Snitz sees Jay and the Americans! God I love this sheet!

They still can belt out a tune. Skokie Center for the Performing Arts tonight. Sure most of audience can barely walk. Taylor Swift eat your heart out.

Two of the original band members still going strong (guys in red pants stage right and left). The original song recorded by them in 1965 (61 years ago)!

Here's a quick rundown of the three "Jays" who've fronted Jay and the Americans over the years:

Jay Traynor (1959–1962) — Born John Traynor, he was the group's original lead singer, coming in when the band was still forming out of the Harborlites. It was actually Traynor who suggested "Jay" as a stage name — a family nickname — after Leiber and Stoller (who named the group) wanted to call them "Binky Jones and the Americans." He sang lead on their breakout hit "She Cried," which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. He left to pursue a solo career shortly after, recording for Coral Records, and later toured the oldies circuit. He died on January 2, 2014. Wikipedia

Jay Black (1962–2006) — Born David Blatt, he's the most famous of the three and sang lead through the group's biggest era. He grew up in Brooklyn's Borough Park neighborhood in an Orthodox Jewish household, and came from the doo-wop group The Empires before bandmate Marty Sanders brought him in to audition as the new lead singer. Under Black, the group scored their biggest hits, including "Come a Little Bit Closer," "Cara Mia," and "This Magic Moment." He filed for bankruptcy in 2006 due to gambling debts, and his ownership of the "Jay and the Americans" name was sold off to pay his debts. He died on October 22, 2021, from complications of pneumonia and dementia. Wikipedia

Jay Reincke (2006–present) — Born John Reincke, he's the current lead singer. He was formerly a carpet company employee from Chicago who had sung in a Jay and the Americans tribute act for 30 years, and was actually a rival bidder for the rights to the band's name when it went up for sale. The surviving original members recruited him afterward, and since reuniting, the band performs an average of 45 to 60 shows a year across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. WikipediaWikipedia

It's a genuinely wild bit of rock trivia — one group, three unrelated men, all happening to go by "Jay."

This is absolute gold. Honestly, I think the striped shirts work!

BTW: The woman in this video puts on a spectacular performance. Play close attention how she drift off camera.