How did streetcorner harmony become Doo Wops?Back in the fifties and sixties, there was no such term for musical style as "doo wop." The songs or the music was referred to as 'back street harmony' or simple ' vocal group.' It wasn't until the late 70's when a Palm Beach, Florida disc jockey used the term "doo wop" in passing and it caught on. By the 80's, Don K. Reed was hosting "The Doo Wop Shop" Sunday mnights on WCBS-FM in New York while John Summers hosted "Sunday Night Doo Wops." on KLUV-FM in Dallas, Texas. It caught on as far as Mexico with Wolfman Jack Doo-Wopping on XMEX, Case Kasem and Hubcap Carterin syndication, (Wolfman and Hubcap now deceased). The "Doo Wop" catchword went on and on on the oldies & :greatest hits" radio rendevouz and the term stuck, used on on every vocal harmony group from The Duprees to The Five Satins to Jersey's The Knockouts who humorized it with Darling Lorraine "yangs-yangs" (mimicking the also Jersey Dynatone's Lorraine.

The Del Vikings recorded Jitterbug Mary under the name Del Tones and the song never entered the top 40; it "bubbled under," as Billboard magazine use to phrase it. As jocks played the tune on weekend doo-wop blocks on oldies radio stations, the song became a classic. Oldies Television was fortunate to unearth the clip of the Del Vikings singing the tune on, we believe, on Ed Sullivan's Sunday night CBS show, then called Toast Of The Town. The clip had no lead in or out. Some differ that it was The Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey Show on NBC, which gave unknown rock & roll performers (including Elvis Presley) their first appearance (prior to Dick Clark's emergence on ABC).

About The Del Vikings While "Jitterbug Mary" may be one of the lesser known songs by the De; Vikings, no one, not even those into Oldies but not Doo Wops, would not remember their catchy hit, Come Go With Me
Members changed from time to time, but The Del Vikings crooners include Donald "Gus" Backus (born c. 1942 in Southhampton, Long Island, NY), Chuck Jackson (born on July 22, 1937, in Winston-Salem, North CarolinaC), Corinthian "Kripp" Johnson (born c. 1933 in Cambridge, Maryland-er lost him June 22, 1990); Dave Lerchey (born c. 1946 in New Albany, Indiana), Clarence Quick (born c. 1944 in Brooklyn, New York), Norman Wright (born on October 31, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
After a few lackluster charting releases, The Del Vikings finally reached the national top ten with Come Go with Me and Whispering Bells The group, however, had more than a fair share of dissension among the members. Their manager attempted to break theot contract with Fee Bee Records, a small independent, because most of the members except Johnson were minors when the record contract was executed. Apparently, a court agreed, because they went to Chicago giantMercury Records. To add to the mix, Whispering Bells was released "split label: (a common practice in the late 50's and 60's, for whatever reason) and was released in 1957 by Dot Records (who usually released "white" versions of "race" music (a la Pat Boone's awful rendition of Little Richard's Tutti Fruittu). Followups Willette, "I Want to Marry You, barely broke Billboard's national top 100. An almost re-staffed Del Vikings (Backus, Blakely, Lerchey, along with original members Quick, and Wright) released Cool Shake, "Sunday Kind of Love on the Mercury label. Ultimately, a federal judge awarded the name Del Vikings and any variants (o what a tangled web we weave when trying to deceive) to Mercury.
A mix of first and second generation Del Vikings still perform, most visible on T.J. Labinsky's Doo Wop specials for PBS.

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WHO ARE THE DELTONES???
When we received the 16mm film of Jitterbug Mary
from a then monochrome CBS Toast Of The Town (early Ed Sullivan)
the leader read The Deltones whom visitors from the MSN Doo Wop fan group
told us they were actually The Del Vikings. Apparently, the Del Vikings first performed locally as The Deltones, sort of like those Jersey Boys, The Four Lovers who became The Four Seasons when Bob Crew came calling with the hot record deal.
Remember, there's more Video Doo Wops on the Oldies Television Video Juke Box,
the ORIGINAL performances, not re-stages.


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