The Penguins' roots can be traced back to early 1950s Los Angeles. Of course, most large cities with substantial black populations were hotbeds of R&B group singing, and L.A. was no exception.
One evening, in late 1953, friends Cleveland Duncan (tenor) and Curtis Williams (baritone/bass) bumped into each other at one of Los Angeles' many talent shows (this one at the California Club). They had gone to grammar school together, but hadn't seen each other in some years. At the time, Curtis was a member of the Hollywood Flames, a Los Angeles group that had seemingly been around forever (he was on the Flames' Aladdin, Lucky, and Swing Time releases). Curtis had a song, "Earth Angel", which he was working on with Gaynel Hodge (another member of the Flames), and asked Cleve to help him with the arrangement. When I interviewed Bobby Day, bass lead of the Hollywood Flames (under his real name of Bobby Byrd), he remembered Curtis working on "Earth Angel".
Cleve and Curtis decided that Los Angeles could use yet another vocal group, and each of them brought in a friend: Cleve got tenor Dexter Tisby (whom he knew from Fremont High), and Curtis got baritone Bruce Tate (both of them attended Jefferson High). Then came the hard part: coming up with a name! One of the members smoked Kool cigarettes, which, at the time, had "Willie the Penguin" as its cartoon advertising character. Therefore, because they considered themselves "cool", they decided on "the Penguins".
In the Spring of 1954, they recorded two demos: "No There Ain't No News Today" (with Cleve in the lead) and "I Ain't Gonna Cry" (fronted by Dexter) for Walter "Dootsie" Williams, owner of Dootone records. Dootsie had also been a bandleader, fronting the house band for the Harlem Club
in Los Angeles. Cleve had a relative named Ted Brinson, a former bass player for the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. Brinson had built a recording studio in his garage (with a single-track Ampex tape recorder), and this was used by Dootsie for his sessions. Naturally Brinson had suggested to Cleve that they audition for Dootsie. Aside from liking the Penguins' sound, Dootsie liked the fact that members of the group could write their own songs; that way he could publish them and make even more money off the group.
In May of 1954, the first Penguins release was issued: "No There Ain't No News Today". (Strangely, the Penguins were put on only one side of the record, which had as its flip "When I Am Gone", by Dootsie Williams & his Orchestra, vocal by Willie Headen). It took the trade papers until August to review the record. The other demo, "I Ain't Gonna Cry" was later released on an album (DTL224 "The Best Vocal Groups In Rock & Roll"); this was the only Penguins song on it. Actually, Cleve was unhappy that Dootsie released either of these songs, which were just thrown together with no intent of having them released in that form.
They then did a session to record the street song "Hey Senorita" (led by Curtis) and the classic "Earth Angel" (with Cleve in the lead, Dexter on second bridge, and Curtis doing the piano intro). When the record was released, in September of 1954, it was "Hey Senorita" that was given all the airplay initially, and it started doing well. However, sometime in October, DJs started flipping it over, and "Earth Angel" started (slowly) climbing the charts. (Cleve gives credit to Charles Trammel, of KFOX, whose show was broadcast from L.A.'s 5-4 Ballroom.) Note that Dootsie Williams assigned master numbers at pressing time, and session information isn't known.Meanwhile, with "Earth Angel" only making some mild noise, they did another session, recording four additional tunes: "Love Will Make Your Mind Go Wild" (Cleve and Dexter), "Ookey Ook" (Curtis), "Baby Let's Make Some Love" (Dexter), and "Kiss A Fool Goodbye" (Curtis).
On October 2, they appeared at Johnny Otis' annual "Hep Cat Ball" at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium. Also on the bill were the barely-known
Platters, Richard Berry & the Dreamers, the Medallions, Marvin & Johnny, and the Chuck Higgins orchestra."Earth Angel" was reviewed in the trades the week of October 16, along with Charlie & Ray's "I Love You Madly", Richard Berry's "The Big Break", the Jewels' "A Fool In Paradise", Lee Andrews & Hearts' "The Bells Of St. Mary's", the Bees' "Toy Bell" and the 5 Keys' "Ling Ting Tong".
