The recordings turned out to be a cappella renditions of nine songs, all recorded in Kaye’s tiny basement – so small and ill-equipped, in fact, that several members had to sing from a closet for both space and sound considerations.
Before the sessions, however, Patterson and Robertson were assigned to an air base in Germany and were replaced by Norman Wright (of Philadelphia) and the group’s first white member, Dave Lerchey of New Albany, Indiana. One of thegroups they beat in the finals that day was the Rocketeers, who went on to become The Pastels of “Been So Long” fame.Īfter one of their Pittsburgh talent shows the Vikings were approached to record by local disc jockey Barry Kayeand producer Joe Averback. where they won again (beating out over 700 worldwide groups) singing a song by Quick title “Come Go With Me”. Their participation in (and winning) the base’s “Tops In Blue” contests earned them a spot in the All Air Force talent show in New York City. Unbeknownst to most, the five original member were all black. When he put Del (meaning “the”) in front of Vikings he unintentionally created a redundant moniker – like saying “the The Vikings”.
The Vikings was the name of a basketball-playing social club in Brooklyn that Quick belonged to. Bass singer Clarence (who had originally sung with his cousin William Blakely in Brooklyn, New York, in a group called the Mellowlarks) joined together with Corinthian “Kripp” Johnson (lead and tenor), Samuel Patterson (lead and tenor), Bernard Robertson (second tenor), and Don Jackson (baritone) to form The Del Vikings. The group was formed by Clarence Quick at the NCO Service CLub located in Pittsburgh’s airport in 1956. The Del Vikings were the first successful racially integreated group in rock and roll and one of the few hit makers organized in the U.S Air Force. Norman and the Del Vikings were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005. Though the group disbanded in the mid-’60s, it re-formed in 1970 and Norman sang at times with them and with his sons in another incarnation of the group over the next thirty years. For the remainder of 1957, both labels released singles (though Dot added a second “L” to their group’s name) but the confusion led to no more chart recordings– even when Corinthian “Kripp” Johnson was legally able to join the others in 1958. But by the time Dot released “Whispering Bells” (#9 Pop, #5 R&B), Norman and three of the four other group members– who had been underaged when they signed their contracts– had already split for Mercury Records where they competed with their Dot recording with “Cool Shake” (#12 Pop, #9 R&B). It was the first top ten hit for a racially-mixed group in the U.S. Originally recorded acapella, the label added instrumentation and it soon became so popular that the master was leased to Dot Records for national distribution, where it reached #4 Pop and #2 R&B the following year. Their victories in several talent contests (including the All Air Force competition in New York City) earned them a recording session with Fee Bee Records where “Come Go With Me,” with Norman on lead, was cut in 1956.
The group was founded by airmen at a Pittsburgh base who recruited Philadelphia-born Norman when their tenor singer became stationed in Germany.
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