The Penguins had formed the year prior and recorded the song as a demo in a garage in South Central Los Angeles.

Although the song was going to be overdubbed with additional instrumentation, the original demo version became an unexpected hit, quickly outstripping its A-side.

"Earth Angel" became the first independent label release to appear on Billboard's national pop charts, where it peaked within the top 10.

A cover version by white vocal group the Crew-Cuts peaked higher on the pop charts, reaching number three.

[3] The Penguins—composed of lead vocalist Cleveland Duncan, bass Curtis Williams, tenor Dexter Tisby, and baritone Bruce Tate—formed at Fremont High School in Los Angeles, California in 1953.

[1] Williams and Gaynel Hodge were previously members of The Hollywood Flames, where they began writing "Earth Angel" with mentor Jesse Belvin, a Jefferson High graduate.

[5] The song also contains elements of the Flames' 1953 recording of "I Know" in its piano introduction and chord progressions, which were closely based on the Rodgers & Hart standard "Blue Moon".

[4][5][6] Williams reportedly wrote the song for his wife, Marlene, and Duncan rewrote the melody, as he disliked the original.

[2][7] As a result, Williams abandoned an idea to overdub additional instrumentation and began immediate manufacturing of the 7" single to issue it as soon as possible.

[2] Still convinced "Hey Señorita" would be the hit, it was pressed to the A-side;[7] disc jockeys soon began flipping the record in favor of "Earth Angel".

[10] It climbed to number one for the city by November 13, after which it began to grow in popularity in New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Nashville.

[20] When the Penguins switched to Mercury Records, the label reissued "Earth Angel" in September 1956 with string accompaniment.

[21] Indeed, Billboard confirmed the single's enduring popularity in 1960: "The original version of 'Earth Angel,' for example, is still known to be a heavy traffic item in many areas.

[23] The same year, it was reported that thousands of bogus copies of "Earth Angel" were attempted to be sold by an unidentified counterfeiter.

[7] Jesse Belvin and supposed co-writer Johnny Green sued the group the same week for not receiving credit for writing the song;[7] all early versions of "Earth Angel" (including the covers by the Crew Cuts and others) showed Curtis Williams as the sole author.

Dootsie Williams sued and was awarded the rights to the song in 1957 by the Los Angeles Superior Court "on the ground that Belvin and Hodge had written most of it.

"[2] BMI officially lists the writers of "Earth Angel" as Jesse Belvin, Gaynel Hodge and Curtis Williams.

[6] It was featured prominently in the film Back to the Future (performed by Harry Waters Jr. as Marvin Berry & the Starlighters) as well as Superman III and The Karate Kid Part II.

[25] An appraisal in the book Singles dubs the song "a simple but elegant recording now judged by many to be one of the finest examples of what would become doo-wop".

[1] Steve Sullivan, author of the Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, writes that the track "possesses virtually all of the qualities cherished by doo-wop lovers: melodic beauty, a shimmering earnest lead vocal, stripped-to-the-bone simplicity, and a pristine romantic innocence.

"[25] Steve Propes, an author and music historian, remarked that "It was the first of the ultra-romantic ballads that hit the nerve of teens at the time ...

The artless, unaffected vocals of the Penguins, four black high schoolers from L.A., defined the street-corner elegance of doo-wop.

"[32] A 1997 listener poll by New York radio station WCBS placed "Earth Angel" just behind the Five Satins' "In the Still of the Night" in a list of most enduring doo-wop songs.