On October 29, they appeared in a package show with Roy Milton, Shirley Gunter & the Queens, Mickey Champion, and the Flairs. This tour started in Santa Barbara and played San Pedro, El Paso, Tuscon and Phoenix.
By mid-November, "Earth Angel" was taking off on the West Coast, New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Nashville. Sid Talmadge, of Record Merchandising, was one who actively pushed the record (he was subsequently given a lot of credit for making the song a hit).And then the Penguins' troubles began. Bruce Tate was into religion, and had a hard time reconciling everything that was going on. Dexter said that the Penguins had a green 1955 Pontiac station wagon, and instead of taking theirs, Bruce, for some reason, stole a different, but similar, auto. He was driving it on Central Avenue, on the night before Thanksgiving, when he hit and killed a woman pedestrian. He was arrested for manslaughter, but somehow continued to perform with the Penguins while awaiting trial.
Two nights later, (November 27), they headlined a show at Glendale's Civic Auditorium. Also on the bill were the Cheers, Earl Curry & the Blenders, and the Chuck Higgins orchestra.
As soon as "Earth Angel" started heading up the charts, the cover versions were released (by the Crew Cuts on Mercury, Les Baxter &
the Bombers on Capitol, Pat O'Day on MGM, Gloria Mann on Sound, and the Blue Jays [the Squires] on the "el cheapo" Dig This Record label). As was the case in those days, the white cover version outsold the original. However, the Penguins made a very respectable showing: whereas the Crew Cuts made it to #3 on the Pop charts, the Penguins weren't far behind, at #8 (the Crew Cuts' version hit the charts about a month after the Penguins'). More important, the Penguins reached #1 on the Rhythm And Blues charts, and today the Crew Cuts' version is looked upon as nothing more than a cute curiosity. (The Penguins entered the R&B charts on 12/8/54, and remained on them for 17 weeks -- until mid-march of 1955.) Dootsie Williams would call "Earth Angel" his only "natural" hit (a
record that, without promotion, and with just a little airplay, snowballs into a hit almost by itself).On December 20, they played L.A.'s Embassy Auditorium along with the ubiquitous Chuck Higgins. On New Year's Day 1955, they opened at Washington, D.C.'s Howard Theater. Finally, in January, "Earth Angel" started charting in the South.
As with most groups, the Penguins felt they weren't getting their fair share of royalties. They saw "Earth Angel" becoming a big local R&B hit, and it seemed likely to climb the national charts as well. Still, they couldn't get any advances from Dootone. By the time it hit #5 on the R&B charts, they were constantly asking for advances and being turned down. They grumbled, and when approached by Buck Ram, manager of another local L.A. group, the Platters, they acted impetuously and went off with him. (Since Curtis was the songwriter, Ram approached him first; later he spoke to the others.)
Since the Penguins had a chart hit (still climbing), it wasn't hard for Ram to do some wheeling and dealing. He went to Mercury Records (home of the Crew Cuts), which expressed immediate interest in the Penguins. However, Ram had his own ideas, and talked Mercury's Bob Shad into also signing the Platters, a relatively unknown group with some average-sounding R&B records to their credit. Mercury reluctantly assented, and the Penguins wound up with a Mercury contract. This all took place in a very short time frame: "Earth Angel" hit both the national R&B and Pop charts in December 1954; their first Mercury session was held on February 1, 1955. The contracts were held up until April, pending court approval, because three of the Penguins were still underage.
Dootsie warned the Penguins that by breaking their contract with him, they would lose all royalties for the Dootone release of "Earth Angel." Their answer was "To hell with your royalties; we're gonna make it big." Although they lost out, who knows how much they lost? They might have gotten nothing much out of it anyway.
