The Del-Vikings were formed in 1955 by members of the United States Air Force stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with Clarence E. Quick, Kripp Johnson, Don Jackson, Samuel Paterson, and Bernard Robertson. 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. Originally signed to Fee Bee Records (1957), their first hit came in 1957 ("Ultra high Fidelity" DOT [EP] DEP - 1058) with the Wright-led "Come Go with Me". Soon after, Jackson was out, and was replaced by Gus Backus, the group's second white member. The group quickly found itself in greater demand following the release of "Come Go with Me", which propelled the group into the Top 10 on Billboard's Top 100.
[edit] The Split
All of the group members, other than Kripp Johnson, had been under 21 when they had signed their recording contract with Fee Bee (a tiny Pittsburgh label, who later was 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 Viking 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. Dot also released "Whispering Bells", featuring Quick on lead and Wright on bass. It had been recorded before the group split, as such, the record was sold with the label reading "Dell Vikings", but was recorded by the same lineup as on "Come Go with Me". It reached number nine on Billboard's Top 100 chart. Around this time, some old tracks had been sold to an up-and-coming record company, Luniverse, who re-released "Come Go with Me" on an album called come go with The Del Vikings Luniverse LP - 1000. This gave the Del(l) Vikings the rare distinction of charting three singles at the same time on three different record labels: "Whispering Bells", "Cool Shake" and "Come Go with Me". Johnson's group had an extra advantage -- he had been discharged from the army 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, leaving the group a quartet. They broke up soon after. Quick restructured the group with new talent from the Pittsburgh area -- Willie Green, Douglass White, Billy Woodruff, and Ritzy Lee. By the end of 1957, with the breakup of the "Dell" Vikings, Kripp Johnson returned to the original group, making them a sextet. They signed to 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.
[edit] Reunion and split
They were back in 1970 with a near original lineup- Clarence Quick, Kripp Johnson, Norman Wright, Dave Lerchey, and William Blakely. The group re-recorded many of their old hits for Scepter Records. Things began to unravel quickly, however, as members began to leave once again. David Finley was in one of the lead spots from 1972-76. Later in the 70s, the group was Quick, Blakely, Louis C. Velez (who Quick, now the only original member, selected to replace him when he was no longer able to perform), Arthur Martinez, and Jerry Williams.[1]
In 1980, Kripp Johnson restarted the "Dell" Vikings with Dave Lerchey, 1960s member Ritzy Lee, and new member John Byas. Norman Wright rejoined this group in 1990. In the Del Vikings, Jerry Williams was replaced by Herbert McQueen.
Frank "Mingo" Ayers would replace William Blakely in the early 80s. He suffered some health problems after a short time; Henry "Dickie" Harmon would tour as a sub, and following Ayers' recovery, became a permanent member, replacing Herbert McQueen. The group lost its last original member, Clarence Quick, when he died in 1985. His place was taken by Lloyd "Butch" Phillips, and Louis Velez took over bass vocals. They continued recording, and released an album in 1991 for BVM Records entitled Rock and Roll Remembered. Ayers would later be out of the group; the group would reorganize with bassman Les Levine entering and Harmon taking over lead vocals. By the early 2000s, the lineup was Velez, Martinez, Les Levine, Ron Coleman, and Reggie Walker. Frank Ayers died in 1999; Dickie Harmon became a member of The Teenagers. After a long battle with Illness, "Sweet" Lou Velez died on May 31, 2008.[2]The addition of Shelly Wengrovsky now completes the quintet.
Kripp Johnson died in 1990. His group (John Byas, Dave Lerchey, Norman Wright, and Ritzy Lee) continued to perform at major Resorts in the US, Canada, Caribbean, and major Cruise Lines and various Casinos. After the death of John Byas in 1999, Norman Wright left, and reformed another group with his sons Anthony Wright and Norman Wright, Jr., and friend Mike Machado. Dave Lerchey retired but occasionally performed with this group (Lerchey died on the 29th of January 2005). This group was featured on the PBS special Doo Wop 50 in 1999, with Dave Lerchey.
Lerchey formed another Del Vikings group with his sons shortly before his death.[1]
The group's biggest hits have retained their popularity as notable oldies, with "Come Go with Me" being used in such films as American Graffiti, American Hot Wax, The Hollywood Knights, Diner, Stand By Me, and Joe Versus the Volcano.
The group will be appearing in an upcoming VH2 series named America's Next Del-Viking in a bid to give the band a public profile by finding replacements for Kripp Johnson and John Byas. The show is scheduled to start in June 2009. [3].
[edit] Film Appearances The Big Beat (1957)
[edit] References ^ Blank ^ http://www.obitadmin.com/obititem.php?cust_id=13&id=1516 ^ http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/bs
