The Penguins were an American doo-wop group of the 1950s and early 1960s, best remembered for their only Top 40 hit, "Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)", which was one of the first rhythm and blues hits to cross over to the pop charts. Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based Rhythm and blues music which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity both in the 1950s The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The Top Forty or Top 40 is a music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre. For the "Married with Children" episode see Earth Angel (Married The song peaked at #8 on the national charts, but had a three-week run at #1 on the R&B "race" chart. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed
Career
The original members of The Penguins were :
- Curtis Williams (December 11, 1934 - August 10, 1979) (bass-baritone)
- Cleveland Duncan (b July 23, 1935) (tenor)
- Dexter Tisby (b March 10, 1935) (tenor)
- Bruce Tate (January 27, 1937 - June 20, 1973) (baritone)
Duncan and Williams were former classmates at Fremont High School in Los Angeles, California, and Williams had since become a member of The Hollywood Flames. Curtis Williams ( May 31, 1987) is an African-American Television actor who was best known for his role as Nicholas Peterson on the A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass that shares certain qualities with the Baritone Voice type. The tenor is the highest male voice within the Modal register, just above the Baritone voice Bruce Tate, an independent consultant is a Pundit and writer of books about software This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The Hollywood Flames were an American R&B vocal group in the 1950s best known for their hit, "Buzz Buzz Buzz" In late 1953, they decided to form a new vocal group, and added Tisby and Tate. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Williams brought with him a song, "Earth Angel", which he was working on with Gaynel Hodge, another member of the Hollywood Flames.
The Penguins were one of a number of doo-wop groups of the period named after birds (such as The Orioles, The Flamingos, and The Crows). The Orioles were a successful and highly influential American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s one of the earliest such vocal bands who established The Flamingos were a Doo wop group from the United States, most popular in the mid to late 1950s. The Crows were an American Doo-wop group The group's one major hit Gee (1953 was an important early Rock-and-roll song and One of the members smoked Kool cigarettes, which, at the time, had "Willie the Penguin" as its cartoon advertising character. The word cartoon has various meanings based on several very different forms of Visual art and Illustration. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand Therefore, because they considered themselves "cool", they decided to call themselves "The Penguins".
The Penguins' single "Hey Senorita" was released on Doo-Tone Records in late 1954 as the intended A-side, but a radio DJ flipped the record over to the B-side, "Earth Angel", which became far more popular. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) Their midtempo performance was a cross between rhythm and blues and the new rock and roll played by white performers and enjoyed by teenagers. Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African
Cleve Duncan sang lead on "Earth Angel. " He reprised his performance a decade later on Frank Zappa's "Memories of El Monte," an elegiac 1964 song in which he suddenly breaks into "Earth Angel" as one of the various songs remembered. Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21 1940 – December 4 1993 was an American Composer, Electric guitarist Record producer and Film director Elegiac refers either to those compositions that are like elegies or to a specific poetic meter used in Classical elegies Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. El Monte, a city near Los Angeles, had also featured performers like The 5 Satins, Tony Allan, Marvin & Johnny, The Shields as well as the Penguins. "El Monte" redirects here for the city in Chile, see El Monte Chile. Tony Allan ( September 22 1949 - July 9 2004) was a British broadcaster and Voice over artist Marvin & Johnny was the stage name of a 1950s Doo-wop duo which featured Marvin Phillips (born October 23, 1931 and Emory "Johnny" Perry Those groups were also emulated as part of the tribute to early days of rock and roll.
In a common practice of the time, radio stations frequently featured segregated playlists. This article is about radio broadcasting for other uses see Radio (disambiguation. Thus, "Earth Angel" was simultaneously recorded by the white group, The Crew-Cuts, in 1955. The Crew-Cuts were a Canadian vocal quartet that made a number of popular records that charted in the United States and worldwide They named themselves Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) The Crew-Cuts cover peaked at #3 on the national charts, five spots higher than the Penguins version. The single's success launched the Crew-Cuts' own successful career of recording "crossover"-friendly covers of R&B hits.
The songwriting genesis for "Earth Angel" was a matter of some dispute, eventually ending up in a split credit between Penguins baritone Curtis Williams, Gaynel Hodge, and Jesse Belvin. Jesse Lorenzo Belvin ( December 15, 1932 – February 6, 1960) was an American R&B singer pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s The song had evolved through several Los Angeles area groups, and was based on the "Blue Moon" chord changes that were so popular with many doo-wop groups. " Blue Moon " is a classic popular song. It was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934, and has become a standard Ballad The song was influenced by Jesse and Marvin's #2 R&B hit "Dream Girl", which contained many of the same vocal inflections used to great effect in "Earth Angel". Jesse Lorenzo Belvin ( December 15, 1932 – February 6, 1960) was an American R&B singer pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s The "Will you be mine?" hook in "Earth Angel", which was also the song's subtitle, was borrowed from the #9 R&B hit of the same name by the Swallows. The Hollywood Flames had also recorded "I Know" in 1953, a song which has been called "a chord-for-chord blueprint for "Earth Angel", and which featured the same Curtis Williams piano intro that Williams himself reused on the Penguins hit. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The coda of "Earth Angel", with the repeatedly harmonized word "You-oo. Coda ( Italian for "tail" from the Latin cauda, see below is a term used in Music in a number of different senses primarily to designate . . you-oo. . . you-oo. . . you-oo," had previously been heard in the Dominoes' #5 R&B cover of "These Foolish Things Remind Me Of You. Dominoes (or "dominos" generally refers to the individual or collective gaming pieces making up a domino set (sometimes called a deck or pack "
However, all these cannibalized pieces and influences cohered into a single recording that smoothly crystallized a singing style, and is arguably the genre's iconic song.
Coming off the success of "Earth Angel," the Penguins approached Buck Ram to manage them. Buck Ram ( November 21, 1907 Chicago Illinois - January 1, 1991 Las Vegas Nevada) was an American songwriter Ram's primary interest was in managing the Platters, who at that point had no hit singles, but were a profitable touring group. The Platters were a successful vocal group of the early Rock and roll era With the Penguins in hand, Ram was able to swing a 2-for-1 deal with Mercury Records, in which the company agreed to take on the Platters as a pre-condition for getting the Penguins (the group that Mercury really wanted). Mercury Records is a Record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US and are both subsidiaries of Ironically, the Penguins would never have a second hit single under the Mercury deal, while the Platters would be the label's most successful act. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music
The Penguins never had another national hit, but their 1957 cover of "Pledge of Love" reached #15 on the R&B chart. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar)
For three decades, "Earth Angel" was almost always the #2 song on New York City oldies station WCBS-FM's annual Top 500 countdown. The City of New York Oldies is a generic term commonly used to describe a Radio format that usually concentrates on Top 40 music from the 1950s 1960s and 1970s (about 1955-1977 WCBS-FM (1011 MHz is a radio station in New York City owned by CBS Radio. (Another doo-wop favorite, the Five Satins' "In the Still of the Nite", was the perennial #1 pick. The Five Satins are an American Doo wop group best known for their Song, " In the Still of the Night " " In The Still of The Night " is a song written by Fred Parris and recorded by his Five Satins. )
Awards & Recognition
The Penguins were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame was organized to honor what they term "the Greatest Vocal Groups in the World" "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "
External links
- Biography of the Penguins
- The Penguins discography at MusicBrainz
- 'The Penguins' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
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