The Del-Vikings emerged out of the Pittsburgh Air Force Base, where Corinthian "Kripp" Johnson (first tenor), Clarence E. Quick (bass), Don Jackson (second tenor), Bernard Robertson and Samuel Patterson, five African American enlisted men, began singing doo wop in 1955 and soon generated local attention. Accounts differ as to where the band got their name, but the ever-changing lineup (duo to military demands) eventually resulted in the group's first white member, the baritone David Lerchey. The Del-Vikings set to the studio with Barry Kaye and subsequently released a version of Clarence E. Quick's "Come Go With Me" and Kripp Johnson's "How Can I Find True Love." The group re-recorded "Come Go With Me" and in 1957 the single soared to the top of the pop (No. 4) and R&B (No. 3) charts.

The now-famous doo wop group continued to tour (when military obligations didn't intervene) with the lineup shifting frequently, and despite trying to continue to ride the wave of success of "Come Go With Me" with subsequent releases, the Del-Vikings had a hard time matching its success. "Whispering Bells" became the Del-Vikings' second hit but behind the charting success of the group loomed internal and legal troubles, resulting in a split that saw two groups (the Dell-Vikings and the Del-Vikings) on two different labels (Dot Records and Mercury). Further confusion from the two groups with practically identical names on separate labels caused the Dell-Vikings and the Del-Vikings to go to court over claiming the same singles ("When I Come Home" and "I'm Spinning"). With the original lineup restored by 1958, the Del-Vikings (now a sextet) signed with ABC-Paramount but diminished by 1965.

In 1972 the golden doo wop group recorded a new version of "Come Go With Me" in the midst of an oldies resurgence, only to divide once again when Johnson reformed his own version of the Dell-Vikings in 1980. The doo woop greats "Come Go With Me" and "Whispering Bells" have thankfully outlasted the Del-Vikings' complicated career!