"Even though she had said no, she had said yes in the beginning; so Ronnie went ahead without going back and contacting Emira again. He moved into her home and her bedroom. They fought and separated continually. Last to the altar is Eagle, the sister of one of the singers Army buddies. As a result, they fought and separated numerous times. If Emira won, she would share the proceeds with Chuck Rubin and go after Morris Levy. Waters, who on the witness stand acknowledged a long struggle with drugs and prostitution during her tempestuous relationship with the onetime star, got the news from her attorney Monday night. The elephant in the room was the large sum of money that would be awarded to whoever was determined to be the songwriters of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love. It was copyrighted in the names of Frankie Lymon and Morris Levy. "Just make sure the artist or writer gets his share." While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon told The Chronicle. Watch a performance of "Little Boy And Girl" by Pearl McKinnon and the Kodakshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP6P329DMKY. At one point, Levy owned more than 90 companies that employed 900 people.These included record pressing plants, tape-duplicating plants, a distribution company, a prominent New England chain of record stores, and numerous record labels. While growing up in New York City, I never had much discipline, Lymon said. Emira testified in Surrogate Court that her arrangement called for any money recovered through her suit to be shared 50-50 with Rubin, after expenses and legal fees, which had already reached a substantial subtotal. That eventually led to singing on street corners with friends and being discovered at age 12 by George Goldner of GEE Records. They got married at City Hall in Alexandria, Va., early in 1964. He was a master manipulator, however, and it was just two months after his less than honorable discharge for repeatedly being AWOL that he went to New York, telling Emira that he wanted to see about reviving his career while also secretly planning to contact lady friends and drug pushers in the city. He recorded other songs, alone and with his group the Teenagers, but none has inspired the same affection. She testified that she and Frankie had started living together shortly after they met. Neither has Elizabeth or Zola. Donald Ray Lymon Sep. 6, 1964 - Jan. 23, 2023 Lie in State Fri. 1/27/23, 4-8pm at Small's Mortuary. He was an actor and composer, known for American Graffiti (1973), October Sky (1999) and The Big Fix (1978). Also Read Inside Data and Cyber Security issue in Barbados Europe plays chess with Wagner's African moves, imposes sanctions She told Span that she never recovered financially from the loss of her home and still feels "cheated." 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. His was a wasted life, and he was so talented., Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Also a plus is the entertainment value of the films infectious classic rock soundtrack, which (besides the Teenagers hits sung by Lymon) includes songs like The Great Pretender, Try a Little Tenderness and Heat Wave., Hampering this on the negative side, besides the films awkwardness with its dark moments, is an inability to provide more than the most superficial look at anything. He told his family that night he was on his way to a gig. Fox), a prison-hardened former shoplifter and prostitute. By 1962, Frankies career had been in decline for several years but she had nevertheless come with two girlfriends to meet her onetime idol. "She's a square," Zola decided, noticing that Emira was coming to court in sneakers. Elizabeth's lawyers maintain her marriage is valid, which means that neither Zola's nor Emira's can be. He decided to head to California in hopes that his old friend Zola Taylor could help him get some singing gigs in Los Angeles. Levy declined direct comment of the Lymon matter. Elizabeth Waters claimed to have married Lymon in 1964 in Virginia. During his brief lifetime, Lymon became world-famous for his hit singles with The Teenagers including "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" 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. The record company executive has other problems: He was sentenced last week to 10 years in prison for his conspiracy conviction arising from an FBI investigation of racketeering in the recording industry. None of whom had ever divorced, was his legal widow and heiress. She and Frankie became teenaged lovers in 1956 while they were on an Alan Freed bus tour of 81 one-nighters, each performing with their group along with an all-star cast. He was a charmer, they all agree on that much. Morris Levy had not become a force in the music business through fear alone; he was also very clever. He changed the spelling of the group's name on the record label to "Kodoks" to avoid a possible lawsuit from Eastman Kodak, and released their first single, "Teenager's Dream" and . 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. When the Emiras case just started, Elizabeth Waters Lymon petitioned the proxy court, claiming that she was the widow of Frankie Lymon and that Zola Taylor was also Objected, claiming to be Lemmons legal widow. 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. It was Rubin who, several years earlier, came to the conclusion that Lymons estate was not receiving appropriate royalties. According to Span, Rubin was not opposed to generating new income from old music. He then located Emira, put her in touch with an attorney, and helped line up witnesses and documentation. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He had the type of personality that would draw people, she said. 