“Earth Angel, Earth Angel, will you be mine?”
The question, posed in the 1954 hit by The Penguins, found its answer in 1969 when Walter Saulsberry met Lillie—who said “yes” and never left his side.
The former member of the iconic 1950s vocal group, The Penguins — best known for their timeless hit “Earth Angel,” produced by Dootsie Williams — recently celebrated his and his wife Lillie’s 86th birthdays and their 55th wedding anniversary at a surprise family gathering in South Los Angeles.
The two met in 1969 after being introduced by Lillie’s son.
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“He told Walter, ‘You want to meet my mom? She’s pretty,’” Lillie recalled. “We met, we talked, and we’ve been married ever since.”
Lillie, a graduate of Jefferson High School, worked in aerospace for 25 years.
“I had government clearance. They check everything,” she said. “It was the best job I ever had.”
Walter, meanwhile, spent much of his life on the road with The Penguins, performing the chart-topping ballad that’s since become a part of American music history.
“We were overseas half the time,” he said. “People still sing “Earth Angel.” People recognize it everywhere.”
The Saulsberrys have a blended family of six sons: Vincent Saulsberry, Dwain Saulsberry, Arnold Saulsberry, Brian Saulsberry, Duke Anthony Guy, and Michael Angelo Saulsberry.
Together, Walter and Lillie raised two sons in their South Los Angeles home. One of them, Duke Anthony Guy, passed away as a young man.
“If you ever wanted to meet a sweet person, my son Duke was him,” Lillie said. She remembered him as a kind and gentle soul.
Their younger son, Michael Angelo Saulsberry, followed in his father’s musical footsteps. After graduating from Washington High School, he signed with Capitol Records as a member of the hip-hop vocal quartet Portrait, releasing the hit “Here We Go Again” in 1992.
“We thought he’d be a basketball player,” Lillie said. “But he loved music.”
“It felt really good to see that,” Walter added, pleased that his son followed in his musical footsteps.
Their 55th anniversary celebration brought together relatives from across the country, including longtime family friend Lea Reis, who said Lillie “adopted me as a daughter” after meeting her as a teenager in the 1980s.
Now both 86, the Saulsberrys remain rooted in the same house they have lived in for more than six decades.
When asked about the key to a lasting marriage, Walter proudly stated, “Do the right thing. Treat people how they should be treated. Love. Joy. Happiness.”
