Earth Angel
"Earth Angel", occasionally referred to as "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)", is a song by American doo-wop group the Penguins. Produced by Dootsie Williams, it was released as their debut single in October 1954 on Dootone Records. The Penguins had formed the year prior and recorded the song as a demo in a garage in South Central Los Angeles. The song's origins lie in multiple different sources, among them songs by Jesse Belvin, Patti Page, and the Hollywood Flames. Its authorship was the subject of a bitter legal dispute with Williams in the years following its release.
For other uses, see Earth Angel (disambiguation)."Earth Angel"
"Hey Señorita"
October 1954[1]
c. August–September 1954[2]
2:57
- Curtis Williams
- Jesse Belvin
- Gaynel Hodge
Although the song was going to be overdubbed with additional instrumentation, the original demo version became an unexpected hit, quickly outstripping its A-side. The song grew out of Southern California and spread across the United States over the winter of 1954–55. "Earth Angel" became the first independent label release to appear on Billboard's national pop charts, where it peaked within the top 10. It was a big hit on the magazine's R&B charts, where it remained number one for several weeks. A cover version by white vocal group the Crew-Cuts peaked higher on the pop charts, reaching number three. More cover versions followed, including recordings by Gloria Mann, Tiny Tim, and Johnny Tillotson.
The Penguins' only hit, it eventually sold in excess of ten million copies. The original recording of the song remained an enduring hit single for much of the 1950s, and it is now considered to be one of the definitive doo-wop songs. In 2005, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, deeming it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important."
In 1998, the Penguins' 1954 recording of "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)" on Dootone Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[3]
Background[edit]
The Penguins—composed of lead vocalist Cleveland Duncan, bass Curtis Williams, tenor Dexter Tisby, and baritone Bruce Tate—formed at Fremont High School in Los Angeles, California in 1953.[2] The group named themselves after the Kool cigarette advertising mascot.[1] Williams and Gaynel Hodge were previously members of The Hollywood Flames, where they began writing "Earth Angel" with mentor Jesse Belvin, a Jefferson High graduate. Belvin had previously had a hit single in "Dream Girl", a 1952 ballad credited to Jesse & Marvin (saxophonist Marvin Phillips). The song echoes "Earth Angel" in its melodic refrain: "Dream girl, dream girl..."[4] Its "why-oh" hook was adapted as a background chant within "Earth Angel".[4] The "Will you be mine?" hook was borrowed from the R&B hit of the same name by the Swallows.[4] The Hollywood Flames were hired that year by Jessie Mae Robinson to record a demo of "I Went to Your Wedding", later recorded by Patti Page. Hodge later noted that the group lifted the bridge from that song for "Earth Angel".[5] The song also contains elements of the Flames' 1953 recording of "I Know" in its piano introduction and chord progressions, which were closely based on the Rodgers & Hart standard "Blue Moon".[4][5][6] Williams reportedly wrote the song for his wife, Marlene, and Duncan rewrote the melody, as he disliked the original.[6]
"Earth Angel" was recorded as a literal garage demo—it was recorded in a home garage at the Los Angeles home of Ted Brinson (a relative of Williams who had played bass for the Jimmie Lunceford and Andy Kirk bands).[2][1] The home was located at 2190 West 30th Street in South Central Los Angeles.[7] The garage was used as the primary recording space of Dootsie Williams for all of his Dootone artists, and had been used to record demos for Jessie Mae Robinson.[2] It was recorded on a single-track Ampex tape recorder, owned by Brinson, who performs bass on the track.[2] The drums were muffled with pillows so as to not overwhelm the vocals.[2] A neighbor's pet dog stopped many takes by barking. "Every time the dog barked next door, I'd have to go out and shut him up, and then we'd do another take," remembered Williams.[1] Curtis Williams, in addition to singing, performed piano on the track,[2] with an unknown drummer. Preston Epps reportedly played bongos on “Hey Senorita” (though this is unconfirmed). The song is composed in the key of A-flat major and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 76 beats per minute. Duncan's vocal range spans from F3 to G4.[8] The first five seconds of the intro are cut off of the recording by accident.[7]
Legal issues[edit]
Group members later engaged in a dispute with Dootsie Williams regarding royalties.[5] By mid-January 1955, the Penguins reportedly did not receive advances from Dootone, and problems began to arise.[7] They hired Buck Ram, a big band-era veteran, to manage the group; he later took partial credit for the song's success despite that he only began managing the group after its release.[2] On April 9, 1955, the Penguins signed with Mercury Records. Ram had directed the group to Mercury, slyly using his power as a representative to get the Platters, another L.A.-based vocal group, signed as well.[26] Dootone had previously confirmed to trades that their recording contract with the Penguins spanned three years. A court decision found this contract was invalid as three of the four members of the group were minors at the time of their signing.[7] Curtis Williams sued Dootone for $100,000, claiming damages as a result of his underage signing. Dootone countersued, claiming Mercury induced the group to break their Dootone contract and for taking the publishing rights of "Earth Angel".[7] Jesse Belvin and supposed co-writer Johnny Green sued the group the same week for not receiving credit for writing the song;[7] all early versions of "Earth Angel" (including the covers by the Crew Cuts and others) showed Curtis Williams as the sole author.
