Best known for their hit single “Earth Angel,” the doo wop quartet the Penguins were never able to replicate the success of their only Top 40 hit, but the song became a rock & roll classic. The Penguins formed in 1954, when the members — Cleveland Duncan (lead vocal), Curtis Williams (tenor vocal), Dexter Tisby (baritone vocal), and Bruce Tate (tenor vocal) — were all attending Fremont High School in Los Angeles, CA.
Although he wasn’t the lead singer, Williams was the leader of the group. He learned “Earth Angel” from vocalist Jesse Belvin — some sources claim that Williams wrote the song alone, others say he co-wrote the song with Belvin, while others claim Gaynell Hodge, a member of the doo wop group the Turks, wrote
Best known for their hit single “Earth Angel,” the doo wop quartet the Penguins were never able to replicate the success of their only Top 40 hit, but the song became a rock & roll classic. The Penguins formed in 1954, when the members — Cleveland Duncan (lead vocal), Curtis Williams (tenor vocal), Dexter Tisby (baritone vocal), and Bruce Tate (tenor vocal) — were all attending Fremont High School in Los Angeles, CA.
Although he wasn’t the lead singer, Williams was the leader of the group. He learned “Earth Angel” from vocalist Jesse Belvin — some sources claim that Williams wrote the song alone, others say he co-wrote the song with Belvin, while others claim Gaynell Hodge, a member of the doo wop group the Turks, wrote the song with the duo (in fact, Hodge won a lawsuit filed in 1956 that gave him a co-writing credit) — and had the Penguins sing the song.
Around 1954, the Penguins signed with the local Los Angeles independent label Dootone Records. The group’s first single was going to be the up-tempo “Hey Sinorita,” and the ballad “Earth Angel” was going to be the B-side.
Upon the release of the single in the latter half of 1954, Los Angeles radio stations were receiving more requests for “Earth Angel”
– Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The world knows The Penguins as the group that recorded “Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine),”one of the best-selling, most beloved oldies of all time. But to doo-wop fans, the group was more than just a one-hit wonder, and lead singer Cleve Duncan has kept The Penguins functioning as a viable outfit for the past 45 years.
“I was singing at a talent show at the California Club on Santa Barbara Avenue [now MLK Blvd.],” says Cleve, “and Curtis Williams came up afterward and wanted to know if I’d form a group with him.” Curtis Williams had recently left The Hollywood Flames, with whom he had recorded a couple of singles. “So Curtis got [baritone] Bruce Tate from his high school [Jefferson] and I got [tenor] Dexter Tisby from my high school [Fremont]. We learned a few songs, got on some talent shows, sang in some clubs. Then Ted Brinson heard us and got involved.”
Before his death in 1991, Walter “Dootsie” Williams, owner of Dootone Records, recalled that he first heard about The Penguins from Brinson. “He had a backyard studio over on 30th Street between Arlington and Western that was very economical, so I recorded there. My stuff was mostly songwriters demos then. They’d pay me $300 and I’d record their song. So I heard the group and liked them. The first thing I did with them was a demo of a song called ‘There Ain’t No News Today,’ which I released.’ Another singer [Willie Headon] was on the other side. “This single was credited to The Dootsie Williams Orchestra, with “Vocal by The Penguins.”
What inspired their name, says Cleve, was Willie the Penguin, the cartoon logo character in Kool mentholated cigarette ads. This was a time when many young black vocal groups, inspired by late-’40s proto-doo-wop groups The Orioles and The Ravens, named themselves after birds. “What was more cool than a penguin?” Cleve says now, with a smile..
Dootsie Williams was already having some success with another young vocal group, The Medallions, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to follow through with The Penguins. “My distributor, Sid Talmadge [of Record Merchandising], wasn’t impressed with them. He told me they were too pop. And for a small indie like me in those days, the distributor had a lot of say-so. He would tell me what was selling, what kind of beat people were listening to.”
But Dootsie Williams’ was first and foremost a music publisher, and what drew him to The Penguins was that they had brought him a couple of original songs called “Earth Angel” and “Hey, Senorita” (formerly “Esa Chiquita’). He recorded both songs as demos at Brinson’s studio sometime in the late summer of 1954, and then got an unexpected amount of local airplay, first by Huggy Boy, later by Charles Trammell and Johnny Otis. By late September he started pressing up his first copies. At first he treated “Hey, Senorita” as the A-side, but the jocks flipped it over. By October “Earth Angel” was making noise all over Los Angeles, and by December it went national on the R&B charts and slipped over onto the pop charts, where it reached as high as #8 in January 1955 despite two popular cover versions by The Crew-Cuts and Gloria Mann.
