Posted on 01/04/2014 3:29:27 PM PST by a fool in paradise
Jay Traynor, the singer best known for his stint as the original lead vocalist in Jay and the Americans, has passed away at the age of 69 following a struggle with liver cancer.
ABC News Radio reports that Traynor, who had recently been performing with the Tokens, died in a Florida hospital. His passing was confirmed by Jay Siegel of the Tokens, who was described as “acting as a family spokesperson” in ABC’s report.
Jay and the Americans rose to prominence in 1962 with the hit single ‘She Cried,’ which was supposed to be the B-side of their song ‘Dawning‘ but caught on in its own right after a DJ in San Francisco decided to put it in rotation instead. When further hits failed to materialize, Traynor left the group; as he recalled in a recent interview, he needed money and wanted to avoid being drafted by the Army, so he joined the Marine Reserves instead.
After completing his service, Traynor held down a series of music industry jobs, including working as a song plugger for Warner Bros. (according to Traynor, he was responsible for hooking up Gordon Lightfoot with his early country hit ‘Ribbon of Darkness‘), managing ticket sales for Woodstock, and serving as a road manager for the legendary Bud Prager, who managed a stable of acts that included Mountain and Cream.
Eventually, Traynor returned to singing, performing and recording as a solo artist before touring with Siegel and the Tokens. “He was a pro…he was very versatile in his vocal style, from rock and roll to Frank Sinatra,” Siegel told ABC News Radio. “His demeanor and his look were a perfect fit for my group…he just did a great job onstage and more than that, he did a great job offstage. He was a true gentleman, a very humble guy and I considered him like my brother. He was a great talent and a good friend.”
Just yesterday, we lost one of The Righteous Brothers to Rock & Roll Heaven. We just recently lost Lou Reed who took a walk on the wild side and never returned. Dan Fogelberg will never warble "That Old Lang Syne" again in which the snow turned to rain after drinking a six-pack in his car after meeting an old flame.
Ray Manzarek of The Doors has joined the Lizard King and will never make that creepy organ music again. The one dude who played in for that rock band whose name I can't remember right now is also gone, gone, gone.
John Stewart, who had that big hit song "Gold" is now gone with the "Midnight Wind." Bob Welch who gave us "Ebony Eyes" is also no longer with us. Even Donna Summer, queen of disco, has now gone to the great disco in the sky. Speaking of disco, the one guy who killed disco back in 1979 with his "My Sharona" is also gone - Doug Fieder of The Knack. And the list goes on and on and on.
Half the Beatles and 2/3 of the BeeGees dead dead dead. Andy Gibb too. Davy Jones of the Monkees is now in, well, Davy Jones' locker. So is Gerry Rafferty and Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols. One of the Beastie Boys is now dead and so is Joe Strummer and Joey Ramone.
And the list of the rock music dead goes on and on. Al Wilson, Wilson Pickett, Andrew Gold, Warren Zevon, Juice Newton, Laura Branigan, Clarence Clemons all gone, gone, gone.
I can keep going but I think I made my point. We are very quickly running out of musicians and soon there will be no more music being made unless we find a way to make all these deaths STOP!
RIP and thanks for the music.
....think Kenny Vance once sang with them
As noted here, most of the well-known hits from Jay and the Americans were sung by Jay Black…real name - David Black:
Cara Mia
Walkin’ in the Rain
Come a little bit Closer
This Magic Moment
Some Enchanted Evening
Steely Dan I think
RIP.
Unless I’m mistaken, Juice Newton is still with us...her long-time song writer and producer, Otha Young, passed away four years ago, but Juice (as far as I know) is still alive.
Cara Mia--David Whitfield (1954)
Only in America--Jay & the Americans (1963)
fagen and becker.
I didn’t know Juice Newton had passed. Was she still calling herself “Juice”?
Hullabaloo & Shindig - afterschool
I didn’t know Juice Newton had passed. Was she still calling herself “Juice”?
That magic moment
I sure skated around the rink to that one....they always played that when it was ladies choice.....
And the same redhead always asked me....and I went to be polite...God love her
When Gary Puckett goes...alas...or Grass Roots....or BJ Thomas...
To come of age in the late 60s....it was wonderful
R.I.P. What a glorious voice he had!!!
I think I’m talking about Jay Black...
Yep - and as a bonus, time flies too. As a kid, Summer lasted a long time. These days, I can blink and it's over.
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