As today marks the centenary of Sonny Til, here's the story of how the Orioles came to record It's Too Soon to Know, now widely regarded as the first doo wop record.
Deborah Chessler, who wrote it, was trying to make sense of her feelings after a disastrous early marriage. It's Too Soon to Know wasn't her first song, though earlier pieces had similarly questioning titles and directness in the words, coaxing a more emotionally direct form of singing from Til and the group.
The number which kickstarted the whole doo wop shebang - or shboom? - came about when a supportive male friend who offered to help pay for Chessler's divorce suddenly declared his love. Normally it's parents who counsel caution in these matters but her mother was all for it; it was Deborah who told her mother: "How can he love me? It's too soon to know."