The runaway success of “Earth Angel” overwhelmed Dootsie Williams’ tiny operation and almost threatened to bankrupt him, because he had to keep pressing new records even though distributors across the country weren’t paying him for copies already sold. Meanwhile, Buck Ram, a songwriter-publisher who managed another Los Angeles group called The Platters, had taken over The Penguins’ management and wanted to move them onto a larger label. Mercury Records was already impressed with the group because their primitive little recording on a tiny black-owned indie had done so well on the charts against their better-promoted white cover version, so Ram made an agreement with Mercury to sign them with the company on one condition: Mercury also had to sign The Platters. During this time, Ram was also claiming that Dootsie’s contracts with the group and their songwriter Curtis Williams were null and void because they had been under-age. “I told them they’d lose all their royalties,” said Dootsie, “but they told me, ‘To hell with your royalties, we’re gonna make it big!'”
The Penguins’ break from Dootsie Williams became obvious when they didn’t show up at the jam-packed Ookey Ook Dance Contest at the Savoy Ballroom on Central Avenue to promote the release of their follow-up single, “Ookey Ook,” on February 21, 1955.
At first The Penguins’ defection seemed to have put them in the big time. “We were impressed with Mercury’s large size and distribution,” says Cleve Duncan. But it didn’t take long for things to unravel. “Ram just used us to get The Platters on the label. He actually owned The Platters and paid them a salary. So he used them to push his best songs. Everything he wrote for us, like ‘Devil That I See,” sounded like ‘Earth Angel.’ He wanted us to sell him The Penguins name, but we held out.”
The Penguins toured back east, appeared at the Apollo Theater and at Alan Freed’s Brooklyn Paramount rock ‘n’ roll shows, and performed for a national audience on “The Ed Sullivan Show. “During this period they enjoyed the status of hitmakers, sharing the stage with greats like Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington. But despite some good recordings on Mercury, they couldn’t come up with a successful follow-up to “Earth Angel.”
[In fact, Mercury even re-recorded “Earth Angel” and “Hey, Senorita,” but the company didn’t release them at the time. Mercury’s “Earth Angel” didn’t come out until 1956. Also, Dootsie Williams won all publishing rights to “Earth Angel” in his lawsuit against Curtis Williams and Peer International.]
“We had to do what [Mercury] wanted us to do,” Cleve Duncan lamented. “Our sound was still there, but they wanted us to project it a different way. At Dootone it was a group effort, but at Mercury we lost control over production. Buck Ram called the shots in the studio.”
When Mercury failed to renew their contract, The Penguins briefly went to Atlantic Records. But the company released only one single, “Pledge of Love,” an R&B cover of a white pop hit, which lasted only one week on the R&B charts.
By the time The Penguins returned to Dootsie Williams in 1957, they were demoralized and broke. Being young and inexperienced, they had made most of the mistakes and bad judgements endemic within the ruthless, manipulative music business. Bruce Tate, having been involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident in Los Angeles over a year earlier, had already been replaced in the group by Teddy Harper. Curtis Williams fled California after a judge put out a warrant for his arrest for nonpayment of alimony and child support, so he was replaced at bass by Randy Jones.
Though competent, these 1957-58 recordings for Dooto lacked the old fire of the earlier Dootone and Mercury sides, and none of them sold. Demoralized, The Penguins broke up. Cleve Duncan tried something different by recording one single with sisters Gladys and Vesta White (The Radiants), but it likewise went nowhere.
By 1961, however, he was approached by a young musician named Frank Zappa to record a tribute song that Zappa had written called “Memories of El Monte,” a pastiche of many of the classic Los Angeles doo-wop songs like “Nite Owl,” “In the Still of the Nite” and “Earth Angel” that had been a staple at Art Laboe’s rock ‘n’ roll shows at the El Monte Legion Stadium. Laboe himself released the record on his Original Sound label, and “Memories of El Monte” turned out to be a local hit–and a perennial favorite. (The vocalists backing Cleve are reputed to be The Viceroys.) Forming a new Penguins as a trio–himself, baritone Walter Saulsberry and tenor/bass Glen Madison (formerly of The Delcos)–Cleve recorded a couple more singles for local labels to capitalize on the dance crazes of the early ’60s.
Since then this Penguins lineup has been steadily performing around the country (and occasionally overseas), and Cleve Duncan still sounds pretty much the same as he did that day in Ted Brinson’s garage. As soon as he opens his mouth to sing “Earth Angel,” the last 45 years just fall away.
