The Del-Vikings went through more personnel changes than there are months in the year, so many that it's a labor in and of itself keeping track. A racially integrated group, they formed in 1955 from enlistees at a Pittsburgh Air Force Base. Their first hit, on Fee Bee, was called 'Come Go With Me.' Subsequent hits, such as 'Don't Be A Fool,' are every bit as melliflous and agreeable now as then: an easy tempo, the five voices balancing each other tunefully, the arrangement and orchestration in perfect compliment. This recording comprises most of their recording career, at least up to 1960, when they were dropped by Mercury (though the group continued to exist and enjoyed a modicum of success throughout the 1980's, appearing on television, recording and touring on the oldies circuit). The Del-Vikings epitomize the sound of the '50's. |