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. Emira's attorneys have advised her not to talk to reporters until after the Surrogate Court decision. It was modified to just Lymon and Goldner on subsquent recordings for the next decade before Goldner's name was replaced by Levy's. A pop record seemed disposable then, before the rise of the nostalgia industry. Span wrote that Frankie was a soldier for most of his brief marriage to Emira. Left-Wing Meloni: Italys Attempt to Replicate Giorgia Meloni, Europe is dumping its migrants in Africa in exchange of money, Antoinette Giancana Biography, Family and Movies, David Von Drehle: Biography, Career, Education and Books, Uplift Suasion: the notion to change racism, Mexicos constitutional crisis has its roots in Washington, The EU-Mercosur Deal: Macrons Duplicity Unveiled, Paraguay declares Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. He had a bad year in 1966. The sum, he said, "might have been $1,500. Span reported that Zolas secretary and her booking agent both testified that they were witnesses to the wedding, and that her attorneys argued that California law made her a putative (believed to be) spouse entitled to share in Frankie Lymons property. Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation? Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes. But "I couldn't get my hands on him, couldn't find him." "Remember, Frankie needed the money badly," Borstein says. Her troubles with drugs and the law continued long after Frankie's death. And that song, which he wrote or helped to write and which will bear his boyish vocal signature forever. He got on that stage, and baby he was huge! Lymon was only 12 when he hooked up with the foursome that became the Teenagers, but there was an aura about him that the city's doo-wop entrepreneurs recognized. As soon as the hearing began, Emiras attorneys alleged that the other two widows acted in concert with Morris Levy. What seemed pretty clear from all the filings is the reason why, 20 years afterward, it had become so important to be Frankie Lymon's legal widow. 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. 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. Lymon, known for being the lead vocalist of the world-wide popular rock group Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, died less than a year later on Feb. 27, 1968, at age 25 in New York City, reportedly of a heroin overdose. Published by Legacy on Jul. Though this success was short-lived, Lymon on a personal level was apparently quite the boy who couldnt say no. They wanted to impress their friends in school by being on the radio. Lymon related that he started singing publicly with his three brothers in a choral group at Gospel Church in New York City. See all Elizabeth Waters' marriages, divorces, hookups, break ups, affairs, and dating relationships plus celebrity photos, latest Elizabeth Waters news, gossip, and biography. The original lineup of the Teenagers, an integrated group, included three . Elizabeth Lymon says she married Lymon on Jan. 23, 1964, in Alexandria, Va., and bore him a daughter the following year. After learning of this, Elizabeth went to court to request the suspension of the law. 2010-02-12 00:06:12. He is skeptical, too, about some of the harrowing descriptions of Lymon that have surfaced during the legal jousting. I feel sorry for him, most of all," echoed Zola. What is less clear from the file is why, 20 years afterward, it has become so important to be Frankie Lymon's legal widow. Elizabeth went on to testify that she also saw Frankie the day before he took his last, fatal dose of heroin. ", Doo-wop historian Philip Groia, author of "They All Sang on the Corner," attended one of Alan Freed's legendary rock 'n' roll shows at the Brooklyn Paramount in the spring of 1956. Frankie Lymon died in New York. Cheesborough. Back in the 1950s, when a star-struck group like the Teenagers finally got to audition for the head of a record company, such matters as copyright barely figured in the conversation. In 1984, as the original copyright term of Why Do Fools Fall In Love was expiring, Emira Eagle Lymon brought suit in the U.S. District Court in New York against Morris Levy, his record label, and his publishing company. He was energetic; dynamic; charismatic. Kids didnt know about royalties said Bob Hyde of Murray Hill Records. It was held on Saturday, September 14, at Schuetzen Park Casino in North Bergen, New Jersey. The next month, according to Zola, she and Frankie drove to Tijuana and got married in a small chapel. Emira Eagle Lymon Bryant, the legally declared widow of '50s teenage rock star Frankie Lymon, died Saturday at AU Medical Center. She has been in one celebrity relationship averaging approximately 4.1 years. He took the bus to the post from her familys home each day. She told the judge that Frankie Lymon was a charmer. It was also Rubin who located Emira, put her in touch with an attorney, helped line up witnesses and documentation. Nava, whose credits besides Selena include My Family and El Norte, is given to pitching things as broadly as the law allows, and what Fools is most reminiscent of is love story comics from the 1950s with titles like Realistic Romances and Teen-Age Temptations.. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. It was Bryant who was depicted in the 1998 movie "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" Ronnie had raised a large amount of money from the benefit concerts and donations, but he had been in limbo because of the legal battle, recalled Bill Olb. investigation of the infiltration of organized crime in the recording industry. (Diana Ross also had a hit with it), "Goody Goody," "Little Bitty Pretty One" and "Im Not a Juvenile Delinquent.". Consequently, he left behind a tangled and miserable legal and financial mess along with three wounded women. They were married in June 1967 at the Beulah Grove Baptist Church, with 50 members of Emira's family in attendance and a reception afterward at the Capri Lounge. Smalls Mortuary - Eastern Shore. "Up to a point." 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. ("I thought royalties was a dessert," says Elizabeth.). 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