THE PENGUINS - EARTH ANGEL

[KnightD12]

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). One of the members smoked Kool cigarettes, which,

at the time, had "Willie the Penguin" as its cartoon advertising character. They considered

themselves "cool," and accordingly decided to call themselves "The Penguins."

Dootone Records released The Penguins' single "Hey Senorita" in late 1954 as the intended A-

side, but a radio DJ flipped the record over to the B-side: "Earth Angel" worked its way up

to #1 on the Billboard charts (the only Penquins song ever to fly that high), and held that

place for three weeks early in 1955.

Coming off the success of "Earth Angel," the Penguins approached Buck Ram to manage them.

Ram's primary interest was in 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

pre-condition 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.

For three decades, "Earth Angel" was almost always the #2 song on New York City 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.)

[Edie Antoinette]

*clapping*

[Shelley "SoleMann" King]

ROFLMBO

[Edie Antoinette]

ROFLMBO...you know you are too much!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Edie Antoinette]

How come your activity won't show on the side of the pages???

[KnightD12]

Come to think of it, I don`t think The Five Satins had any other hits besides "In The Still Of The Night" either. Not that I can recall anyway.

[KnightD12]

A penguin that smokes?? I had almost forgotten that Kool`s used a penguin as its salesperson. LOL