Earth Angel: The Cool Sounds of West Coast Doo Wop 1954-1960

Liner Note Author: Bob Fisher.
The Penguins' one big hit, "Earth Angel," is the archetypal street corner doo wop hit of all time, and while the West Coast group, led by the solid lead vocals of Cleve Duncan, never really seriously broke into the charts again before disbanding in 1959, they left behind a pretty solid legacy in just under six years. This two-disc set tells the whole story, beginning with the Penguins' first singles for Dootsie Williams' Dootone Records imprint, including the original version of "Earth Angel" from 1954, along with other singles from Mercury Records (including a second version of "Earth Angel" from 1956 that adds a probably unnecessary glockenspiel) and Atlantic Records (a lone single, 1957's "Pledge of Love"), and then takes things back to Dootone for three more late singles and the Dootone LP The Cool, Cool Penguins from 1958, the whole of which is also collected here. The end result is a wonderful, multi-label history of this influential west coast doo wop outfit. ~ Steve Leggett