Earth Angel - The Untold Story
as Told By Jesse Belvin Jr.
Jesse Lorenzo Belvin was a prolific song writer and one of the greatest
"Doo Wop and R & B" singers of all times. Mr. Belvin, in his earlier
years, was the type of musician that would write a song on a paper bag,
take it to the record companies, sell them for pennies to help his
mother support herself and her children. He wrote hundreds of songs,
many of which were published and recorded. Jesse wrote the well known
smash DooWop classic Earth Angel to his girl friend, Jo Ann, who would
later become his wife.
Jesse was a kind sharing person. He shared his music with friends in the
neighborhood where he lived. Since he had the only piano in the
neighborhood, he would generously allow his friends to use it. When
Jesse was drafted into the US Army his friends continued to visit his
house and use his piano. Jesse's mom was kind enough to allow them.
"Earth Angel", unknown at the time, was taken from his piano stool and
recorded by "The Penguins". The rest is history. To this day "Earth
Angel" continues to be one of the most requested songs of that era and
still sells greatly on the internet.
Unfortunately, for Jesse, not only was the song stolen, but the credit
and the royalties were stolen with it. Jesse, asked for a leave of
absence from his military duties and began court action to regain the
rights to his song. In 1957, three years after the song was released by
Dootone records, a Los Angeles judge awarded Jesse 100% rights to his
composition. However, the song was not returned to him. Jesse, his wife
JoAnn who was also his buisness manager,and their chauffeur would be
killed in a motor vehicle accident that was suspicious in nature, after
performing at a concert in Little Rock, Arkansas. To this day the facts
of this accident have not been resolved. It was reported that earlier
that night there had been some trouble at the venue when white
supremacists had repeatedly disrupted the show. Police later confirmed
that the tires of Jesse's car had been slashed.
Jesse and Jo Ann, left two sons orphans. They were adopted and raised
by Jesse's mom, their grandmother. They were only paid a mere percentage
of 4 of the 27 songs that Jesse had won the rights to. This while the
record companies would go on to make millions.
It was early in 1993 that Shorty Rogers wife (Shorty Rogers was one of
the musicians/arrangers that played with Mr. Belvin’s band after he
signed with RCA) contacted Jesse Belvin Jr. and told him she had some
very important information for him and needed to see him. When they met
she made sure he understood that his father won the rights back to
"Earth Angel" in a court battle and had been awarded the song in 1957.
The song had never been given back by the time his parents died three
years later. Jesse Belvin Jr. and his brother decided to consult an
important friend of the family, Barry White, and ask him for a legal
referral. They met with attorneys and proceeded to fight to get
royalties from the song recovered. This song had been played over and
over at this time for 30 years and everyone got rich while these young
men lived in poverty.
The Belvin brothers met with the attorney and gave them copies of the
documents they had received and went to work getting what was rightfully
theirs. It was then they found there was a statue of limitations that
limited how far back they could go for restitution for their loss. They
were finally awarded a small amount (considering how much the song
actually made) and later found the attorneys to whom they were referred
had taken advantage of them also. When the dust cleared the royalties
for this song had been split between the music companies, the attorneys,
Gaynel Hodge, and the Belvin brothers. The attorneys that were
representing the Belvin family, realizing the brothers knew nothing
about the music industry, took advantage by taking a huge cut of 40% of
all future royalties made by the song from them in a fraudulent
contract. The Belvin family to this day is still seeking legal action in
an attempt to right this wrong.
All songs are in RealMedia
and play with RealPlayer
Earth Angel - The Untold Story
Jesse Lorenzo Belvin was a prolific song writer and one of the greatest
"Doo Wop and R & B" singers of all times. Mr. Belvin, in his earlier
years, was the type of musician that would write a song on a paper bag,
take it to the record companies, sell them for pennies to help his
mother support herself and her children. He wrote hundreds of songs,
many of which were published and recorded. Jesse wrote the well known
smash DooWop classic Earth Angel to his girl friend, Jo Ann, who would
later become his wife.
Jesse was a kind sharing person. He shared his music with friends in the
neighborhood where he lived. Since he had the only piano in the
neighborhood, he would generously allow his friends to use it. When
Jesse was drafted into the US Army his friends continued to visit his
house and use his piano. Jesse's mom was kind enough to allow them.
"Earth Angel", unknown at the time, was taken from his piano stool and
recorded by "The Penguins". The rest is history. To this day "Earth
Angel" continues to be one of the most requested songs of that era and
still sells greatly on the internet.
It was early in 1993 that Shorty Rogers wife (Shorty Rogers was one of
the musicians/arrangers that played with Mr. Belvin’s band after he
signed with RCA) contacted Jesse Belvin Jr. and told him she had some
very important information for him and needed to see him. When they met
she made sure he understood that his father won the rights back to
"Earth Angel" in a court battle and had been awarded the song in 1957.
The song had never been given back by the time his parents died three
years later. Jesse Belvin Jr. and his brother decided to consult an
important friend of the family, Barry White, and ask him for a legal
referral. They met with attorneys and proceeded to fight to get
royalties from the song recovered. This song had been played over and
over at this time for 30 years and everyone got rich while these young
men lived in poverty.
