Jay and the Americans
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Jay and the Americans were a pop music group popular in the 1960s. Their initial lineup consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane (né Kirschenbaum), Kenny Vance (né Rosenberg) and Sandy Deanne (né Yaguda).
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[edit] Beginnings
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. In the manner of the time, Leiber and Stoller wanted to extend this to "Binky Jones and the Americans", but Traynor declined to be known as Binky Jones his whole career. He instead offered up "Jay", a family nickname, and it suited everyone.
[edit] Hit-making years
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 didn't fare nearly as well, and Traynor left the group. David Black (né Blatt) of The Empires took his place (after first agreeing to adopt the name Jay Black), and Empires' guitarist Marty Sanders (né Kupersmith) also joined. Black sang lead for the rest of the group's popular existence, that is, until 2006.
They returned to the charts in 1963 with "Only In America", a song originally meant for The Drifters. Other notable hits for Jay and the Americans were "Come a Little Bit Closer" in 1964, which hit #3, and "Cara Mia" in 1965, which hit #4. 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.
In 1968, they recorded an album of their favorite oldies called Sands of Time, which included "This Magic Moment", which was originally done by the Drifters. The single went to #9 in January 1969 (Black was astounded and claims that he much prefers the version by the Drifters). This 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. Their next singles failed to chart, and the band grew apart, but the demand for appearances remained.
[edit] Afterlife
While the other members moved on to solo musical careers, Jay Black continued to perform as Jay and the Americans until the 1980s, with a variety of musicians, at one point briefly including Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who would later founded Steely Dan. The group reunited in the 1990s for special performances, most notably the 45 Years of Motown special on PBS. Jay was featured in the PBS special Rock, Rhythm, and Doo Wop as "Jay Black & The Americans" in 2001.
Kenny Vance is currently the lead singer of Kenny Vance and the Planotones, a neo-doo wop band.
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 now tours with Jay Siegel and The Tokens.
[edit] A New Jay
In 2006, Jay Black filed for bankruptcy due to gambling debts, and his ownership of the name "Jay & The Americans" was sold by the bankrcuptcy trustee to Sandy Deanne (Yaguda), Black's former bandmate and original member of Jay & The Americans for $100,000 to pay Black's debts. With the name purchase, former members Deanne, Howard Kane, and Marty Sanders reunited, and recruited a sound-alike singer from Chicago, coincidentally nicknamed "Jay." Thus, John "Jay" Reincke became the third "Jay" and the band returned to playing the North American oldies circuit. Black still tours under his stage name, "Jay Black".[1]
[edit] Awards & Recognition
The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.