Penguins fans can still catch up on most of the their ’50s and ’60s recordings. Ace Records in England has released a Penguins CD that contains all their Dootone material, and two of Ace’s “Dootone Doo-wop” compilation CDs include Cleve’s sides with The Radiants (in stereo). Bear Family in Germany has issued all of The Penguins’ Mercury cuts, and Original Sound has released various sides they recorded during the “Memories of El Monte” period. Their two Atlantic sides are on a couple of Atlantic 2-CD sets from Rhino Records.
FAQs
What happened to the Penguins singing group? ›
The group went through a string of personnel changes, and although one of their songs, "Pledge of Love", hit #15 on the R&B charts, they never again had a record that hit nationally, and the group broke up in 1962.
Is there a singing Hall of Fame? ›The Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation typically inducts sixteen Vocal Groups annually and has been delayed lacking the funding. Artists are inducted within categories. Each category has an original group member, evolved group member or a family member as an inductee representative.
Was there a singing group called the Penguins? ›The Penguins were an American doo-wop group of the 1950s and early 1960s, best remembered for their only Top 40 hit, "Earth Angel", which was one of the first rhythm and blues hits to cross over to the pop charts.
Who is the lead singer of the Penguins? ›The Penguins formed in 1953, when the group's members -- Cleveland Duncan (lead tenor vocal), Curtis Williams (bass-baritone vocal), Dexter Tisby (tenor vocal), and Bruce Tate (baritone vocal) -- were all attending Fremont High School in Los Angeles, CA.
Why was penguin abandoned? ›Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin: Abandoned at birth due to his hideous appearance by his aristocratic parents, he spends his life living in the sewers of Gotham City.
What was Club Penguin replaced with? ›The game was replaced by a successor, titled Club Penguin Island (which itself was discontinued the following year). Since being shut down, the original game has been hosted and recreated on a number of private servers using SWF files from the game's old website.
Who is in the most music Hall of Fame? ›Remarkably, his induction tonight makes Clapton the only artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times.
Who is the only person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times? ›Eric Clapton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist on March 6, 2000, his third time being inducted into the prestigious institution. Clapton was the first and remains the only musician to be inducted into the Hall of Fame three times.
Who was the first vocal group? ›The earliest vocal groups
“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” an African-American spiritual recorded by the Fisk Singers in 1909, has become the unofficial anthem of the England rugby team. Happily, the group is still going strong and was awarded the National Medal Of The Arts from President Bush in 2008.
As an artist, Miller is best-known for his large paintings of Penguin Book covers – an homage to his enduring interest in literature.
What was Club Penguin before Disney? ›
Club Penguin was a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) that ran from 2005 to 2017, created by New Horizon Interactive (later known as Disney Canada Inc. after the game's acquisition by Disney).
What was the old show with the penguins? ›The 3-2-1 Penguins television series appeared on the Qubo blocks on NBC, Ion Television and Telemundo as well as the Qubo channel it then later appeared on TBN and Smile of A Child. It ran for three seasons with the first season consisting entirely of television broadcasts of the six original home videos.
Who is the Penguin with soda plastic around his neck? ›Personality. Lovelace is believed to be a wise and all-knowing penguin to others, given clairvoyance from his "sacred talisman" (six-pack plastic ring wrapped around his neck). He is very dramatic and can also be obnoxious at times.
Who is the most famous Club penguin player? ›- 1 Rockhopper. Snowstorm222 is the best he's nice his life is a giant hole of awesomeness! ...
- 2 Leothelion 8. ...
- 3 Thinknoodles. ...
- 4 Delilah2200. ...
- 5 Happy ice 3. ...
- 6 Gary The Gadget Guy. ...
- 7 Sensei. ...
- 8 Maggie8549.
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the National Hockey League for the 1967-68 season. The team name, Penguins, came about because the team would be playing their home games in the "Igloo," which was the nickname of the Civic Arena.
How did penguin lose his eye? ›Penguin's eye was pierced by glass and metal fragments, causing him to scream in pain. Cobblepot's right eye never healed properly following the fatal injury.
Why does the Penguin have 3 fingers? ›He suffers from Syndactyly and wears a pair of black vinyl gloves over his hands, making them resemble flippers. This has influenced numerous Penguin designs in comics and cartoons since the film's release.
Why did penguin go to jail? ›SAN FRANCISCO/GOTHAM – Edward “E.” Nigma, aka, “The Riddler,” and Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, aka, “The Penguin” were formally arrested today and charged with multiple counts of conspiracy and kidnapping for their all too familiar villainous ways in Gotham City, according to Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the ...