Dootsie Williams sued and was awarded the rights to the song in 1957 by the Los Angeles Superior Court "on the ground that Belvin and Hodge had written most of it."[2] BMI officially lists the writers of "Earth Angel" as Jesse Belvin, Gaynel Hodge and Curtis Williams.[27]
Cover versions and in popular culture[edit]
"Earth Angel" repeatedly has been covered in popular culture.[25] As was a common occurrence at the time,[9] there were a number of cover versions released upon the record's immediate success.[1] Many white artists covered the song, including Gloria Mann, Pat O'Day, and Les Baxter.[5] The most notable of these was performed by a vocal group from Canada named the Crew-Cuts, signed to Mercury Records. Their version peaked at number three on the pop charts, higher than the original.[9] Their version also reached British charts, a feat the original was unable to achieve.[1] Elvis Presley recorded an informal cover during an army stint in Goethestrasse, Germany.[5] "The Flying Saucer" (1956), widely considered one of the early mashup songs,[28][29] sampled the song without permission.[20] Other cover versions include those by The Southlanders, Johnny Tillotson, the Cleftones, the Vogues, New Edition, the Temptations, Joan Baez, Bella Morte, Johnny Preston, and Death Cab for Cutie.[6] In Sri Lanka, the popular FM radio channel Shree FM made a cover version titled "Yanna oba yanna", sung by Samitha Mudunkotuwa in the early 2000s. American rock band the Wallies released a version in 2013. Australian group Human Nature covered the song on their 2014 album Jukebox.
In addition to cover versions, the song has been employed in various film and television soundtracks.[25] The 1991 film Earth Angel was named after the song.[6] The song has been used in the television series Happy Days.[6] It was featured prominently in the film Back to the Future (performed by Harry Waters Jr. as Marvin Berry & the Starlighters) as well as Superman III and The Karate Kid Part II.[30] It is used in the jukebox musical Jersey Boys and also briefly in the film version. The 3rd act of the Family Guy episode "Meet the Quagmires" has Brian playing guitar and the rest of the band performing the song, which Lois really enjoys stating "Oh, I love this song". After the song ends, the dancers all applaud the band.
Legacy[edit]
Although the Penguins never matched the success of their debut single, the song has continued to see popularity and acclaim. Cleveland Duncan, the song's lead vocalist, remarked "I never get tired of singing it, as long as people never get tired of hearing it."[9] The song became a staple of oldies radio in the late 20th century.[25]
An appraisal in the book Singles dubs the song "a simple but elegant recording now judged by many to be one of the finest examples of what would become doo-wop".[1] Despite the higher success of the cover by the Crew-Cuts, the original amateur recording by the Penguins is now considered definitive.[1] Steve Sullivan, author of the Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, writes that the track "possesses virtually all of the qualities cherished by doo-wop lovers: melodic beauty, a shimmering earnest lead vocal, stripped-to-the-bone simplicity, and a pristine romantic innocence."[2] The New York Times wrote that "For many the song evokes a glittering, timeless vision of proms, sock hops and impossibly young love",[9] and the Los Angeles Times concurred, calling it a "nostalgic evocation of post-World War II youth culture."[25] Steve Propes, an author and music historian, remarked that "It was the first of the ultra-romantic ballads that hit the nerve of teens at the time ... It stood out because of the sincerity of the delivery."[25]
The Penguins' version was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[31] Rolling Stone later placed it at number 152 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and called it "a pivotal record in the early development of rock & roll. The artless, unaffected vocals of the Penguins, four black high schoolers from L.A., defined the street-corner elegance of doo-wop."[32]
A 1997 listener poll by New York radio station WCBS placed "Earth Angel" just behind the Five Satins' "In the Still of the Night" in a list of most enduring doo-wop songs.[2] In 1973, Billboard reported that many considered "Earth Angel" among the early rock and roll hits,[33] and The New York Times stated that "its rhythmic, wailing plea to an idealized young woman captured the spirit of the just-emerging rock generation."[9] In 2005, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry, deeming it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important".[34]
In July 2016, British rock band Coldplay played the song in concert in New Jersey with Michael J. Fox, star of Back to the Future, on guitar, in a tribute to the film.[35]