The guys auditioned for the seminal music team of Leiber and Stoller, who gave the group its name in 1960. In the manner of the time, Leiber and Stoller wanted to extend this to "Binky Jones and the Americans", but Traynor declined to be known as "Binky Jones" his whole career. He instead offered up "Jay", a family nickname, and it suited everyone.
They first hit the Billboard charts in 1962 with the tune "She Cried". Later covered by several other artists, the track's highest charting was #5, inspiring the group. The next two singles didn't fare nearly as well, however, and John Traynor left the band. David Black (né David Blatt) of The Empires took his place (after first agreeing to adopt the name Jay Black), and Empires guitarist Marty Sanders also joined. Black sang lead for the rest of the group's existence.
They returned to the charts in 1963 with "Only In America", a song originally meant for The Drifters. Other notable hits for the Americans were "Come a Little Bit Closer" in 1964, which hit #3, and "Cara Mia" in 1965, which hit #4. The Americans 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.
In 1968, they recorded an album of their favorite oldies remade fresh, called Sands of Time, and its single was "This Magic Moment", which also came through the Drifters. That track proved to be the last Top Ten record for the group. However, the band's follow-up album, titled 'Wax Museum', yielded the #19 hit "Walkin' In The Rain". First recorded by The Ronettes, the emotive love song has remained a classic on oldies themed stations along with the group's earlier work.
Their next singles failed to chart, nonetheless, and the band grew apart. The demand for live appearances remained. While the other members moved on to solo musical careers in 1973, Jay Black continued to perform as "Jay and the Americans" or "Jay Black and the Americans" until the 1980s, with a variety of musicians, including Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, who would later found Steely Dan. ."
The group reunited in the 1990s for special performances, most notably the 45 Years of Motown special on PBS.
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 (Yaguda), Black's former band mate and original member of Jay & The Americans for $100,000 to pay Black's debts. With the name purchase, former members Deanne, Howard Kane, and Marty Sanders reunited, and recruited a sound-alike singer from Chicago, coincidentally nicknamed "Jay." Thus, John "Jay" Reincke became the third "Jay" and the band returned to playing both national and international music venues. Their show covers the history of Jay and The Americans, acknowledging all three Jays and featuring all of the top hits in their original arrangements.
David Blatt still tours under his stage name, "Jay Black". Kenny Vance is currently the lead singer of Kenny Vance and the Planotones, a neo-doo wop band that he formed in the 1970s. 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 now tours with Jay Siegel's Tokens.
Goodbye Boys Goodbye
Jay & The Americans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That you would let me bleed out all of my tears
This thing called love just never was for us
You played me for a fool, then you threw me away
Didn't even say goodbye (Goodbye)
I know that I was used, time to get over you
I tried to figure out
How things got this far without any doubt
Things seemed too good to be true
Like living in a dream, I really had no clue
Now you're gone, I'm alone, so my lesson has been learned
You played me for a fool, then you threw me away
Didn't even say goodbye (Goodbye)
I know that I was used, gotta to get over you
Gotta get over you
You played me for a fool, then you threw me away
Didn't even say goodbye (Goodbye)
I know that I was used, gotta to get over you
Gotta get over you
Gotta get over you
Gotta get over you
You played me for a fool
Goodbye
The lyrics to Jay & The Americans's song Goodbye Boys Goodbye are about a person who has been betrayed and hurt by a past lover. The singer is expressing their sadness and confusion about how their relationship fell apart. They feel used and played for a fool by their former partner, who ended the relationship without even saying goodbye. The singer's lack of understanding of their partner's true nature is evident in the lyrics "I didn't know who you really were, things seemed too good to be true, like living in a dream, I really had no clue."
The theme of unrequited love and betrayal is common in many songs, but Jay & The Americans add a unique element to this theme by exploring the idea that the singer was blind to the reality of their relationship while it was happening. The song's introspective tone suggests that the singer is beginning to understand the situation and is now ready to move on.
Overall, Goodbye Boys Goodbye is a heartfelt and emotional song that speaks to anyone who has experienced heartbreak and betrayal in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
It is now oh so clear
I have finally come to a realization
That you would let me bleed out all of my tears
You caused me immense emotional pain
This thing called love just never was for us
Our relationship was never meant to be
You played me for a fool, then you threw me away
You deceived me and then discarded me
Didn't even say goodbye (Goodbye)
You didn't have the decency to say farewell
I know that I was used, time to get over you
I acknowledge that I was taken advantage of and it's time for me to move on
I tried to figure out
I made an effort to understand
How things got this far without any doubt
I am baffled by how things progressed without me being suspicious
I didn't know who you really were
I was unaware of your true nature
Things seemed too good to be true
Things appeared perfect, but I was skeptical
Like living in a dream, I really had no clue
I was oblivious to the reality of the situation
Now you're gone, I'm alone, so my lesson has been learned
You are no longer here, and I am by myself, but I have learnt my lesson
Gotta get over you
I need to move on from you
You played me for a fool
You made me look stupid
Goodbye
Farewell
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Robbie Dickson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mrsjanice25
WOW/this is great/wish they had done more like this/reminds me of the great Jimmy Rushing or Lenny Kravitz/really great at 1:10/I could listen to this all day
@girasol5998
VERSIONE ESPLOSIVA, CON UN ARRANGIAMENTO FAVOLOSO... BRAVI
@iconaclastor
somehow I never heard this one and am very surprised as it is so flooded with instruments and fast
@NYDutch1968
I've been a big Jay and the Americans fan since their beginning. I have the album that this song appears on with the Italian lyrics shown in the title (Ciao Raggazzi Ciao). In searching for this version in You Tube I came across Adriano Celentano's original excellent Italian version. In looking through Adriano's other songs he has "Preghero", which if you listen closely is "Stand By Me". So the moral of the story is if you hunt for obscure songs you can turn up some treasures.
@annacallahan34
Watch the 7 minute 1997 live performance by Celentano. Thousands watching including the Pope. It's great.
@RACCATTApalle91804
THE ITALIAN MUSIC IS WONDERFUL
It is the fantastic ITALIAN song Adriano Cementano -(Ciao ragazzi ciao))
@BarbaraErickson1795
Goodbye "boys" goodbye!!
@moscowandy
where did you find itaian version, can you link me please? )) I was trying to find italian, then I remembered I also heard it once in engish and ran over this (which is actually also lovely ))
@genesylvester5680
Plop side come little bit cioser
@lyon406
Too bad the DJ's of the past did not flip over the "A" sides to find lost treasures like this.....