The first casualty of the Penguins' switch to Mercury was "Ookey Ook." Released in November (with "Love Will Make Your Mind Go Wild" as the flip) while the Penguins were on the road, it was subsequently squashed by Dootone. (But not before Dootsie tried to salvage as much as possible from it. It had been envisioned as a new "dance craze," with the Penguins doing some kind of penguin waddle step. In February, Dootsie held an Ookey Ook dance contest at L.A.'s Savoy Ballroom. Present were the Johnny Otis Orchestra, the Medallions, the Meadowlarks, Marie Adams and Junior Ryder. Not present were the Penguins.)
On the Penguins' first Mercury session (2/1/55) they re-recorded four of their Dootone releases: "Earth Angel," "Ookey Ook," "Love Will Make Your Mind Go Wild," and "Hey Senorita." Almost note-for-note copies of the Dootone versions, they were never released by Mercury, due to the ongoing lawsuits. The very next night the Penguins appeared on the Perry Como TV show.
Ram's machinations paid off, although the Penguins got hurt. On Mercury, the Platters clicked with their first release, "Only You," and the Penguins were left behind in the dust. Both Ram and Mercury concentrated on the Platters, and even though the Penguins were doing some of their best work, there was no direction for them. Worse, under Ram's tutelage, they lost control over the production of their songs. The consolations were two: Buchanan and Goodman's 1956 "Flying Saucer" revived interest in "Earth Angel" (which the Penguins re-cut a second time for Mercury), and, at least Mercury gave them advances.
It's entirely possible that Ram knew all along that the Platters were the ones he'd push and that the Penguins would have to fend for themselves. He wrote many songs for the Platters, but only two ("Dealer Of Dreams" and "A Christmas Prayer") for the Penguins. On top of that, the Penguins resisted, probably unwisely, the discipline that Ram imposed on the Platters. As Cleve told it, "we were young and didn't really want to spend that much time practicing." Also, Ram tried to "improve" their sound, by making them a Pop group. However, Cleve didn't have a feel for it; it just wasn't natural for him.On March 10, 1955, they had their second session for Mercury, recording "Don't Do It" (Dexter), "It Only Happens With You" (Cleve), "Walkin' Down Broadway" (Bruce), and "Be Mine Or Be A Fool" (Cleve and Dexter).
The first Mercury record was "Be Mine Or Be A Fool"/"Don't Do It", issued in April. The tunes were reviewed the week of April 30, along with the Aladdins' "Remember", the Inspirators' "If Loving You Is Wrong", the Marigolds' "Rollin' Stone", the Dominoes' "Love Me Now Or Let Me Go", and the Feathers' "Why Don't You Write Me".
In April, Dootsie released their last Dootone record: "Kiss A Fool Goodbye"/"Baby Let's Make Some Love". It was reviewed the week of May 14th, along with the 5 Keys' "The Verdict", the Jacks' "Why Don't You Write Me", Big Boy Groves' "I Gotta New Car", the Cashmeres' "Don't Let It Happen Again", and the 5 Dukes' "I Cross My Fingers".
On the strength of "Earth Angel," Buck Ram got them on Alan Freed's Easter Show at the Brooklyn Paramount, which ran for a week, beginning on April 12. While driving to New York, they passed through Hatch, New Mexico. It was here that Bruce Tate cracked completely and couldn't continue on; Dexter says that he simply couldn't handle the pressure of having a hit record. The guys phoned Ram, who searched around for a replacement and came up with bass Randy Jones, who had been with the Meadowlarks. Jones was sent to meet them in New York. Since Curtis was really a baritone, he was happy to let Randy handle the bass chores.
Also on the bill at the Freed show were the Clovers, the Moonglows, Lavern Baker, Danny Overbea, and the 3 Chuckles. This show broke a house record that had been set by Russ Colombo in 1932.
