The Del-Vikings

The Del-Vikings were formed in 1955 by members of the United States Air Force stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with Clarence Quick, Kripp Johnson, Don Jackson, Samuel Paterson, Bernard Robertson and guitarist Joe Lopes. Because all of the members were in the armed forces, the group constantly ran the risk of being disrupted by members being stationed in other places. This happened soon after the group's forming when Paterson and Robertson were sent to Germany. They were replaced by baritone David Lerchey,[4] the group's first white member, and tenor Norman Wright. Wright had started a group with Lawrence "Prince" Lloyd called The Valverteens from Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas, before joining The Del-Vikings. Shortly after, Don Jackson left the band and was replaced by Gus Backus, the group's second white member.

The band's name was created by Clarence Quick. Some sources say that band members had read about Vikings[5][6] with the prefix "Del" being "added to give the group name an air of mystery."[6] Another suggestion is that Clarence Quick had known of a basketball team in Brooklyn, New York, called the Vikings and had suggested the name.[5] The name may also have originated from the popular Viking Press, publisher of paperbacks that group members liked to read.[6]

Their first hit came in 1957 with "Come Go with Me", released on Fee Bee Records as catalog number FB-205.[7] In late January 1957, Dot Records re-released "Come Go With Me" as Dot 45–15538.[8] The song was written by Clarence Quick.[9][10] The song became a hit, peaking at #5 on the US Billboard Top 100 Pop Charts (a predecessor of the 1958 established Billboard Hot 100 chart.)[11] It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[12] The song was later featured in the films American Graffiti (1973), Diner (1982), Stand by Me (1986), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), and Set It Up (2018).[13] Rolling Stone listed "Come Go With Me" as no. 449 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[3]

The Dell-Vikings also released "Whispering Bells" in May 1957, with Kripp Johnson singing lead vocals.[14] (The Dot label referred to Johnson as "Krips Johnson".[15]) "Whispering Bells" reached No. 5 on the U.S. R&B chart and #9 on the U.S. pop chart in 1957.[16] "Whispering Bells" was featured in the 1986 film Stand by Me[17] and was included in the film's soundtrack.[18] Johnson also sang lead vocals on the B-side "Don't Be A Fool".

All of the group members, other than Kripp Johnson, were under 21 when they signed their recording contract with Fee Bee (a tiny Pittsburgh label, which was later distributed by Dot Records). Having signed the contract as minors, they had the right to be released from it. In 1957, under the direction of their manager, Alan Strauss, they left to record at Mercury Records. Johnson, who was still bound to Fee Bee/Dot, stayed, thus creating two Del-Vikings groups. The original group replaced Johnson with Quick's friend William Blakely and recorded the Backus-led song "Cool Shake". Kripp Johnson constructed a new group with the returning Don Jackson, Chuck Jackson, Arthur Budd, and Ed Everette. This group recorded the Kripp Johnson-led "I'm Spinning", billing themselves as the Dell-Vikings.

Around this time, some old demo tracks had been sold to an up-and-coming record company, Luniverse, who overdubbed a backing track on these a capella songs, which included an early version of "Come Go with Me". The eight-song album subsequently released by Luniverse was titled "Come Go With The Del Vikings". Also one single was released from these Luniverse overdubs—"Somewhere Over The Rainbow"/ "Hey Senorita". Due to legal reasons the LP was pulled off the market shortly after its release in July 1957.

Johnson's Dot group had an extra advantage—he had been discharged from the USAF and his group could tour freely, while the original group needed to seek military leave in order to tour. Mercury sued, claiming it had sole rights to any spelling of the group's name, and the Dell-Vikings briefly became The Versatiles, with singles being billed to "Kripp Johnson and the Versatiles" or "Chuck Jackson and the Versatiles". The group broke up, with Chuck Jackson going on to a successful solo career. Meanwhile, the original group had begun to fall apart. Gus Backus was re-stationed, and was replaced by the groups guitarrist "Joe Lopes". The Mercury Del Vikings recorded their last record in October 1958.

By the end of 1959, Quick restructured the group with new talent from the Pittsburgh area—lead tenor, Billy G. Woodruff, Willie Green, Horace Douglas "Doug" White, and Ritzy Lee. Kripp Johnson returned to the original group, making them a sextet. 1960 they signed to ABC Records (ABC-Paramount). While the nucleus of the group was back, they weren't able to chart any more hits, and the group split up in 1965.

The Del-Vikings were back in 1970 with a near-original line-up of Clarence Quick, Kripp Johnson, Norman Wright, David Lerchey, and William Blakely. The group re-recorded their old hit for Scepter Records; a new version of "Come Go With Me" made the Bubbling Under The Hot 100 chart in 1973 (it also wound up on the Easy Listening chart, where it peaked that year at #32).

They performed "Come Go with Me" on the April 27, 1973 episode of The Midnight Special. The line-up was Billy G. Woodruff, Roalf "Ritzy" Lee, Kripp Johnson, Clarence Quick, and Terry Young.[19]

Norman Wright, David Lerchey, and Wright's two sons, Norman Wright, Jr. and Anthony Wright performed as The Del Vikings for PBS show "Doo Wop 50" in 2000, and Wright toured and performed with his sons for the remainder of his life.

David Lerchey (born in New Albany, Indiana) died of cancer on January 29, 2005, in Hallandale, Florida, at age 67.[4][20]

Norman Wright died after a long illness on April 23, 2010, at age 72.[21]

Donald Edgar "Gus" Backus died on February 21, 2019 in Germering, Germany, at age 81.[22]

Corinthian "Kripp" Johnson died of cancer on June 22, 1990 in Detroit, Michigan, at age 57.[23]

Billy G. Woodruff died on January 26, 2019[24]

Roalf E. "Ritzy" Lee died on June 27, 2020.[25]