What is the Club Penguin controversy? ›Police, acting on the wishes of Disney, took down the website, which claimed to have millions of registered users. It comes after a BBC investigation in 2020 witnessed players simulating sex and exchanging racist and anti-Semitic abuse on another unauthorised clone of the children's game.
Why did CPR shut down? ›The Rewritten site was shut down on April 13, 2022, by the City of London Police in compliance with a copyright investigation request from Disney, where three suspects were arrested. Prior to its shutdown, the game had accumulated over 11 million registered users.
Does Club Penguin still exist? ›
Welcome to our snowy island! Please read before continuing. Club Penguin Legacy is an independent remake of Disney's Club Penguin, it's a completely free-to-play experience, with no form of subscriptions, donations, or other means of generating revenue.
What rock stars are not in the Hall of Fame? ›Others of note – Blue Oyster Cult, Billy Idol, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, America, Motley Crue, Pantera, Kansas, Foreigner, Foghat, Eddie Money, Boston, Thin Lizzy. The Hall needs to get on the ball. Judas Priest and Motorhead are absolute hard rocking stalwarts with legendary frontmen and long careers.
Who has the most fans in music? ›| Popularity ranking | Artist | |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Rihanna | Track artist |
| 02 | Drake | Track artist |
| 03 | Coldplay | Track artist |
| 04 | Eminem | Track artist |
Stevie Nicks' life and career have always had a touch of magical enchantment. Tonight represents a crowning validation of her spellbinding gifts as a rock & roll icon, as she becomes the first woman to be twice inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – with Fleetwood Mac in 1998, and now as a solo artist.
Who snubbed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›Sadly, artists like Daft Punk, Oasis, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Chaka Khan, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, The Smiths, Joy Division, and Iron Maiden will have to wait another year for possible induction. Those left out, however, aren't exactly in poor company.
Who was the youngest person to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›Did You Know MJ Became The Youngest Living Solo Artist Inducted Into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? - Michael Jackson Official Site.
Who is the youngest person in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›In 1989, when Stevie Wonder was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the age of 38, he became the youngest person ever to be honored.
Who is the most successful vocal group? ›Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal band, with 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
What is the oldest song with voice? ›until 2008 when a group of US researchers from the First Sounds Collective digitally converted the phonautograph recording of Au Clair de la Lune that de Martinville made on April 9, 1860 and it is the earliest recognisable record of the human voice and the earliest recognisable record of music.
Who was the greatest singing group of all time? ›| Rank | Band | Certified Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beatles | 290.4 Million |
| 2 | The Rolling Stones | 102.7 Million |
| 3 | Pink Floyd | 123.8 Million |
| 4 | Led Zeppelin | 142.4 Million |
Why is the Penguin so popular? ›
Penguins are popular around the world for their unusually upright, waddling gait, their cuteness, their swimming ability and (compared with other birds) their lack of fear toward humans.
Who was the Penguin modeled after? ›According to his creator Bob Kane, the character was inspired by the advertising mascot of Kool cigarettes in the 1940s; a penguin with a top hat and cane. Co-creator Bill Finger thought that the image of high-society gentlemen in tuxedos was reminiscent of emperor penguins.
Who played the OG penguin? ›Burgess Meredith, who played the Penguin in the "Batman" television series from 1966, almost made his way into "Batman Returns." The first person to play the Penguin in live-action, Meredith brought the villain to life in a campy, yet faithful fashion.
Why is Club Penguin so famous? ›It was set up in 2005 by developers keen to create a virtual world which was ad-free but also safe for children to use. After becoming the number one game on Miniclip, it was bought by the Walt Disney Company in 2007. For many young people, it was a crucial part of their early internet experiences.
How much was a Club Penguin membership? ›Club Penguin Membership Card, Club Penguin, 1 Month, $7.95.
How much is Club Penguin worth? ›| Sale Date ▲ ▼ | Title ▲ ▼ | ▲ ▼ Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-03-09 | Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force (Nintendo DS, 2008). New. Tested. Working. [eBay] | $9.89 |
| 2021-10-06 | BRAND NEW DISNEY Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force (Nintendo DS) SHIPS FAST [eBay] | $11.69 |
| Puffins | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animated |
| Created by | Danielle Maloni Peter Nalli |
| Voices of | Johnny Depp |
| Original language | English |
Five years ago, he took on two voice roles in “Happy Feet”: the lovelorn penguin Ramon, and the full-of-himself penguin leader and guru Lovelace.
Is penguin Based on a true story? ›Penguin Bloom is the true story of Sam Bloom (Naomi Watts), a young mother whose world is shattered after a near-fatal accident leaves her paralysed from the waist-down. An unlikely ally enters the Blooms' world in the form of an injured baby magpie named Penguin.
