Authorship
The song was originally credited to The Penguins' baritone singer Curtis Williams.
According to one of the most reputable sources, it was started by Jesse Belvin and then evolved through variously titled songs recorded by Hodge and Williams. In turn they were influenced by "Dream Girl," Belvin's #2 R&B hit as one half of Jesse and Marvin, which contained many of the same vocal inflections used in "Earth Angel." The "Will you be mine?" hook was borrowed from the #9 R&B hit of the same name by the Swallows. A very similar song in terms of its piano introduction and chord progression is the song "I Know" recorded in 1953 by The Hollywood Flames, a group in which Hodge and Williams were both members for a time. The chord changes, known as the 50s progression, are also similar to the Rodgers and Hart song, "Blue Moon," which was popular with many doo-wop groups. The coda of Earth Angel, with the repeatedly harmonized word "You-oo... you-oo... you-oo... you-oo," had previously been heard in The Dominoes' #5 R&B cover of "These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)."
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