Then the legal battles began. On May 6, Dootsie sued Mercury and Buck Ram for $750,000 in damages (or $1,000,000; sources disagree), charging that they induced the Penguins to break their Dootone contract. In the same week, Jesse Belvin and Carl Green (a singer/pianist and the first "Johnny" in Marvin & Johnny) sued Dootsie, claiming authorship of "Earth Angel" and a share of royalties. Curtis Williams had previously sought an injunction against Dootsie, claiming authorship. It would take two years to work all this out. In spite of this, Dootone issued an EP in May containing "Earth Angel," "I Ain’t Gonna Cry No More" (one of their original 1954 demos), "Love Will Make Your Mind Go Wild," and "Baby Let’s Make Some Love,"Buck Ram wanted to take the Penguins completely away from Dootsie, including the publishing rights to "Earth Angel"; the ensuing lawsuit was really only about the rights to the song. Dootsie Williams went to court to claim that "Earth Angel" was actually the creation of Los Angeles superstar Jesse Belvin. Belvin, who turned out songs faster than most people could sing them, seems to have been the originator of the tune (along with Curtis Williams and Gaynel Hodge). The whole arrangement bears a passing resemblance to Jesse's composition, "Dream Girl".
The Hollywood Flames (with Curtis and Gaynel) seem to have practiced the song for a while, but never got around to recording it. When Curtis left them to go to the Penguins, he took the song with him. (There was no hint of "stealing" in an atmosphere like that; singers helped each other and freely exchanged material. Cleve actually made some changes to it also, so it would fit his style and range.) This time was a bit different, though. Jesse had just been discharged from the Army; he was married and broke and the Penguins had a hit with "his" song. However, since he had never said a word about it before the lawsuits began, it's probable that Dootsie talked him into it (a lawsuit was completely out of character for Belvin). Cleve was never called to testify, and Curtis had to go once or twice. The only clear winner seemed to be Dootsie Williams. When the dust had settled, Belvin was declared the writer, and promptly signed his rights over to Dootsie Williams, whose name now appears as author of the song.
On May 14th, they appeared with Alan Freed at a "Command Performance Concert" at Detroit's Olympia Arena. This was a benefit show to fight juvenile delinquency. Also on the bill were the Charms, Dinah Washington, and Ella Fitzgerald.
In May, Dootsie received a gold record for "Earth Angel". So did Sid Talmadge of Record Merchandising, for breaking the tune. The Penguins weren't even invited! That same month Dootsie issued the Penguins' first EP.
"It Only Happens With You"/"Walkin' Down Broadway" was the next Mercury pairing, released in June. On July 7, the Penguins and Percy Mayfield appeared at L.A.'s 5-4 Ballroom.
In early August they did a short tour of the Northwest with Big Boy Groves. They got back in time to record four more sides for Mercury on August 26th: "My Troubles Are Not At An End" (Curtis), "Devil That I See" (Dexter and Cleve), "Promises, Promises, Promises" (Dexter), and "She's Gone, Gone" (Curtis). "Devil" and "Promises" were issued a few days later and were reviewed the week of September 24th along with the Dreamers' "Tears In My Eyes", the Striders' "Hesitating Fool", the Counts' "I Need You Tonight", the Sparks Of Rhythm's "Don't Love You Anymore" (with Jimmy Jones on lead), the Calvanes' "Don't Take Your Love From Me", and the Keynotes' "Suddenly".
On November 11, 1955,the Penguins played the Moulin Rouge in Las Vegas. They rushed back to Los Angeles the next day to record two Christmas songs: "A Christmas Prayer" (Cleve) and "Jingle Jangle" (Curtis), which were released that same month.
Later in November, they did a Hunter Hancock show at L.A.'s Paramount Theater along with Dinah Washington, Big Jay McNeely, the Colts, the Platters, and Joe Houston. Of course, while they were in town, they managed to appear on Hunter's "Rhythm and Bluesville" TV show.
On Tuesday, December 13, the Penguins were on hand for the gala re-opening of Small's Paradise niteclub in Harlem, which had recently been purchased by Tommy "Dr. Jive" Smalls. (He was no relation to Edwin Small, who had originally owned it.) On hand for the festivities were Joe Davis (of Jay-Dee Records), Jerry Blaine (of Jubilee and Josie), Al Silver (of Herald and Ember), Hy & Sam Weiss (of Old Town), Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson (of Atlantic and Atco), George Goldner (of Gee and Rama), Henry Glover (of King and Federal), and Hy Siegel (of Apollo). Other entertainers who just "happened" to drop by were Dean Barlow, the 4 Fellows, Buddy and Ella Johnson, the Prestos, the Solitaires, and Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson. Willie Mays and Roy Campanella were also present.
