Kodaks Trivia: From Newark, New Jersey, USA, the original members were lead Pearl McKinnon, first tenor James Patrick, second tenor William Franklin, baritone Larry Davis and bass William Miller.
Kodaks Trivia: In the beginning, they were a run-of-the-mill quartet: Jimmy Patrick (lead, first tenor), William Franklin (second tenor), Larry Davis (baritone), and William Miller (bass)...
... Then Pearl McKinnon, a 15-year-old friend of Jimmy Patrick's sister joined the group. Her voice's resemblance to that of Frankie Lymon was unmistakable. She made the group unique.
Kodaks Trivia: They cut four singles, none of which made the national charts, but all of which are prized by collectors and enthusiasts.
Kodaks Trivia: The Kodaks came together in 1957 and signed with Bobby Robinson’s Fury label. Robinson changied the spelling of their name on record labels to the Kodoks, ...
... to avoid a lawsuit from Eastman Kodak Their first release, ‘Little Boy And Girl’, with the touching ballad ‘Teenager’s Dream’, and received significant local airplay....
... The second release, in the spring of 1958, the exhilarating ‘Oh Gee, Oh Gosh’, was their most sizeable hit, The b-side, ‘Make Believe World’, was especially appealing, with creatively harmonized choruses....
... At this time, Davis and Franklin left to form the Sonics, who would later record ‘This Broken Heart’. They were replaced with Richard Dixon and Harold Jenkins.
Kodaks Trivia: In 1961 the group dissolved when Jimmy Patrick exited to join the Monotones, and Pearl McKinnon got married...
... William Miller tried to keep the ball rolling, forming the "Kadaks" with his wife Jean and Harold Jenkins, and a new member, Renaldo Gamble, but they faded after two failed singles.
Kodaks Trivia: McKinnon returned to the business less than a year later, leading Pearl & the Deltars. They issued two singles, including a recut version of "Teenager's Dream," but never had more than local success...
... She later appeared in the '70s in an outfit known as 2nd Verse, but seemed to find a part of her true destiny later still, fronting a re-formed version of the Teenagers, taking Frankie Lymon's role as lead singer.
Kodaks Trivia: In 1983 Pearl McKinnon discovered that Frankie Lymon was buried in an unmarked grave at St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. In September 1985. Friends held a benefit to buy a headstone.