Singers Cleveland Duncan, Curtis Williams, Dexter Tisby, and Bruce Tate, all students at Fremont High in Los Angeles, CA, formed the quartet in 1954. They broke up in 1959. Cleve Duncan sang lead on "Earth Angel."
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 Penguins' single "Hey Senorita" was released on Doo-Tone Records in 1955 as the intended A-side, but a radio DJ flipped the record over to the B-side, "Earth Angel", which became far more popular. Their midtempo performance was a cross between rhythm and blues and the new rock and roll played by white performers and enjoyed by teenagers.
Coming off the success of "Earth Angel," The Penguins approached Buck Ram to manage them. Ram's primary interest was managing The Platters, who at that point had no hit singles but were a profitable touring group. 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 precondition for getting The Penguins (the group that Mercury really wanted). 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.
The Penguins never had another national hit, but their 1957 cover of "Pledge of Love" reached #15 on the R&B chart.
For three decades, "Earth Angel" was almost always the #2 song on oldies station WCBS-FM's annual Top 500 countdown. (Another doo-wop favorite, The Five Satins' "In the Still of the Night" was the perennial #1 pick.)
The Penguins were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2004, "Earth Angel" was named #151 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Songs Of All Time. "Earth Angel" was also one of The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock & Roll.
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Earth Angel
The Penguins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Earth angel, earth angel
Will you be mine?
My darling dear
Love you all the time
I'm just a fool
A fool in love with you
Earth angel, earth angel
The one I adore
Love you forever and ever more
I'm just a fool
A fool in love with you
I fell for you and I knew
The vision of your love-loveliness
I hoped and I pray that someday
I'll be the vision of your hap-happiness oh, oh, oh, oh!
Earth angel, earth angel
Please be mine
My darling dear
Love you all the time
I'm just a fool
A fool in love with you-ou-ou
I fell for you and I knew
The vision of your loveliness
I hope and pray that someday
That I'll be the vision of your happiness
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh , oh, oh, oh
Earth angel, earth angel
Please be mine
My darling dear
Love you all the time
I'm just a fool
A fool in love with you-ou (you, you, you)
The song "Earth Angel" by The Penguins is a classic doo-wop love song that describes a man's devotion to the woman he loves and his hope for a reciprocated love. The opening lines of "Oh, oh, oh, oh, wah-ah-ah, oh, oh, oh, oh" serve as an introduction to the melodic doo-wop harmonies that are prominent in the song. The singer asks the woman, who he calls his Earth Angel, to be his and promises to love her always. He acknowledges that his actions may seem foolish, but he cannot help but be in love with her.
The second verse speaks to the depth of the singer's love as he describes the woman as the one he adores and will love forever. He acknowledges that he is a fool in love with her, but that feeling is not going away. The third verse speaks to the moment he first fell in love with her, the vision of her loveliness that captured his heart. The singer then expresses his hope and prayers that someday he will bring her happiness and be the "vision of her happiness."
Overall, "Earth Angel" is a timeless ballad that captures the essence of young love and the desire to be with someone forever. Through its doo-wop harmonies and sweet lyrics, it has become a classic love song that continues to resonate with listeners to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, oh, oh, oh, wah-ah-ah, oh, oh, oh, oh
The singer is expressing his emotions with sounds instead of words.
Earth angel, earth angel
The singer is addressing someone he is in love with and considering an angel.
Will you be mine?
The singer is asking if the person he is in love with will be his partner.
My darling dear
The singer is expressing endearment towards the person he is in love with.
Love you all the time
The singer promises to love the person he is in love with all the time.
I'm just a fool
The singer admits to being foolish for being in love.
A fool in love with you
The singer is specifying that he is a fool for being in love with the person he is addressing.
The one I adore
The singer is expressing deep admiration towards the person he is in love with.
Love you forever and ever more
The singer promises to love the person he is in love with forever.
I fell for you and I knew
The singer fell in love with the person he is addressing and knew it immediately.
The vision of your love-loveliness
The singer is referring to the attractive qualities of the person he is in love with.
I hoped and I pray that someday
The singer is expressing his hopes and wishes of having a future with the person he is in love with.
I'll be the vision of your hap-happiness oh, oh, oh, oh!
The singer wishes to make the person he is in love with happy so much that they see him as the source of their happiness.
Please be mine
The singer is making a plea for the person he is in love with to be his partner.
Love you all the time
The singer promises to love the person he is in love with all the time.
I'm just a fool
The singer admits to being foolish for being in love.
A fool in love with you-ou-ou
The singer is specifying that he is a fool for being in love with the person he is addressing.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jesse Lorenzo Belvin, Gaynel Hodge, Curtis Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind