Merchant and Santiago, with Lymon's input, wrote the song "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" from several of their neighbor's teenage love letters. The Premiers once again changed their name to The Teenagers and got their first break after impressing Richard Barrett, a singer with The Valentines. Barrett got the group an audition with record producer George Goldner. Herman Santiago was the original lead singer but, after Goldner noticed Frankie's voice in the background, he was asked to have a try at singing lead.

Goldner signed the quintet to Gee Records, and "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" became their first single in January 1956. The single peaked at number 6 on the Billboard pop singles chart, and topped the Billboard R&B; singles chart for five weeks. The group's success made Lymon the first African-American teen idol. Lymon went solo in the late 1950s and was met with limited success. After his voice changed, he lost his signature soprano voice. Lymon' addiction to Heroin, a habit he'd had since the age of 15, caused his career to decline sharply. Never able to fully recover, Lymon was found dead from a heroin overdose on February 27, 1968.