[1][2][3] 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.
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.
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.
[5] The name may also have originated from the popular Viking Press, publisher of paperbacks that group members liked to read.
[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).
[3] The Dell-Vikings also released "Whispering Bells" in May 1957, another Clarence Quick song, with Kripp Johnson singing lead vocals.
The original group replaced Johnson with Quick's friend William Blakely and recorded the Backus-led song "Cool Shake".
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.
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 line-up was Billy G. Woodruff, Roalf "Ritzy" Lee, Kripp Johnson, Clarence Quick, and Terry Young.
Boulden now performs as the front man for "The Del-Vikings Doo-Wop Revue" which is named such, as being based on "The Truth in Music Act" - Int.
CT. 41 - Class 41: Entertainment services in the nature of live performances by a vocal group Principal Register - The mark consists of standard characters without claim to any particular font style, size or color - Ser.