The Del Vikings

Providing a transition from the big band-harmony singers of the 1940s and the street-corner doo-wop groups of the 1950s, the Dell Vikings -- usually known as the Del Vikings -- are best remembered for their single, "Come Go With Me," which became a major hit in 1957. The members of the Dell Vikings -- Norman Wright, Corinthian "Kripp" Johnson, Don Jackson, Clarence Quick, and Dave Larchey -- first sang together informally while stationed at an Air Force base in Pittsburgh. Agreeing to work together as a band, the Dell Vikings recorded a demo tape in the basement of DJ Barry Kaye. Three months later, they recorded six tunes -- "Baby, Let Me Know," "True Love," "When I Come Home," "Don't Be a Fool," "Watching The Moon," and "Come Go With Me" -- in a makeshift recording studio set up at Pittsburgh's Sheraton Hotel. Releasing their debut single, "True Love" b/w "Baby, Let Me Know," on the small, independent Fee-Bee label in late 1956, the Dell Vikings seemed on the threshold of stardom. Encouraged by local radio airplay, Fee-Bee reissued "True Love" in January 1957, with "Come Go With Me" replacing the original B-side. As DJs flipped the single over and began playing "Come Go With Me," the song's popularity continued to grow. Within three weeks, Fee-Bee signed a national distribution deal with Dot. One week after being re-released in February, "Come Go With Me" appeared on the national charts. The rest of 1957 and early-1958 was a whirlwind of activity. Recording a dozen songs in a studio in Ohio in March 1957, the group went on to perform during Alan Freed's Easter-week revue at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, NY. Problems arose shortly afterward when Mercury discovered that when the Dell Vikings had signed with Fee-Bee only one member was over the legal consent age...