Norman Wright born 31 October 1937

Norman Wright (October 31, 1937 – April 23, 2010) was a lead tenor of the popular Doo-Wop quintet The Del-Vikings.

The Del-Vikings (also known as The Dell-Vikings) were an American doo-wop musical group that recorded several hit singles in the 1950s and continued to record and tour with various line-ups in later decades. The group is notable for the hit songs "Come Go

with Me" and "Whispering Bells", and for having been a successful racially mixed musical group during a period of time when such groups were rare.

he Del-Vikings members in their classic lineup: Corinthian "Kripp" Johnson (born May 16, 1933, Cambridge, MA; died June 22, 1990, Pontiac, MI); vocals (first tenor). David Lerchey (born February 3, 1937, New Albany, IN; died Jan. 31, 2005, Hallandale, FL); vocals (second tenor / baritone). Don Jackson: vocals (baritone). Clarence Quick (born February 2, 1937, Brooklyn, NY; died May 5, 1983, Brooklyn, NY): vocals (bass) and Joe Lopes (born 1934, Cambridge, MA): guitar and Norman Wright : vocals (lead tenor).

The group was founded by airmen at a Pittsburgh base who recruited Philadelphia-born Norman when their tenor singer became stationed in Germany. Norman Wright had started a group with Lawrence "Prince" Lloyd called The Valverteens from Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas before joining The Del-Vikings. Their victories in several talent contests (including the All Air Force competition in New York City) earned them a recording session with Fee Bee Records where "Come Go With Me," with Norman on lead, was cut in 1956.

                             

Originally recorded accapella, the label added instrumentation and it soon became so popular that the master was leased to Dot Records for national distribution in January 1957, The song was written by Clarence Quick and featured Norman Wright on lead vocals. In 1957, the song became a hit, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. Rolling Stone listed "Come Go With Me" as no. 447 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. 

It was the first top ten hit for a racially-mixed group in the U.S. But by the time Dot released "Whispering Bells" (#9 Pop, #5 R&B), Soon after, Jackson left the band and was replaced by Gus Backus, the group's second white member. A management switch from Barry Kaye to an Air Force lawyer named Alan Strauss meant that every member under 21, as legal minors, was suddenly no longer beholden to the Fee Bee contract. Strauss got everyone underage a better national label switch from Dot to Mercury, leaving only Kripp to carry on. Norman and three of the four other group split for Mercury Records where they competed with their Dot recording with "Cool Shake" (#12 Pop, #9 R&B). 

There was now both a Del-Vikings group (led by Quick) and a Dell-Vikings group (led by Kripp), and a series of recordings flooded the market -- various combinations of members, jobs backing other singers, even solo and duet performances, all on several different labels, some credited to the group, some not, others partially. To make matters worse, their former manager overdubbed a full band into those original demos and released them as an album!

By the end of 1957, with the breakup of the Dell-Vikings, the madness persisted even after the hits dried up: Fee Bee and Mercury kept reissuing old records under the group name, whether or not they were actually on them, and by the time Kripp rejoined Quick in the early '60s, it was anyone's guess who was who.

Mercury sued, claiming it had sole rights to any spelling of the group's name, and the Dell-Vikings briefly became The Versatiles, with singles being billed to "Kripp Johnson and the Versatiles" or "Chuck Jackson and the Versatiles".

When Kripp returned to the original group, making them a sextet, they signed to ABC Records (ABC-Paramount). While the nucleus of the group was back, they weren't able to chart any more hits, and the group split up in 1965.

The Del-Vikings were back in 1970 with a near original line-up of Clarence Quick, Kripp Johnson, Norman Wright, Dave Lerchey, and William Blakely. The group re-recorded many of their old hits for Scepter Records; a new version of "Come Go With Me" made the Bubbling Under The Hot 100 chart in 1973 (it also wound up on the Easy Listening chart, where it peaked that year at #32). Norman and the Del Vikings were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.

Norman, who was the last of the original founding members of The Del Vikings, died from bone cancer April 23, 2010 in New Jersey after a long illness. He was 72 years old. He is survived by his two sons Norman Jr. and Anthony, who both toured and performed with Norman during his last 10 plus years. (Edited mainly from Wikipedia & liveabout.com)

Here’s a clip from the 1957 movie "The Big Beat" L-R Dave Lerchey, Norman Wright,  Kripps Johnson, Gus Backus & Clarence Quick.