In 1956, Samuel Patterson started developing problems with his voice and was replaced by baritone Norman Wright, a newly-transferred aircraft mechanic. There was actually a sixth member of the Del Vikings: while they had a backup band for their appearances on base, Joe Lopes was added to the group as their guitarist. The new name they decided on was the "Del Vikings." When it seemed like the five-member lineup was going to be permanent, the group's name had to be changed. Since Dave was white, the 4 Deuces became one of the few integrated groups around. When Clarence found out that Dave could sing, he became the fifth member of the 4 Deuces (there had been a second tenor named Bernard Robertson for a while, but he didn't last long). In November 1955, second tenor/baritone David Lerchey, who was new to the Air Force, found himself assigned to the Pittsburgh Air Force base, where he shared a room with Clarence Quick. This group had been winners in 1954 and were part of the Tops In Blue tour in 1955. Note that there was another Air Force group called the 4 Deuces, consisting of Ernest Arevalo, Duane Elmore, William Moss, and someone whose name you may be familiar with: Eugene Strider (of the Striders). Since the winners appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on July 21, 1955, the finals probably occurred in early July. Then it was off to Bermuda for the finals, where they came in second. That sent them up the ladder and they won first place in the Northeast regionals. They practiced and practiced and it paid off: in the Spring, they took first place in the 1955 local Pittsburgh competition of the Air Force's annual Tops In Blue talent contest. This quartet, called the 4 Deuces, consisted of Corinthian "Kripp" Johnson (first tenor), Samuel Patterson (first tenor), Don Jackson (baritone), and Clarence Quick (bass). (Interestingly, Alfred Gaitwood, who would start the Cuff Links after being transferred to California, was at the same base during this time.) In 1955, four airmen assigned to the Pittsburgh Air Force base started singing together.
Let's try to sort it out.Īs with the Cuff Links, the Del Vikings story begins with the Air Force, this time in Pittsburgh. Whether you spell it Del Vikings, Dell Vikings, Del-Vikings, or Dell-Vikings, what you get is great Rock 'N Roll music and a confusing story. There was a lot of inconsistency in Fee Bee release numbering it's quite messy. Janusek's wonderful Del (L) Vikings: Setting The Record Straight, which appeared in issues 42 and 43 of Bob Belniak's Echoes Of The Past in 1997-8.Īt the end of my discography is a reconstruction, by Thomas Holzhacker, of a Del Vikings' Fee Bee discography. In addition to my own research, I extensively used Carl E. It's unusual in that I didn't interview anyone in order to write it.
THE DEL VIKINGS DOWN IN BERMUDA UPDATE
I originally did this piece for a Polygram CD's liner notes in 1996 and thought I'd resurrect it and try to update it. However, the Del Vikings gave us two monster hits and they therefore deserve something to be written about them. Sadly, no two discographies seem to agree on very much. Unfortunately, the problems the group had were such that it's incredibly difficult to sort the whole thing out.
Some of it has probably even been accurate.
Much has been written about the Del Vikings over the years. Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks - DEL VIKINGS
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