lead in subsequent recording sessions was given to Frankie. Frankie did some improvising and re-created the melody to match his own style. According to Jimmy Merchant, what happened at the recording session was a combination of "Frankie's singing ability coupled with George Goldner's special ability to bring out the best in Frankie."
Although early vinyl single releases of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" credit Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago, and George Goldner as co-writers of the song, later releases and cover versions were attributed only to Lymon and record producer George Goldner. Goldner's name was later replaced by Morris Levy when Levy bought Goldner's interest in Gee Records, the Teenagers' record company.
After a lengthy court battle, song-writing credits were awarded to original Teenagers members Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant in December 1992.
However, four years later in 1996, this ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit under the statute of limitations and authorship, because Santiago and Merchant did not bring the case to court soon enough. This gave the song rights back to Lymon and Levy. The current publisher of the song is EMI Music Publishing, which still lists these as the songwriters.
Personnel
Diana Ross version
Diana Ross released a cover version on the RCA label in 1981, peaking at No. 2 on the US adult contemporary chart, No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart, No. 6 on the US R&B chart, and No. 7 on Billboard's Pop Singles Chart, and earning her a British Phonographic Industry silver disc award for sales in excess of 250,000 copies. It also reached #1 in Belgium and the Netherlands and climbed to the top 10 in Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland as well as making the top 20 in Australia, Canada and Germany. Unlike the original, this version contains echoes of the soul of the 1960s. A reissue of Ross' cover peaked at #36 on the UK chart in July, 1994.
Music video
The plot of the music video Diana Ross performs the song in a city full of casinos and clubs (Las Vegas).
Personnel
Track listings
- "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" - 2:51
- "Think I'm In Love"
- "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (159.0 bpm) - 2:53
- "I'm Coming Out" (Joey Negro Extended 12", 109.7 bpm) - 6:05
- "The Boss" (David Morales Club, taken from: Diana Extended/The Remixes, 124.0 bpm) - 6:29
- "Love Hangover" (Joey Negro Hangover Symphony, 121.0 bpm) - 8:57
- "Why Do Fools Fall in Love"
- "I'm Coming Out" (Joey Negro 7" Mix)
The Beach Boys version
The song was used as a B-side for The Beach Boys single "Fun, Fun, Fun", which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. The Beach Boys version of the song charted at #120. It was included on the Beach Boys 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2 and had only appeared in mono since the release of the single back in 1964. The single mix of the song was later found and used on the 2007 The Warmth of the Sun compilation and on the Original US Singles Collection The Capitol Years 1962–1965. This box set, released in 2008, also used a recently found mono single edit mix. In 2009, a new stereo mix was created with a newly discovered intro, thanks to the discovery of the original multitrack masters by Jon Stebbins and is featured on the band's compilation Summer Love Songs. The song was also performed as part of the band's 50th Anniversary Tour, usually during the first half of the shows. One of the performances was later included on the live album from the tour.
Other charting versions
Other cover versions
Legacy
The recording by Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers features in the 1973 film American Graffiti in the scene where Richard Dreyfuss' character first notices the mysterious blonde girl. The same recording was also featured on the in-game radio station "Empire Central Radio" in the 2010 video game Mafia II. It is featured in the final episode of the first series of the 2012 BBC Drama Call the Midwife when the character Chummy played by Miranda Hart marries PC Noakes. In 1998, the legacy of the song and its author was the theme of the movie of the same name.