The Penguins were an American doo-wop group from Los Angeles who recorded one of the foundational records of the genre. "Earth Angel", released in 1954, is a tender, swaying ballad that became one of the first rhythm-and-blues records to cross over to a mass pop audience, a hugely influential hit that helped define the sound of early rock and roll romance.
The group never matched it, tangled in the business troubles common to vocal groups of the era, and "Earth Angel" became their entire legacy.
On streaming, "Earth Angel" sits near 91 million plays, while their next most-streamed track trails at around four million. That sends the ratio above 21, far past our 5.0 line.
By our measure The Penguins are a certified one-hit wonder, with the caveat that their lone hit is a genuine cornerstone of popular music. Their catalogue, on the numbers, rests almost entirely on that one swooning ballad, a record so beloved that it has been covered and featured for generations, standing far ahead of everything else the group recorded. Its appearance in films from American Graffiti to Back to the Future has kept "Earth Angel" alive for audiences who have never heard another doo-wop record.