About The Song

“Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)” is an American Doo Wop song, originally released by The Penguins in 1954 on the Dootone label (Dootone 348), as the B-side to “Hey Señorita”. The song became a major hit for The Crew-Cuts in 1955, reaching the Billboard charts on January 29, 1955. It peaked at #3 on the Disk Jockey chart, #8 on the Best Seller and #8 on the Juke Box chart.

The song was originally recorded as a demo at Ted Brinson’s garage studio in South Los Angeles in October 1954, with producer Dootsie Williams. “Earth Angel” quickly outstripped its A-side in popularity, and reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart for three weeks in early 1955, and number eight on the pop chart. Covered many times since, the love song would prove to be the only Top 40 hit from the group.

The version of “Earth Angel” recorded by The Penguins ranked #151 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2004, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. The Penguins’ rendition is considered by many to be “the granddaddy of rock n’ roll” since it was one of the first records which could be described as rock and roll to hit the national pop charts.

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