Jay & The Americans come a little bit closer
Written by Vicki L. Kroll | | news@toledofreepress.com
Jay & The Americans
Welcome to “The Singing Show.” Let’s meet today’s contestants and see who sings with The Americans:
- Jay No. 1: John “Jay” Traynor, the original lead singer featured on the group’s first hit, “She Cried,” in 1962. Left shortly afterwards.
- Jay No. 2: David “Jay” Black, who belted out the group’s biggest songs — “Come a Little Bit Closer,” “This Magic Moment,” “Cara Mia.” Used the band’s name after the original members left in 1974. Filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was forced to sell the group’s name.
- Jay No. 3: John “Jay” Reincke, who was discovered when he bid on the band’s moniker. Joined three of the original Americans in 2006.
“When I heard that the name was up for auction in federal court, I was afraid somebody was going to buy the name and put a phony group out,” said Sandy Deanne, an original American.
Deanne bid on the name and won it back.
“Then I got a call from my friends, the other original members, who said we actually won the name, why don’t we look for a Jay and re-form the band?” he said from his home in Long Beach, N.Y. “And I said that’s not a bad idea; who knows if we can find one?”
Deanne, Howie Kane and Marty Sanders didn’t have to look far.
“One of the other bidders had withdrawn his bid, and I said that’s strange. Why would someone initially put up so much money and withdraw their bid?” Deanne said. “It seemed that the person who did it lived in Chicago, Illinois, and there was a law passed, the Truth in Music Law, that said unless you have an original member of the band even if he owned the name, it would have been worthless.”
That bidder was Reincke, a singer and fan of the band. Intrigued, Deanne and Kane flew to Chicago to see Reincke perform.
“Jay [Reincke] sang lead and sang some Jay & The Americans songs, one of which being ‘Cara Mia,’ and we knew immediately that we found Jay No. 3. in 20 seconds,” Deanne said.
“I found out not only was there a certain amount of pressure that I had to deal with becoming a part of the group, but there was a lot of outside pressure because, to be honest, I guess in a way I was replacing an icon, so to speak, and that was a difficult thing to have to deal with,” Reincke said from his Chicago home. “I’m proving myself every night we play.”
“He proved it to us that he could be Jay, and nobody knows better than the three of us if somebody is really Jay or not,” Deanne said.
While Jay & The Americans were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002, the re-formed band isn’t just playing old material. A new album is expected next year.
“We’ve got one new song that’s out right now that Marty [Sanders] wrote called ‘Little Senorita,’” Reincke said. “We call it ‘Jose’s Revenge.’ It’s kind of a song that would follow up ‘Come a Little Bit Closer.’ ”
Jay & The Americans will play at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Stranahan Theater. Also scheduled to perform are The Vogues, Jimmy Clanton, The Jive Five, The Volumes, The Students, The Flat Cats and The Super Girls Group with Margaret Ross of The Cookies, Lillian Wallace of The Exciters and Louise Murray of The Jaynetts. Tickets range from $45 to $75.
Visit www.jayandtheamericans.net and click on links for more.
