![]() Only in America, Come a Little Bit Closer and Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key) were among the band's first hits. It was Black's magnificent voice that gave the group the distinctive sound that allowed it to turn out one hit record after another from 1962 through 1970. I came on and added a new twist, and word started spreading about my voice." "They weren't working, but Marty and I knew the guys from the neighborhood. "Nothing was happening with the group," said Black. David (now Jay) Black also brought along guitar player Marty Sanders, and the group became a quintet. He was invited to audition, and the tide changed for the band. Meanwhile, David Black was singing lead for the Empires. Unfortunately, some dissension set in, and Traynor left. The band's first release, Tonight, from the hit Broadway show West Side Story, was a regional hit in the New York area, and a follow-up, She Cried, was a top-five hit nationally. ![]() The group was signed to United Artists records by producers Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Jay & the Americans formed in 1961 as a quartet with John (later Jay) Traynor, who had sung with the Mystics, Sandy Deane and Kenny Vance, formerly of the Harbor-Lites, and Howie Kane. The casinos send a limousine to pick you up, and I usually do more than one show in an engagement." We don't jump in the car and drive from city to city like we did in the 1960s. "I would like to curtail the traveling part of it, but when somebody makes you an offer that you can't refuse, you have to take it. One time I had to do seven shows in six nights, and I was a little frightened about that. "Last year, I sold out twenty-one straight shows. "I probably had one of the best years of my career in 1998," Black said. "It was an ill-advised decision."īut one from which he has rebounded because the demand for his services seems to be increasing. "I signed away all of my royalties," he said. Like most performers of his day, he derives no income from reissues of his old records, so performing is his bread and butter. ![]() "I was born in 1938, and in the 1940s, guys were dying in their fifties, and here I am over sixty and still getting up on stage and belting out songs." "It's still hard for me to believe," Black said during a telephone interview. By Bill McFarland Northeast Times Staff Writerįor a guy who is 62 years old and who hasn't had a hit record in 30 years, Jay Black is one busy man.īaby boomers have created a fertile market in Atlantic City for 1960s music, and Jay Black & the Americans play there on a regular basis, including this weekend, when they'll appear at Resorts Casino & Hotel on Friday (10 p.m.) and Saturday (9 p.m.), Sept. The 1960s recording artist returns to Atlantic City this weekend for two shows at Resorts. Boomers still clamor to hear Black belt them Jay Black is on the sunny side of 60, but he can still belt the old songs that baby boomers continue to line up to hear.
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