Earth Angel

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. 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. The first five seconds of the intro are cut off of the recording by accident. ==Commercial performance==

Although it was an unfinished demo, "Earth Angel" began to see immediate success. Williams carried a rough acetate dub with him to Dolphin's of Hollywood All Night Record Shop, a local record store, to gauge shop owner John Dolphin's opinion. It made its first appearance in Billboard as a territorial hit for Los Angeles, becoming the second best-selling R&B single in Los Angeles for the second week of October 1954. It climbed to number one for the city by November 13, after which it began to grow in popularity in New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Nashville. "Earth Angel" became the first independent label release to appear on Billboard national pop charts. It hit number one in New York on November 27, and by Christmas Day the song was placing on the "Best Sellers in Stores" chart for both R&B and pop, where it debuted at number 25. By January 15, 1955, the single had advanced to the top 20 of the overall Best Sellers in Stores chart, resulting in its addition to the "Honor Roll of Hits" chart. It also reached number one on the "Most Played in Jukeboxes" R&B chart. After seven weeks on the chart, it peaked at number eight on the overall Best Sellers in Stores chart, and by February 19 had hit number one on all the major R&B charts. It remained a number one R&B hit for three weeks, before being dethroned by Johnny Ace's "Pledging My Love". When the Penguins switched to Mercury Records, the label reissued "Earth Angel" in September 1956 with string accompaniment. By 1963, Williams had told Billboard the single had passed the 2,000,000 mark, and it was reported to be the top-selling single of Dootone Records (at this period renamed Dooto). The same year, it was reported that thousands of bogus copies of "Earth Angel" were attempted to be sold by an unidentified counterfeiter. The song has continued to sell multiple decades after its release; ==Legal issues==

Group members later engaged in a dispute with Dootsie Williams regarding royalties. 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. BMI officially lists the writers of "Earth Angel" as Jesse Belvin, Gaynel Hodge and Curtis Williams. ==Cover versions and in popular culture==

"Earth Angel" repeatedly has been covered in popular culture. 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. sampled the song without permission. 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==

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." 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." 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. 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." 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". The song's influence extends into video games, notably in the zombies mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012). The track "Lovesong for a Deadman", composed by James McCawley and featured as the loading screen and Diner area music for the TranZit map, draws heavily from the melodic structure and doo-wop style of "Earth Angel". This instrumental piece evokes the nostalgic, romantic atmosphere of 1950s doo-wop ballads, adapting it to the post-apocalyptic setting of the zombies storyline. 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. ==Charts==

Weekly charts ;All versions ;The Penguins version ;The Crew-Cuts ;Gloria Mann version ;Johnny Tillotson version ;The Vogues version ;New Edition version ==See also==