Come Go with Me

"Come Go With Me"
Single by the Del-Vikings
B-side"How Can I Find True Love"
ReleasedJanuary 1957 (Fee Bee/Dot)
July 1957 (Luniverse Records)
RecordedOctober 1956 (audition version)
January 1957 (studio version)
GenreDoo-wop
Length2:40
LabelFee Bee, Dot, Luniverse
Songwriter(s)Clarence Quick
The Del-Vikings singles chronology
"Come Go With Me"
(1957)
"Whispering Bells"
(1957)

"Come Go With Me" is a song written by C. E. Quick (a.k.a. Clarence Quick), an original member (bass vocalist) of the American doo-wop vocal group the Del-Vikings.[1] The song was originally recorded by The Del-Vikings (lead singer Norman Wright) in 1956 but not released until July 1957 on the Luniverse LP Come Go With The Del Vikings. The final version was released in the second week of January 1957 and was led by Gus Backus. When Joe Averbach, the owner of Fee Bee Records couldn't handle the demand, he signed with Dot Records in late January 1957; the song became a hit, peaking at No. 5 on the US Billboard Top 100 Pop Charts (a predecessor of the 1958 established Billboard Hot 100).[2] It also reached No. 2 on the R&B chart.

"Come Go with Me" and another 8 songs were recorded in the basement of Pittsburgh disc jockey Barry Kaye. These recordings were released in 1992 as "1956 Audition Tapes".

The song was later featured in the films American Graffiti (1973), Diner (1982), Stand by Me (1986), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), and Set It Up (2018).[3] It was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[4] It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[5]

Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song No. 449 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[6]

  1. ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 14 - Big Rock Candy Mountain: Rock 'n' roll in the late fifties. [Part 4]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 172.
  3. ^ "Set It Up (2018) Music Soundtrack & Complete List of Songs - WhatSong Soundtracks". What-song.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 90. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  6. ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2019.