John "Jay"
Traynor (March 30, 1943 – January 2, 2014) was an American singer.
Traynor was a star-struck
youth who wanted to break into the music business the first time he saw a rock
& roll group perform at his high school when he was 15. It took a little
bit of time, but his dream started coming together in an inauspicious way when
he took up singing in the subway with a group of like-minded pals who called
themselves the Ab Tones. Mickey &
Sylvia, who ran a production company and had already made a name for themselves
with the single "Love Is Strange" in 1957, expressed interest in the
fledgling singers, but a recording deal never materialized. Traynor dropped out
of the Ab Tones.
After settling in
Brooklyn, Traynor lucked into his first professional gig sometime during the
late '50s. The Mystics' lead vocalist had quit, and Traynor won the spot not
only on the strength of his voice, but also because he could fit into the lead
singer's costume. Traynor was the third lead vocalist of the Mystics, singing
falsetto on "The White Cliffs of Dover", and lead on "Somewhere
Over The Rainbow" and "Blue Star".
He was riding high,
enjoying his first professional bus tour along the East Coast, which was
orchestrated by the influential Alan Freed, until a misunderstanding put the
breaks on his career. The Mystics' manager fired Traynor after he caught the
singer going through his desk. Traynor contended that he was looking for a
publicity photo of the group to pass along to a friend, but the manager fired
him anyway.
Traynor didn't stay down
long. He soon got an invitation from Sandy Yaguda, who was putting a group
together in New York with help from Kenny Rosenberg. Traynor became part of the
Harbor Lites, which later evolved into Jay & the Americans. Traynor sang lead on the group's first hit, "She
Cried," which was followed up by the album She Cried. All recordings were
produced by Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, who produced numerous artists and
wrote many hits for Elvis Presley, the Drifters, the Coasters, and many more.
Traynor left the
Americans, releasing solo records, including "I Rise, I Fall" on the
Coral label in 1964. His name on the label was denoted as "JAY ... formerly
of Jay & the Americans". Later in the 1960s, he released "Up
& Over", produced by Dennis Lambert for Don Costa Productions. The
song became a big hit with the UK "Northern Soul" underground dance
clubs.
Traynor was replaced in
the Americans by David Blatt, who agreed to perform under the stage name Jay Black.
After working for Woodstock Ventures, the company that put on the
"Woodstock" festival, Traynor began a career working behind the
scenes with such 1970s acts as Mountain, West, Bruce & Laing, The Who, Ten
Years After, Yes, and gospel singer Mylon LeFevre.
In 1977, Traynor moved to
Albany, New York, near his roots in Greenville and worked at WNYT as a studio
camera operator. He then performed with cover bands (George and
"Friends"), jazz trios, and finally as the singer with the Joey
Thomas Big Band, where his love for Frank Sinatra's music began. The Big Band
put out a few CDs with Traynor, including Live On WAMC & The Sinatra Show.
In 2006, Traynor received a call from Jay Siegel, and he toured with Jay
Siegel's Tokens for the remainder of his life.
Traynor died of liver cancer at a hospital in Tampa,
Florida on January 2, 2014; he was 70 years old. (Info edited from All Music
& Wikipedia)
1 comment:
For “Jay & The AMERICANS - She Cried - The Early Years” go here:
https://www.sendspace.com/file/5hf4cf
1. WISDOM OF A FOOL (demo)
2. TONIGHT
3. THE OTHER GIRLS
4. SHE CRIED
5. DAWNING
6. THIS IS IT (For Me)
7. IT'S MY TURN TO CRY
8. YES
9. TOMORROW
10. WHAT'S THE USE
11. STRANGERS TOMORROW
12. ONLY IN AMERICA
13. DRUMS
14. KANSAS CITY
15. MY CLAIR DE LUNE
16. SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME
17. STAND BY ME
18. MOON RIVER
19. SPANISH HARLEM
20. SHE CRIED (Italian language version)
Bonus Tracks
21. THE MYSTICS - The White Cliffs Of Dover
22. THE MYSTICS - Blue Star
23. THE HARBOR LITES - Is That Too Much To Ask
24. THE HARBOR LITES - What Would I Do Without You
25. THE TWO CHAPS - Forgive Me
26. THE TWO CHAPS - No More
27. THE EMPIRES - Time And Place
28. THE EMPIRES - Punch Your Nose
With their neatly groomed, short-haired, clean-cut image and Doo Wop-influenced vocals, JAY & The AMERICANS always evinced something of a retro vibe. Drawing equally from pop, R&B and Latin, they developed an entirely unique sound and style, and were one of the few US acts not only to survive, but flourish, following the 1964 British Invasion.
They even managed to regroup successfully after losing their original lead singer, Jay Traynor, and with a new 'Jay' in place they went on to enjoy a long, hit-filled career.Their second 45, 'She Cried', was a US Top 5 hit in 1962, selling over a million copies, and they also registered the same year with 'Tonight', 'This Is It' and 'Only In America'.
This Jasmine compilation features their first six singles and the She Cried LP, this being the first time that their debut album has ever appeared on CD in stereo.
Also included, as bonus tracks, are an early J&A group demo, plus singles by The Mystics, The Harbor Lites, The Two Chaps and The Empires, recorded by various group members before either forming or joining Jay & The Americans.
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