"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 Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

vocal group

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 lineups in later decades. The group is notable for the hit song ...

. The song was originally recorded by The Del-Vikings (leadsinger Norman Wright) in 1956 but not released until July 1957 on the Luniverse LP "Come Go With The Del Vikings". When Joe Averbach, the owner of Fee Bee Records couldn't handle the demand, he signed with

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

in late January 1957; the song became a hit, peaking at No. 5 on the US ''Billboard'' Top 100. It also reached #2 on the R&B chart. "Come Go with Me" and another 8 songs were recorded in the basement of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

disc jockey Barry Kaye. These recordings were released in 1992 as "1956 Audition Tapes". The song was later featured in the films ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronny ...

'' (1973), '' Diner'' (1982), '' Stand by Me'' (1986), '' Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), and ''

Set It Up ''Set It Up'' is a 2018 American romantic comedy film directed by Claire Scanlon, written by Katie Silberman, and starring Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Taye Diggs, and Lucy Liu. The plot follows two overworked assistants who try to set up their deman ...

'' (2018). It was included in

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981). It sold over one million copies and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine ranked the song No. 449 on its list of

the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

The Beach Boys version

"Come Go With Me" was later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

and was included on their 1978 album, '' M.I.U. Album''. Although not released as a single at the time, the song was included on a Beach Boys compilation album, ''

Ten Years of Harmony ''Ten Years of Harmony'' is an official double album compilation album released by the Beach Boys in 1981, and spanning their entire Brother Records-era up to that point (1970–80), including some unreleased or rare material. Although the song ...

'', in 1981. After being released as a single to promote the compilation, it rose to No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in January 1982. According to

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as "Help Me, Rho ...

, he requested bandmate

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

to contribute the horn arrangement; Wilson devised it on the spot at

Sunset Sound Recorders Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard. Background The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a collec ...

while dressed in a bathrobe.

Personnel

Partial credits from 2000 liner notes. The Beach Boys *

- horn arrangement *

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bas ...

- backing vocals *

- lead vocals, electric rhythm guitar, bass guitar *

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...

- backing vocals, electric lead guitar *

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...

– drums Additional musicians *Michael Andreas – saxophone, horn arrangements * Charles Lloyd – saxophone *Lance Buller – trumpet *John Foss – trumpet *Rod Novak – saxophone *Charlie McCarthy – saxophone *Bob Williams – saxophone *

Matt Jardine Matthew Alan Jardine (born December 9, 1966) is an American musician, best known for his work as a vocalist and percussionist for the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson. He is the son of original Beach Boy Al Jardine. Biography Jardine is the son of ...

, Michael Sherry – handclaps, finger snaps

Chart history

Other versions

Dion covered a version of the song on his 1962 album, ''Lovers Who Wander.'' Released as a single (Laurie 3121), it reached No. 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1963.

The Quarrymen The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle/ rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several schoolfriends, the Q ...

, a precursor to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, played "Come Go with Me" at the fete at St Peter's Church, Woolton, Liverpool, on July 6, 1957. This was the first time

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

heard

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

performing. McCartney noticed how Lennon did not seem to know all the words, so he was ad-libbing instead, with phrases like "come and go with me... down to the penitentiary" which he thought was clever. After the set, McCartney impressed Lennon with his guitar and piano skills, and Lennon invited McCartney to join the band. In 2000, several ex-Quarrymen performed a version of the song for the film ''Two of Us''."The Beatles Anthology" DVD (2003) (Episode 1 – 0:21:56) Lennon talking about meeting McCartney.

References

{{authority control 1956 singles 1957 singles 1981 singles 1982 singles The Del-Vikings songs Dion DiMucci songs The Beach Boys songs The Fleetwoods songs The Coral songs Kenny Loggins songs 1956 songs Dot Records singles The Quarrymen songs