From there the Penguins went straight into the Apollo for a week.
In January 1956, Mercury released "My Troubles Are Not At An End" and "She's Gone Gone". It was reviewed the week of February 11, along with Ray Charles' "Drown In My Own Tears", the Colts' "Sweet Sixteen", the Sounds' "Sweet Sixteen", and the Wrens' "C'est La Vie".
In late February, Mercury announced that from now on, all R&B talent would be shifted to their Wing subsidiary, whose A&R man would be the same Bob Shad who signed the Penguins to Mercury.
March 30th found them back in the studio to record "Dealer Of Dreams" (Cleve), "Ice" (Dexter), "Peace Of Mind" (Dexter), and "Cool Baby Cool" (Randy and Dexter). "Dealer" and "Peace" were released, in April, on Wing (strangely, with Mercury's R&B policy, this would be the only Penguins record on Wing).
On April 2, they began an Associated Booking package show: "Rock-A-Rama", along with the Chuckles, Eddie Fontaine, Shirley Gunter, and the Blockbusters. The tour played all over New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts
Their last Mercury session took place sometime in June. It produced "Will You Be Mine" (Cleve), a re-make of "Earth Angel" (Cleve), and "The Sound Of Your Voice" (Curtis), a modern harmony number, which is so different from all other Penguins' tunes, that it's difficult to believe it's by the same group. Dexter says that they got the idea from the 3 Chuckles, with whom they appeared on some shows.
In the summer of 1956, Dexter Tisby and Randy Jones briefly left, to be replaced by Teddy Harper (formerly of the Aladdins) and Ray Brewster respectively. Within a couple of months, however, both Dexter and Randy had returned.
From July 30 to August 5, the Penguins headlined the Casino Royal, in Washington, D.C. And then, Buchanan and Goodman's "Flying Saucer" break-in novelty record (which had been released in July) hit the charts in August. Since "Earth Angel" was obliquely mentioned ("That was the Pelicans' outer space recording, 'Earth'"), it sparked new interest in the former hit. Dootsie was pressing and shipping the original as fast as he could, and, coincidentally, Mercury serendipitously had a brand-new recording of the tune: "Earth Angel"/"Ice" was released in August. It was reviewed the week of September 1, along with Lavern Baker's "I Can't Love You Enough", the Vocaltones' "My Version Of Love", the Pyramids' "Okay Baby", and the Keynotes' "Now I Know".
On August 28th, the Penguins joined Alan Freed for his Second Annual Labor Day Show at the Brooklyn Paramount. With them were Fats Domino, the Teenagers, the Cleftones, the Harptones, Cirino & Bow Ties, the Shepherd Sisters, the Moonglows, and Mabel King.
Following this, Buck Ram put together a show of his artists to do a Buffalo, NY telethon for Muscular Dystrophy. Hosted by Frank Ward of WWOL, the show also had Shirley Gunter, the Flairs, Young Jessie, Dolly Cooper, and Joe Houston's Orchestra.
Buck Ram put together another week-long show, starting December 4. The "Happy Music Show" played the Paramount in downtown Los Angeles. With the Penguins were the Platters, Teen Queens, Nora Hayes, Gerald Wilson & his Ork., the Blockbusters, and Patti Ann Mesner.
The Penguins' last Mercury record, "Will You Be Mine"/"Cool Baby Cool", was released in January 1957. There is no doubt that some of the Penguins' best work was done for Mercury, such as: "Be Mine Or Be A Fool", "Devil That I See", and "My Troubles Are Not At An End". (Both "Devil" and "Troubles" sold well, but certainly were not in the big hit category.) Their contract stipulated that Mercury would release eight records a year; since this wasn't happening, Buck Ram claimed that Mercury had breached the contract and pulled the Penguins out.