Who is the cutest penguin? ›Adélie penguin
For many people, Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) are by far the cutest species, but did you know that these Antarctic predators are one of the region's most fierce hunters. Unfortunately, climate change is affecting their food source and thousands of their chicks starve every year.
What is the Penguin villain real name? ›
Oswald Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin, is a fictional character in the 1992 film Batman Returns, directed by Tim Burton. Portrayed by Danny DeVito, the character is adapted from the comic book supervillain of the same name.
What penguin is mumble? ›Mumble is the only Emperor penguin chick in Antarctica who can't sing. His friend Gloria (voiced by Brittany Murphy) has a glorious voice, but Mumble can never hope to attract a mate without a 'heart song', the personal tune that all Emperor penguins must have.
Who is Ice King's favorite penguin? ›Gunter is the name of the penguin that most commonly accompanies the Ice King, although in "Princess Monster Wife," it is shown that multiple penguins have subtle variants of that name but the Ice King pronounces the other penguins' names differently.
Was Zendaya in Club Penguin? ›Trivia. She is the only special guest to visit Club Penguin twice, as she played Rocky on Shake It Up, who appeared at the Make Your Mark: Ultimate Jam for the first time. In fact, she shares the same color with Rocky.
Does Disney own Club Penguin? ›On August 1, 2007, it was announced that Disney's subsidiary Disney Interactive Studios acquired Club Penguin.
Why does the penguins logo have a triangle? ›The logo, although not on the sweater, featured a hockey-playing penguin in a scarf over an inverted triangle, symbolizing the golden triangle of downtown Pittsburgh.
Does Lebron James own the penguins? ›James is the majority owner of Fenway Sports Group, which also owns several sports teams, including the Boston Red Socks, the Pittsburgh Penguin, and Liverpool Football Club.
Does Lemieux still own the penguins? ›Lemieux was a Penguins majority owner before his group sold ownership of the team to Fenway Sports Group in December of 2021. He has maintained a minority ownership. "He is, of course, not only welcome, but wanted back whenever he wants," Beeston said.
Why did Casey DeSmith leave the Penguins? ›Instead, the team announced that Casey DeSmith is out for the playoffs after undergoing core muscle surgery.
When was Club Penguin gone? ›Club Penguin was a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) created by Lane Merrifield, Dave Krysko, and Lance Priebe in 2005. From a peak of 200 million accounts in 2013, the game was shut down four years later.
What happened to penguin Pete? ›
He died of pneumonia on November 23, 1968. It is believed that his death was due to the ice crew at the Civic Arena keeping his nesting area too warm. After his death, Pete was sent to an area taxidermist. He was later displayed in the lobby of the Penguins team offices at the arena.
What happened to penguins in 2004? ›In 2004, avian diphtheria disease killed about 50 per cent of chicks born throughout the country, except at Katiki Point, near Palmerston, where an intensive antibiotic-treatment programme resulted in only two deaths in 33 chicks. The disease was detected again last year, but in much smaller numbers.
Why did Fleury leave the Penguins? ›Just not every day, but we'll keep in touch." Fleury, 32, said his desire to play has been a big reason behind his potential departure from Pittsburgh. "I love to play. I love the game," he said.
Why did Jim Rutherford really leave the Penguins? ›“I got away from the game and got away from the pressure,” Rutherford said of his time before accepting the Canucks job. “We spent time in Pittsburgh, then we ended up moving back to Carolina. Just got rejuvenated because we got back to normal as a family. We got out.
What just happened to Casey DeSmith? ›Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith undergoes core muscle surgery. Casey DeSmith has undergone bilateral core muscle surgery today. The procedure comes with a recovery period of six to eight weeks. Which players have scored the most points in NHL postseason history?
Who is the new owner of the penguin? ›What about hockey? The Fenway Sports Group bought the Penguins from Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle in November 2021 and were ratified soon after. Lemieux and Burkle retained some ownership.
Is Pierre the penguin still alive? ›He died on May 6, 2016.
Is penguin married? ›Penguin married a ...
In the comics, he eventually finds his significant other in the form of his wife, Penny, letting her stand under his umbrella.
According to our best available data, ET is the oldest currently living African penguin in the world and the oldest African penguin to have ever lived. In the wild, their average lifespan is around 15-20 years, but they can live much longer in zoological parks.
Did penguins tank to get Lemieux? ›A controversy surrounding the end of the 1983-84 season was the apparent throwing of games by the Pittsburgh Penguins in order to secure Mario Lemieux as a draft pick. Angotti admitted the team deliberately tanked the season, though Johnston denied the claims.