The Del-Vikings
| The Del-Vikings | |
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The Del-Vikings in 1957
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Dell Vikings |
| Origin | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1955--present |
| Labels |
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| Members |
The Del-Vikings Arthur Martinez Les Levine Shelly Wengrovsky Lewis McMillan Bobby Walker Norman Wright's Dell Vikings Norman Wright Norman Wright, Jr Anthony Wright Mike Machado |
| Past members | Clarence Quick Kripp Johnson Gus Backus David Lerchey William Blakely "Sweet Lou" Velez Lloyd "Butch" Phillips Frank Ayers Dickie Harmon Bernard "BJ" Jones Leroy Binns Ron Coleman Reggie Walker |
The Del-Vikings (also known as The Dell-Vikings) are an American doo-wop musical group, who recorded several hit singles in the 1950s, and continued to record and tour with various lineups in later decades. The group was notable for being one of the few racially integrated musical groups to attain success in the 1950s.
The Del-Vikings were formed in 1955 by members of the United States Air Force stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with Clarence Quick (February 2, 1937 – May 5, 1983), Kripp Johnson (May 16, 1933 – June 22, 1990), Don Jackson, Samuel Paterson, Bernard Robertson and Clarence Harvey Ringo. 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, the group's first white member, and tenor Norman Wright. Norman Wright had started a group with Lawrence "Prince" Lloyd called The Valverteens from Amarillo Air Force Base,Texas before joining The Del-Vikings.
The origin of the band's name was created by Clarence Quick while talking to Clarence Ringo at the library on base. Some sources say that the band members had read about Vikings with the prefix "Del" being "added to give the group name an air of mystery." Another suggestion is that Clarence Quick had known of a basketball team in Brooklyn, New York, called the Vikings and had suggested the name. The name may also have originated from the popular Viking Press, publisher of paperbacks that group members liked to read. Clarence Harvey Ringo is vehement about the name being created by him and Clarence Quick at the Greater Pittsburgh airbase library, although he is largely uncredited for his contribution.
Their first hit came in December 1956 with "Come Go with Me", released on Fee Bee Records as catalog number FB-205. In January 1957 Dot Records re-released "Come Go With Me" as Dot 45-15538, taking it nationally. The group quickly found itself in greater demand following Dot's re-release which propelled the group into the Top 10 on Billboard's pop chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Soon after, Jackson left and was replaced by Gus Backus, the group's second white member.
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