Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CLXVI--The Del-Vikings: Come Go with Me

"Dom-dom dom-dom dom-de-doo-be"...proof positive that the best lyrics don't have to be "How many roads must a man walk down?" or "In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream..." to make a classic pop song.

The Del-Vikings (sometimes the Dell Vikings or the Dell-Vikings) were formed in Pittsburgh, PA in 1955 by several servicemen stationed at a nearby Air Force Base.  Known as a doo-wop group, they had three top 15 singles by 1957...and haven't come close since.  Still, the band is performing to this day, though through the years they have split, reunited, had several different incarnations (thus the differing spellings on the band name), and had something near to 52,000 different members (only a slight exaggeration).  Near as I can tell, all of the original band members have departed this vale, but their legacy as one of the few racially integrated bands in the 1950's to achieve chart success is a fine feather in their caps...as is the wonderful single featured this week on FNJ.

Released in 1956, "Come Go with Me" would go on to reach #4 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was the biggest selling single of the Del-Vikings' career, eventually going gold.  The song would also be listed at #449 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"--a fine tidbit for their musical resume.

Fun Fact:  The first time Paul McCartney saw John Lennon, Lennon's band the Quarrymen was playing "Come Go with Me"--and Lennon couldn't remember the words so he made them up as the song went along.  Tsk, tsk, John!

As I noted in the intro, there are pop songs that try to make a big statement, and there are pop songs that are just a hell of a lot of fun...and "Come Go with Me" sits squarely in the latter.  Opening with the wonderful scatting and closing their intro with the always welcome "whoa whoa whoa," the song is little more than a boy telling a girl that he loves her and just wants a chance to win her heart.  The harmonies are as good as any you'll ever hear, and there is an absolutely killer saxophone (replete with hand claps, as well) solo about two thirds of the way in...before closing with some more unparalleled harmonies.  This one is all about the fun--I can tell you that no matter how bad of a day I'm having, if I hear this song it is immediately lightened, and it'll be ear candy for the next several days. Just a great single from the early days of rock and roll....

Lyric Sheet:  "Dom-dom dom-dom dom-de-doo-be dom dom dom dom dom dom-de-doo-be dom dom dom dom dom dom-de-doo-be dom, whoa, whoa, whoa..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee