CLEVE DUNCAN R.I.P.

One of the most distinctive voices in 1950s doo wop and vocal group R&B passed away on November 7th. Cleve Duncan was the lead singer of The Penguins and sang lead on “Earth Angel,” one of the most important early roc k n’ roll records, because it crossed over from the R&B charts to the pop charts and established rock n’ roll as a viable form of pop music. Duncan was 77.

I interviewed Cleve back in 2006 and you can listen to it on my interviews below.

Cleve was a kind and soft-spoken kind of guy and rock n’ roll and rhythm & blues wouldn’t have been the same without him. His sweet voice will be missed.