I'm Spinning is a

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre 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, ...

song recorded by 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 songs ...

on the

Fee Bee Records Fee Bee Records was a record label started by Joe Averbach in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The label is notable for recording The Del-Vikings hit "Come Go With Me" in 1957. Other Del-Viking songs recorded on the Fee Bee label include "How Can I Fi ...

label in 1957 in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

as an A-side for the single "I'm Spinning"/"You Say You Love Me," written by

Pat DiCesare Pat J. DiCesare Sr. (born April 12, 1938) is an American entrepreneur and rock concert promoter, whose career began at the early stages of rock and roll. His career in the music industry spanned the latter half of the 20th century, and his Pitt ...

. It was soon released on

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 its early years, Dot sp ...

for national distribution, and later released by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

when

Kripp Johnson Kripp Johnson (born Corinthian Johnson; May 16, 1933 in Cambridge, Maryland – June 22, 1990) was an American singer for The Del-Vikings from 1956 to the 1980s. Johnson sang lead vocal on their hit " Whispering Bells", among other songs. He die ...

rejoined the Del-Vikings in 1958. Over the years the song has been included on many Del Vikings greatest hits albums and doo-wop compilation albums on various labels. The most recent release was in 2009.

Controversy

The single was involved in a legal battle between the label and management of the Del-Vikings and the Dell-Vikings, both claiming to be the rightful owners of the song. In 1957, with most of his bandmates in military service, Kripp Johnson signed with Dot Records calling his group the Dell-Vikings (with an extra 'L'). The Johnson lead group released the single at the same time as the original group did on

. The Mercury Del-Vikings won the legal case and the Dell-Vikings changed their name to the Versatiles.

References

{{reflist 1957 singles Music of Pittsburgh