Editing Jay and the Americans (section)

===Career pinnacle===
Soon they signed with United Artists Records. With Jay Traynor singing lead, they first hit the [[Billboard magazine|Billboard charts]] in 1962 with the tune "[[She Cried]]", which reached #5 (later covered by [[The Shangri-Las]], [[Aerosmith]], and others). The next two singles did not fare as well, and Traynor left the group.<ref name="Larkin"/> Empires' guitarist Marty Sanders (né Kupersmith) joined the group. He brought David Black (né Blatt) of "The Empires" in to take Traynor's place (after David first agreed to adopt the name [[Jay Black]]), and Black sang lead for the rest of the group's major hits.<ref name="Larkin"/>

They recorded "Only in America", a song originally meant for [[The Drifters]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Other notable hits for Jay and the Americans were "[[Come a Little Bit Closer]]" in 1964, which hit #3,<ref name="Larkin"/> "[[Cara Mia]]", which hit #4, and "[[Let's Lock the Door (And Throw Away the Key)]]", which hit #11, in 1965. They 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]]. Two tracks from this era later found favor with the [[Northern Soul]] crowd: "Got Hung Up Along The Way" and "Living Above Your Head".{{citation needed|date = October 2017}}

In 1966, the group was featured in the [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] comedy film, ''[[Wild Wild Winter]],'' singing "Two of a Kind" at the film's finale, with [[Surf music|surf band]] [[The Astronauts (band)|The Astronauts]] depicted as providing backup instrumentals. As of February 2017, the song has been released only on the 1966 soundtrack [[LP record|LP]].{{citation needed|date = October 2017}}

In 1969, they recorded an album of their favorite oldies called ''[[Sands of Time (Jay and the Americans album)|Sands of Time]]'', which included "[[This Magic Moment]]", which was originally done by the Drifters.<ref name="Larkin"/> The single went to #6 in early 1969. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a [[music recording sales certification|gold disc]] by the [[R.I.A.A.]] in May 1969.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book| first= Joseph| last= Murrells| year= 1978| title= The Book of Golden Discs| edition= 2nd| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd| location= London| page= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/242 242]| isbn= 0-214-20512-6| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/242}}</ref> "This Magic Moment" was the last top ten record for Jay and the Americans, although a follow-up album, ''Wax Museum'', in January 1970, did yield the #19 hit single  "[[Walking in the Rain (The Ronettes song)|Walkin' In The Rain]]", first recorded by [[The Ronettes]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Their next singles failed to chart, and the band grew apart, but the demand for appearances remained. (Around the same time the band recorded "This Magic Moment", Jay and the Americans member Sandy Yaguda produced a Long Island teen sextet called [[The Tuneful Trolley]]. Their late-1968 Capitol LP, ''Island In The Sky'' — a hybrid of Beach Boys and Beatlesque psych-pop—was reissued in 2008 in the UK on Now Sounds.) From 1970 to 1971 Jay and the Americans' touring band included [[Walter Becker]] and [[Donald Fagen]] (of later [[Steely Dan]] fame) on backup bass guitar and electric organ.<ref name=RS>{{cite magazine|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jay-black-jay-and-the-americans-singer-dead-obit-1247111/|title = Jay Black, Jay and the Americans Singer, Dead at 82|magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]|date = October 23, 2021|accessdate = October 23, 2021|last = Kreps|first = Daniel}}</ref> Becker and Fagen also contributed string and horn arrangements to the 1970 Jay and the Americans album ''Capture the Moment''.