In March, 1957, Atlantic Records announced that it had signed the Penguins. This was actually done on a trial basis, and it's probable that the songs were recorded independently by Ram (in Los Angeles), and then leased or sold to Atlantic. There were four masters: "Pledge Of Love" (Cleve), "I Knew I'd Fall In Love" (Dexter), "I'm Guilty Of Love" and "Dimpled Doll". Atlantic released "Pledge Of Love"/"I Knew I'd Fall In Love" that month. The week of April 13 it was reviewed, along with the Midnighters' "In The Doorway Crying", the Cellos' "Rang Tang Ding Dong", the Schoolboys' "Mary", and the Tempo-Tones' "Get Yourself Another Fool".Although "Pledge" reached #15 on the R&B charts, the deal didn't work out for some reason. The Penguins and Ram parted company, the Penguins and Atlantic parted company, and the guys were broke.
In mid-May, the "Earth Angel" lawsuits were finally settled, with Dootsie the winner. The decision was that Jesse Belvin was the full and exclusive author and that publication rights belonged to Dootsie Williams. Dootsie re-released "Earth Angel" in July, probably to celebrate his victory. It became a hit in again in several areas, most notable San Francisco/Oakland, where (according to an ad) it was selected in KOBY's "Program Potency Test", and became the best-selling record in the Bay area.
In early October, the Penguins made another stab at recording for Dootsie (whose Dootone Label was in the process of being re-named "Dooto"). They felt that they were older and wiser than before, and could now get a better deal for themselves.
Sometime in October there was an Art Laboe show in Long Beach. The Penguins shared the stage with Joe Houston, Big Jay McNeely, Marvin & Johnny, Don & Dewey, Johnny Flamingo, and that newcomer, Sam Cooke.
Curtis Williams stayed for one more session, which produced "That's How Much I Need You" (Cleve) and "Be My Lovin' Baby" (Dexter). By December 1957, when those tunes were released, he had left to re-join the Hollywood Flames (he also left the state to avoid being jailed for non-support). As a replacement, Teddy Harper, who had been with them briefly in mid-1956, was once again recruited. This group (Cleve Duncan, Dexter Tisby, Teddy Harper, and Randy Jones) recorded all the remaining Dooto sides.
Dooto released "That's How Much I Need You"/"Be My Lovin' Baby" in December. It was reviewed the last week of the month, along with the Kuf-Linx's "So Tough" and the Rajahs' "Shifting Sands".
Around the time that they returned to Dooto, Cleve had had his tonsils removed. Dootsie claimed that it affected his voice, but that's certainly a debatable point. The only certain thing is that they weren't having any hits.
There were more sessions, but it becomes impossible to chronicle what was recorded when. "Let Me Make Up Your Mind" (Cleve)/ "Sweet Love"
(Teddy) was released in January of 1958. "Do Not Pretend" (Dexter)/"If You're Mine" (Randy) was released in March, 1958. Once again, the sides failed to chart. Also in March, the Penguins were present at the Club Oasis, for a special presentation to Redd Foxx (who, with his raunchy comedy albums on Dooto, probably outsold all of Dootsie's groups combined). Also present were Sammy Davis, Jr., Lavern Baker, the Fortunes, Slappy White, and the Cuff Linx.
All other known sides were issued on an album (DTL242 "The Cool, Cool Penguins"), issued around March: "Want Me" (Cleve), "Cold Heart" (Teddy), "Money Talks" (Randy), "Lover Or Fool" (Cleve), "Butterball" (a Randy and Dexter duet lead), and "Heart Of A Fool" (Randy). They were also issued on various EPs.
In April, it was announced that they'd be joining the Johnny Otis Show (Marie Adams & 3 Tons of Joy and Mel Williams) on a tour of Europe. Later that month the trip was temporarily postponed while Otis tried to work out an arrangement with the British Musicians Union, so that he could enter the country on an exchange basis. Since there was only silence after that, it's probable that the tour was never made. It's difficult to understand why Johnny Otis would want the Penguins along; he didn't seem to like West Coast groups at all. He's quoted as saying:
