Jay and the Americans


Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard "Howie" Kane, Kenny Vance, and Sandy Deanne, though their greatest success on the charts in the United States and Canada came after Traynor left and once Jay Black and Marty Sanders joined the group; Black replaced Traynor as lead singer. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.
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Biography

Early years

Originally called The Harborlites, they were discovered while performing in student venues at New York University in the late 1950s. They auditioned for Leiber and Stoller, who gave the group its name.
Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kirschenbaum, Kenneth Rosenberg, and Louis Sandy Yaguda.

Career pinnacle

Soon they signed with United Artists Records. With Jay Traynor singing lead, they first hit the Billboard charts in 1962 with the tune "She Cried", which reached No. 5. The next two singles did not fare as well, and Traynor left the group. After Traynor left the group, vocalist and guitarist Martin Joe Kupersmith of another group, the Empires, joined Jay and the Americans, adopting the stage name Marty Sanders. Sanders brought his Empires bandmate David Black of "The Empires" in to take Traynor's place as lead vocalist, and Black sang lead for the rest of the group's major hits.
They recorded "Only in America", a song originally meant for The Drifters. Other notable hits for Jay and the Americans were "Come a Little Bit Closer" in 1964, which hit No. 3, "Cara Mia", which peaked at No. 4, and "Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key)", which reached No. 11, in 1965. They also recorded a commercial for H.I.S. Slacks and a public service announcement for the Ad Council, featuring a backing track by Brian Wilson and Phil Spector. Two tracks from this era later found favor with the Northern Soul crowd: "Got Hung Up Along The Way" and "Living Above Your Head".
In 1966, the group was featured in the Universal comedy film, Wild Wild Winter, singing "Two of a Kind" at the film's finale, with surf band The Astronauts depicted as providing backup instrumentals. As of February 2017, the song has been released only on the 1966 soundtrack LP.
In 1969, they recorded an album of their favorite oldies called Sands of Time, which included "This Magic Moment", which was originally done by the Drifters. The single went to No. 6 in early 1969. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in May 1969. "This Magic Moment" was the last top ten record for Jay and the Americans, although a follow-up album, Wax Museum, in January 1970, did yield the No. 19 hit single "Walkin' In The Rain", first recorded by The Ronettes. Their next singles failed to chart, and the band grew apart, but the demand for appearances remained. From 1970 to 1971 Jay and the Americans' touring band included Walter Becker and Donald Fagen on backup bass guitar and electric organ.
Becker and Fagen also contributed string and horn arrangements to the 1970 Jay and the Americans album Capture the Moment.

Split

The group split in 1973. All of the members moved on to solo musical careers, with the exception of Jay Black, who continued to perform as "Jay and the Americans", using a variety of musicians.
The original version of "Cara Mia" went to No. 1 in the Netherlands when it was re-released in 1980.
In 1991, EMI released songs from their catalog on CD for the first time with the compilation album Come A Little Bit Closer.
In 2001, Jay Black was featured in the PBS special Rock, Rhythm, and Doo Wop as "Jay Black & The Americans".

Sale of the band name and "reunion" (2006-present)

In 2006, Jay Black filed for bankruptcy due to gambling debts, and his ownership of the name "Jay & The Americans" was sold by the bankruptcy trustee to Sandy Deanne, Black's former bandmate and original member of Jay & The Americans, for $100,000. With the name purchase, former members Deanne, Howard Kane, and Marty Sanders reunited, and recruited a sound-alike singer from Chicago, coincidentally nicknamed "Jay." Reincke was formerly a carpet company employee who, according to Yaguda, had sung in a Jay and the Americans tribute act for 30 years and was another bidder in the auction for the rights to the group's name. Thus, John "Jay" Reincke became the third "Jay" and the band returned to playing both national and international music venues. Since reuniting, the band performs an "average between forty-five and sixty shows per year" in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, according to Rick van Horn, a former contributor to Modern Drummer magazine, who has been the band's touring drummer since 2008.
In 2009, the reunited group released a new single, the Christmas song "Christmas in America". In 2010, they released two studio albums, 'Til The End of Time and Sweeter Than Wine, their first since 1970. Another studio album, Keepin' the Music Alive, followed in 2011. They released their most recent studio album, titled 45 RPM, in 2015.
Until 2017, David Blatt continued to tour under his stage name, "Jay Black," primarily in the "tri-state area" and Florida. In a 2014 interview, he announced that he had Alzheimer's; he continued to perform until 2017.
Kenny Vance is currently the lead singer of Kenny Vance and the Planotones, a neo-doo wop band that he formed in the 1970s. Vance did not rejoin the group when they reunited in 2006.
After leaving the group, John Traynor recorded a handful of songs on the Coral label, including "I Rise, I Fall" in 1964. None were hits, but "I Rise, I Fall" became a minor hit for Johnny Tillotson. The label billed Traynor as "JAY formerly of Jay and the Americans." Traynor toured with Jay Siegel's Tokens until shortly before his death on January 2, 2014.
Black died on October 22, 2021, from complications of pneumonia and dementia. In a statement, Jay and the Americans acknowledged that Black and the rest of the group had experienced "both wonderful and very contentious times" but that they respected the success that they achieved with Black as their lead singer.
Howard Kane died in 2023; he was still actively touring with the group at the time of his death.
In 2024, the group added vocalist and guitarist Darren Dowler, formerly of both Paul Revere and the Raiders and the Lettermen, as an official member. Marty Sanders has missed some performances in 2024 and 2025; he is recovering from health concerns and is expected to rejoin the group. Dowler has currently become the group's primary guitarist in Sanders' absence. In 2024 and 2025, in addition to their usual touring schedule, Jay and the Americans also participated in the multi-artist "Happy Together Tour" led by the Turtles. In 2025, the group added vocalist and bassist Lenie Colacino as an official member.

Awards and recognition

The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.

Members

Current members

  • Sandy Deanne Yaguda – vocals, occasional cowbell
  • Marty Sanders – vocals, guitar
  • Jay Reincke – lead vocals
  • Darren Dowler – vocals, guitar
  • Lenie Colacino – vocals, bass

Former members

Touring members

;Current touring musicians
;Former touring musicians