“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. Frankie was 15 when he wrote and recorded this song.

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. 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.”

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