Donald "Buster" Woods originally recorded as a with a group called the Medallions, from Los Angeles, California. The Medallion's group leader was Vernon Greene, but when Woods split from Green he took three of the Medallions with him to form Donald Woods & the Vel-Aires, who were known as the Bel-Aires when they weren't backing Woods.

In 1954, Flip Records, a small, Hollywood based label, that specialized in Doo-Wop, recorded two Singles by Donald Wood & the Vel-Aires, "This is Paradise," backed with "Let's Party Awhile," (Flip #303) and "White Port & Lemon Juice," backed with "This Is Goodbye," (Flip #304).

1955's "Death of an Angel," backed with "Man from Utopia," (Flip #306) made quite an impression on the listening public, but not in a good way. Largely because "Death of an Angel" was considered too maudlin and tasteless, it was banned from the airwaves.