Jay_and_Americans

The long and winding road... From Brooklyn

The story of Jay & the Americans has all the twist and turns of a skii-run, all the ups-and-downs of a roller coaster, all the highs and lows of a manic-depressive, spans five decades, and rewards us with a happy ending. Fasten your seat belts, it's a bumpy ride.

In 1959, Kenny Vance and Sandy Yaguda were part of a vocal group called the Harborlites and that's where they first came into my television life. The Harborlites, like so many other white groups of that era, were managed by Jim Gribble, who was searching for a new lead singer for The Mystics. John Traynor (Jay) sang lead on two Mystics' songs - "White Cliffs Of Dover" and Blue Star," but was unhappy with the group. At this time, Kenny and Sandy decided that they wanted to have a four-part male group, so through Gribble, they met Traynor and he agreed to join their group. Sandy called on Howie Kane, an old buddy, and brought him into the group. Lieber and Stoller wanted to call the group, Binky Jones and the Americans, but the guys rebelled; they compromised on Jay and the Americans - Kenny Vance, Howie Kane, Sandy Yaguda, and Jay Traynor. They went into the studio and cut a thrilling version of 'Tonight' from "West Side Story," their first.

Their second single was "She Cried" and an album "She Cried' was released, containing mostly all Drifters and Ben E. King covers. During the album session of "She Cried", Marty Sanders, who was then Jay and The Americans' guitarist, was asked to sing with the group. Marty agreed and has been with them ever since.

Due to the success of "She Cried", the group was doing a lot of traveling and this proved too much for Jay Traynor. Jay admitted that he had been thinking about going solo, and left the group. To this day The Americans always say

"Traynor was a great singer, with great style and as smooth a voice as they ever heard." Marty brought Jay Black to Sandy's house to audition, and Jay sang "Cara Mia" (a cappella) and they flipped. Jay and the Americans' first record with Jay Black was "Only in America," introduced in 1963 on my TV show "live" from Freedomland.

Other notable hits for Jay Black and the Americans were "Come a Little Bit Closer" in 1964, which hit #3, and "Cara Mia" in 1965, which hit #4. The group opened for both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in their first U.S. tour, and in January 1966 performed on screen in a Universal film, Wild, Wild Winter. 1968, they recorded an album of their favorite oldies called Sands of Time, including "This Magic Moment," which was originally a big hit for the Drifters. The single went to #9 in 1969. Jay Black was astounded and claimed he much prefered the original version by the Drifters. This was the last top ten record for Jay and the Americans. Marty wrote songs with Joan Jett, including “Bad Reputation” for the movie, Shrek, Sandy produced Beatlemania and other music projects, Howie began a solo career.

Marty, Sandy, Jay Black, Kenny, Howie and Sammy Davis, Jr on Hullabaloo

Jay Traynor: After serving in the USMC, Jay remained in the managing end of the music-biz. He successfully

performs a full concert of Frank Sinatra standards and is now touring the world singing the hits with Jay Siegel & the Tokens.

Early Jay Traynor & the Americans Kenny, Jay Traynor, Marty, Howie, Sandy Traynor with Jay Siegel's Tokens

Induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and his one-man Sinatra show

Kenny Vance: As a kid in New York, Kenny Vance was captivated by the magic of rock'n roll. At the

age of fifteen, he was hanging around the famed Brill Building, meeting other singers and songwriters, eventually forming Jay & the Americans. Kenny remained with the group throughout the group's eleven year history, touring extensively and recording fifteen albums. In the years that followed, Kenny Vance began an expansive career that kicked off with producing the first record for Walter Becker and Donald Fagen - Steely Dan. Kenny went on to compose, supervise and produce a long list of soundtracks for feature films., including the Alan Freed story, American Hot Wax. The Planotones were formed for that film and gave their first on-screen performance. In addition, Vance served as musical director for Saturday Night Live and music supervisor for the films "Animal House," "Eddie & The Cruisers," and "Looking For An Echo." He re-formed The Planotones in 1992 and brought his soulful vocals to a whole new audience. In 2002, Kenny and the Americans were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame.

Kenny Vance and the

Planotones

Jay Black: Commonly refered to as "The Voice," Jay Black has cut a niche audience for his solo act of low comedy and his famous sustained high C. On November 1, he will once again appear at a sold-out concert at Westbury, on the occasion of his 70th birthday.

Jay appeared as an actor opposite Frank Sinatra in the dramatic thriller, Contract on Cherry Street, (1977) filmed on location in Hackensack and Manhattan.

In 2006, Black completed bankruptcy proceedings in Manhattan, after he accrued a $500,000 debt in back taxes to the IRS as a result of his gambling addiction. Black did however win a legal battle involved in the case, which granted him the right to continue to use the name "Jay Black", although he can no longer perform as "Jay and the Americans." Ownership of the name "Jay & The Americans" was sold by the bankrcuptcy trustee to Sandy Yaguda, Black's former bandmate and original member of Jay & The Americans for $100,000, to pay Black's debts.

With the name purchased, Sandy Yaguda, Howard Kane, and Marty Sanders reunited, but were lacking a lead singer with the vocal power and range of Jay Black. That weekend two “Americans” flew to Chicago to see a performance from Jay Reincke, who had been performing their hits for thirty years with his band. "It was a typical rowdy club, " Sandy remembers, "but the best way to see an act do their thing. The place was jumping with all types having a fun night."

"Jay took the stage and opened with “ Only in America” -- we were impressed and hopeful. Next came a Gary Puckett song “ Young Girl” -- again we were impressed. Next he sang “Come A Little Bit Closer” and he nailed it. Howie and I looked at each other but didn’t say a word. High anxiety. Then he sang “Cara Mia” and the whole place erupted just like it used to thirty years ago. I was done. Howie was done. We’d been here before. Same song, same reaction -- and his name was "Jay! " We stood up with the rest of them and clapped for a long time but for a different reason. Jay then introduced us

to the audience and a roar went through the room like they knew what we knew."

"Reincke flew to New York City the next week to meet Marty (the third original member) and some new players we thought would round out the musical entity that was evolving. It was like it was living and breathing all by itself. Nobody could have forseen nor planned this. It just kept happening. It is most amazing to think that four kids from Brooklyn have survived, from 2 track recording and vinyl 45’s to downloading hits on

I- Tunes." The newly reformed Jay & the Americans have quickly become a major stage attraction, ironically, new faces on the oldies circuit -- 40 years later!

Jay Black has established a solid solo career with a loyal, demonstrative fan base. Jay celebrated his 70th Birthday on stage in concert at the Westbury Theatre.

Kenny Vance & the Planotones are burning up the Doo Wop circuit "looking for an echo."

Jay Traynor is working steadily in the rock-solid Tokens group with Jay Siegel.

Jay & the Americans are here to stay. Currently the group is in production for a new album, with Gary Katz (Steely Dan) producing. A single “Little Senorita” is currently available for streaming on their website. (Steely Dan’s Water Becker and Donald Fagen were in Jay and the Americans’ back-up band in the 1960's, as was David Bromberg).

I just love these guys. We have shared so many magic moments together over the years; each is a uniquely talented survivor. Don't you just love happy endings? ...

"Only in America!"

--Clay Cole