While I was listening to Cousin Vinnie – a one-hour oldies program which airs every Saturday from 5 to 6 pm Eastern on WABC in New York – on Saturday, I heard host Vinnie Medugno give the sad announcement that Jay Black had passed away.

Wait a minute. Jay who?

If you are familiar with 1960s rock & roll music, you have certainly heard of Jay and The Americans, a five-man group which had their greatest popularity in the mid-1960s.

The group was formed at New York University in the late 1950s and given their name “Jay and The Americans” by songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Jay Black was not their original vocalist – that person was Jay Traynor. After the 1962 hit single She Cried, Traynor left the group, and the remaining members recruited another person to take Traynor’s place.

His name was David Blatt.

The band convinced Blatt to change his name to Jay, and he became known as Jay Black.

More hits followed, including Come A Little Bit Closer (1965) and This Magic Moment (1968), their fourth and final Top Ten hit. But there was one particular song for which I think Jay and the group will always be remembered – Cara Mia, a number 4 hit from 1965.

The song had been co-written by no less than Mantovani, using the pseudonym Tulio Trapani. It was originally recorded by David Whitfield in 1954, singing with the Mantovani Orchestra. Eleven years later, Jay and The Americans re-recorded the tune. Their version begins slowly, much like the David Whitfield original, before kicking into a rock ‘n’ roll beat. More than any of their other hits, it shows just how good – no, how amazing – a singer Jay Black truly was.

About 2/3 of the way into the song, Jay hits one note and holds it for over eight seconds. The next time you listen to Cara Mia, just pay attention to that. (I have included a video of Jay and The Americans performing the tune on the TV show Shindig in 1965 below, from YouTube.) If, after hearing it, it doesn’t move you even slightly, then you are devoid of human emotion.

Rest in peace, Jay Black, The Voice. You, your talent, and your music will be remembered…till the end of time.

Photo at top of page: Jay and The Americans, 1966. Jay Black is on the right. United Artists Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons