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Ben Harper
These Van Dykes -- who had a very strong uptown New York doo wop sound -- were one of many who shared the name and though there were various doo wop and R&B groups calling themselves the Van Dykes, it's unlikely that any of them had any connection between them. Their biggest hit, 1959's "Gift of Love," first came out on the New York City-based Spring label. It was later reissued by the West Coast-based Donna Records, a subsidiary of Del-Fi. This was sort of an answer to the ultra-popular "Sixteen Candles" by the Crests from the previous year and featured these lyrics: "she's sixteen today, what should I do? My pockets are empty, I feel so blue." So what does the young man do? He gives the "gift of love." Co-writer Vinnie Catalano also composed material issued on both the Whale and Blast record labels. ~ Bryan Thomas, All Music Guide
