The Del Vikings

When I first introduced Poptastic Day, I said something about never posting anything that’s considered ‘good’ music. The Del Vikings are probably breaking that rule, but there’s a certain smiley corniness that comes with doo-wop, so I reckon it’s alright.

I got my current record player for my birthday a few years ago, and I went on a bit of a record shopping expedition in celebration. I went around to this 50s music shop in Amsterdam in search of some Coasters or Buddy Holly or just something good and cheerful. They had the sleeve (not the record, mind you) for Elvis’ ‘68 Comeback Special on sale. The man running the shop acted like I was a moron for asking why. I guess the question was just too stupid for him to bother answering, and I still don’t know why you would sell a sleeve with no vinyl. The only thing I can think of is that it’s so rare, people might want a better condition sleeve than the one they have or whatever. But the thing is, I emailed some vinyl collectible shop in the UK after that, looking for that same Elvis album; they didn’t have it but had looked it up for me and, according to them, it’s not especially rare or worth all that much. Hmm, I guess I’ll never know about that sleeve thing.

Anyway. I looked around for a while and when I went to pay for the one record I wanted, the man asked if I had found what I was looking for. With total disdain, of course. I guess I was just not good enough for 50s music, there’s no way I could properly appreciate it. I was a little tired of his attitude, so I said that no, I hadn’t found anything on my list actually. When I mentioned The Coasters, he made some snide remark about them being just a novelty act and implied that real music lovers don’t like that crap, so he didn’t bother to stock any of their records. Sigh. I also mentioned that I wanted some Del Vikings, and it was like he turned into a completely different person, smiles all around. As if me knowing about the Del Vikings made me a more respectable person. Geez, what an ass. I haven’t gone back to that store since, and I never will.

I guess that was just a totally random story that I felt like sharing for some reason. The Del Vikings may not be ridiculous like most of our Poptastic Day posts, but they’re (slightly cheesy) Pop at it’s finest. I don’t mean to imply that they weren’t great - they were a fantastic group and every note they sing makes me grin. If you don’t know about the Del Vikings, learn more at Destination Doo-wop. “Come Go With Me” is a classic - I especially like the big YEAH! almost exactly halfway through the song, look out for it.

   The Del Vikings - Come Go With Me