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The lead singer of the band Jay and the Americans, Jay Black, passed away on Friday, October 22. He was 82 at the time of his death. According to the announcement from his family, the star passed away after suffering from pneumonia.
It has also been reported that Jay Black had dementia. In 2014, the musician had mentioned in an interview with The Forward that he might be having early stages of Alzheimer's disease, though it had not been officially diagnosed then.
Jay Black's son, Jason Blatt, shared the news of his father's death on Facebook:
What was Jay Black's net worth?
Almost all of his fortune was from his ventures as an artist with Jay and The Americans. The group was particularly famous during the 1960s.
After initial frontman Jay Traynor left the band in 1962, Jay Black, under his professional name David Black (formerly David Blatt), joined as the lead singer. Although several contradicting sources peg his wealth at $5 to $7 million, he was estimated to be worth around $2 million.
He then changed his professional name to his actual name and helped deliver the band's biggest hit, Come a Little Bit Closer, in 1964. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their most famous song to date and their highest-charting single.
Jay and The Americans have made eleven albums (1962-1970), with United Artists Records producing them all. From 1965 to 1969, the band made four compilation albums, followed by Come A Little Bit Closer: The Best of Jay and The Americans in 1991 and Masterworks 1961-1971 (3 CDs) in 1997.
The band was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. Members of the band may also have gotten paid in recent years for the licensing of the song.
However, this would be possible only if they negotiated their contracts regarding royalties. Jay and the Americans' most famous song, Come a Little Bit Closer, was recently used in films like 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Gambling addiction
Most of Jay Black's amassed fortune is known to have been lost. In 2006, the singer declared bankruptcy after he owed the IRS around $500,000, owing to his gambling addiction.
The IRS demanded the singer sell trademarks of the band and his name. However, Black won a suit that prevented him from doing so.
The rights to the band were bought by the remaining members of Jay and the Americans. Jay Black took up the mantle of "Jay Black The Voice", and his last performance was in 2017.
