Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Jay and the Americans
1960s American rock band From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard "Howie" Kane, Kenny Vance, and Sandy Deanne, though their greatest success on the charts in the United States and Canada came after Traynor left and once Jay Black and Marty Sanders joined the group; Black replaced Traynor as lead singer.[2] They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2008) |
Remove ads
Biography
Summarize
Perspective
Early years
Originally called The Harborlites, they were discovered while performing in student venues at New York University in the late 1950s. They auditioned for Leiber and Stoller, who gave the group its name.[3]
Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kirschenbaum (who adopted the stage name Howie Kane), Kenneth Rosenberg (who adopted the stage name Kenny Vance), and Louis Sandy Yaguda (who adopted the stage name Sandy Deanne).[2]
Career pinnacle
Soon they signed with United Artists Records. With Jay Traynor singing lead, they first hit the Billboard charts in 1962 with the tune "She Cried", which reached #5 (later covered by The Shangri-Las, Aerosmith, and others). The next two singles did not fare as well, and Traynor left the group.[2] After Traynor left the group, vocalist and guitarist Martin Joe Kupersmith of another group, the Empires, joined the Jay and the Americans, adopting the stage name Marty Sanders. Sanders brought his Empires bandmate David Black (né Blatt) of "The Empires" in to take Traynor's place as lead vocalist (after David first agreed to adopt the stage name Jay Black), and Black sang lead for the rest of the group's major hits.[2]
They recorded "Only in America", a song originally meant for The Drifters.[2] Other notable hits for Jay and the Americans were "Come a Little Bit Closer" in 1964, which hit #3,[2] "Cara Mia", which hit #4, and "Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key)", which hit #11, in 1965. They also recorded a commercial for H.I.S. Slacks and a public service announcement for the Ad Council, featuring a backing track by Brian Wilson and Phil Spector. Two tracks from this era later found favor with the Northern Soul crowd: "Got Hung Up Along The Way" and "Living Above Your Head".[citation needed]
In 1966, the group was featured in the Universal comedy film, Wild Wild Winter, singing "Two of a Kind" at the film's finale, with surf band The Astronauts depicted as providing backup instrumentals. As of February 2017, the song has been released only on the 1966 soundtrack LP.[citation needed]
In 1969, they recorded an album of their favorite oldies called Sands of Time, which included "This Magic Moment", which was originally done by the Drifters.[2] The single went to #6 in early 1969. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in May 1969.[4] "This Magic Moment" was the last top ten record for Jay and the Americans, although a follow-up album, Wax Museum, in January 1970, did yield the #19 hit single "Walkin' In The Rain", first recorded by The Ronettes.[2] Their next singles failed to chart, and the band grew apart, but the demand for appearances remained. (Around the same time the band recorded "This Magic Moment", Jay and the Americans member Sandy Yaguda produced a Long Island teen sextet called The Tuneful Trolley. Their late-1968 Capitol LP, Island In The Sky — a hybrid of Beach Boys and Beatlesque psych-pop—was reissued in 2008 in the UK on Now Sounds.) From 1970 to 1971 Jay and the Americans' touring band included Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (of later Steely Dan fame) on backup bass guitar and electric organ.[5] Becker and Fagen also contributed string and horn arrangements to the 1970 Jay and the Americans album Capture the Moment.
Split
The group split in 1973. All of the members moved on to solo musical careers, with the exception of Jay Black, who continued to perform as "Jay and the Americans",[6] using a variety of musicians.
The original version of "Cara Mia" went to #1 in the Netherlands when it was re-released in 1980.[7]
In 1991, EMI released songs from their catalog on CD for the first time with the compilation album Come A Little Bit Closer.[8]
In 2001, Jay Black was featured in the PBS special Rock, Rhythm, and Doo Wop as "Jay Black & The Americans".
Sale of the band name and "reunion" (2006-present)
In 2006, Jay Black filed for bankruptcy due to gambling debts, and his ownership of the name "Jay & The Americans" was sold by the bankruptcy trustee to Sandy Deanne (Yaguda), Black's former bandmate and original member of Jay & The Americans, for $100,000. With the name purchase, former members Deanne, Howard Kane, and Marty Sanders reunited, and recruited a sound-alike singer from Chicago, coincidentally nicknamed "Jay."[6] Thus, John "Jay" Reincke became the third "Jay" and the band returned to playing both national and international music venues.[9] Since reuniting, the band performs an "average [of] between forty-five and sixty shows per year" in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, according to Rick van Horn, a former contributor to Modern Drummer magazine, who has been the band's touring drummer since 2008 (and who has since become the group's manager and road manager).[10][11]
Until 2017, David Blatt continued to tour under his stage name, "Jay Black,"[6] primarily in the "tri-state area" and Florida.[5] In a 2014 interview, he announced that he had Alzheimer's;[12] he continued to perform until 2017.
Kenny Vance is currently the lead singer of Kenny Vance and the Planotones,[13] a neo-doo wop band that he formed in the 1970s (who are best known for their song "Looking for an Echo"). Vance did not rejoin the group when they reunited in 2006.
After leaving the group, John Traynor recorded a handful of songs on the Coral label, including "I Rise, I Fall" in 1964. None were hits, but "I Rise, I Fall" became a minor hit for Johnny Tillotson. The label billed Traynor as "JAY formerly of Jay and the Americans." Traynor toured with Jay Siegel's Tokens[14] until shortly before his death on January 2, 2014.[15]
Black died on October 22, 2021, from complications of pneumonia and dementia. In a statement, Jay and the Americans acknowledged that Black and the rest of the group had experienced "both wonderful and very contentious times" but that they respected the success that they achieved with Black as their lead singer.[5]
Remove ads
Awards and recognition
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.[16]
Members
Current members
- Sandy Deanne Yaguda – vocals, occasional cowbell (1960–1973, 2006–present)
- Marty Sanders – vocals, guitar (1962–1973, 2006–present)
- Jay Reincke – lead vocals (2006–present)
- Darren Dowler – vocals, guitar (2024–present)[17]
Former members
- Kenny Vance – vocals (1960–1973)
- Jay Traynor – lead vocals (1960–1962; died 2014)
- Howard Kane – vocals (1960–1973, 2006–2023; his death)
- Jay Black – lead vocals (1962–1973; died 2021)[18][5]
Touring members
- Current touring musicians
- Former touring musicians
- Brian Cano – drums (1969–1973)
- Walter Becker – bass (early 1970s)
- Donald Fagen – organ (early 1970s)
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Singles
Remove ads
Notes
- This album was later reissued with a new cover and the new title of Wax Museum, Vol. 2 to capitalize on the success of their 1970 album Wax Museum.
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads