Featured songs:
Runaround Sue; Ruby Baby; The Wanderer; Abraham, Martin and John; And
The Night Stood Still; Tower Of Love
Dion Francis DiMucci
(born July 18, 1939), better known as Dion, is an
American singer-songwriter who blended elements of doo-wop, pop, rock
and R&B styles.
Dion was born to an Italian-American family in the Bronx. As a child, he
used to accompany his father, a vaudeville entertainer, on tour, and
developed a love of country music – particularly Hank Williams – and the
blues and doo-wop stars he heard in local bars and on the radio. His
singing abilities were honed on the street corners of Crotona Avenue,
where he rounded up other local singers inventing a cappella licks, and
in local clubs.
In early 1957, he auditioned for Bob and Gene Schwartz, who had just
formed Mohawk Records. They recorded him with a vocal group, The
Timberlanes, and released a single "The Chosen Few", arranged by Hugo
Montenegro, which became a minor regional hit.
Career
With the Belmonts, 1957-1960
Schwartz also signed up Dion's friends, The Belmonts, named after nearby
Belmont Avenue. Their breakthrough together came in early 1958, when "I
Wonder Why" made #22 on the national US charts, followed up with "No One
Knows" and "Don’t Pity Me" which were also chart hits.
This success won Dion and the Belmonts a place on the "Winter Dance
Party" tour with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. On
February 2, 1959, after playing in Clear Lake, Iowa, Dion decided that
he could not afford the $36 cost of a flight to the next venue -- this
was the same monthly rent his parents paid for his childhood apartment,
and Dion decided he couldn't justify the indulgence. The plane
crashed, and Holly and the other stars were killed, still the tour
continued with Jimmy Clanton and Bobby Vee being added to the bill as
replacements. Dion and the Belmonts continued to perform until the end
of the tour.
In March 1959, Dion and the Belmonts’ next single, "A Teenager in Love",
was released, making #5 in the US pop charts and #28 in the UK. Their
biggest hit, "Where or When", was released in November 1959, and reached
#3 on the US charts. However, in early 1960, Dion checked in to hospital
for heroin addiction, a problem he had had since his mid-teens. Further
single releases for the group that year were less successful. There were
musical and financial differences between Dion and members of the
Belmonts, and in October 1960, Dion decided to quit for a solo career.
The main reason was because of his heroin addiction.
Solo stardom, 1960-1964
By the end of 1960, Dion had recorded and released his first solo album,
Alone with Dion, and the single "Lonely Teenager", which rose to #12 in
the US charts. The performer name on his solo releases was denoted
simply as "Dion" without the last name. Follow-ups "Havin’ Fun" and "Kissin’
Game" had less success, and the signs were that Dion would drift onto
the cabaret circuit. However, he then recorded, with new vocal group the
Del-Satins, an up-tempo number co-written with Ernie Maresca. The
record, "Runaround Sue", stormed up the charts, reaching #1 in the US
charts in September 1961, and #11 in the UK, where he also toured. "Runaround
Sue" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.
For the next single, the record company promoted the A-side, "The
Majestic", but it was the B-side, Maresca’s song "The Wanderer", which
received the radio plays and again rose swiftly up the charts, reaching
#2 in the US charts in December 1961 and #10 in the UK. As a classic
oldie, it made the UK top 20 again in 1976.
By the end of 1961, Dion was a major star, with a worldwide touring
schedule, and an appearance in the Columbia Pictures musical film Twist
Around the Clock. He followed up with a string of hit singles – "Lovers
Who Wander" (#3), "Little Diane" (#8), "Love Came To Me" (#10) - all
making the top 10 in 1962. Several of these were written or co-written
by Dion. He also had successful albums with Runaround Sue and Lovers Who
Wander.
At the end of 1962, Dion moved from Laurie to Columbia Records, the
first rock-and-roll artist ever signed to that label. The first Columbia
single, Leiber and Stoller’s "Ruby Baby",(originally a hit for The
Drifters), was a big hit, reaching #2, and "Donna the Prima Donna" and
"Drip Drop" (another cover of a Drifters hit) ,both reached #6 in the
charts in late 1963. (Dion also recorded an Italian version of "Donna
the Prima Donna" using the identical backup vocals.) His other Columbia
releases were less successful, and problems with his addiction and
changing public tastes caused him to enter a period of commercial
decline.
Changing fortunes, 1964-1968
Following a European tour, Dion returned to the USA and was introduced
to classic blues music by Columbia’s John Hammond. To the consternation
of his management, he began recording more blues-oriented material,
including Willie Dixon’s "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Spoonful", but these
releases – some produced by Tom Wilson, with Al Kooper on keyboards -
were not commercially successful. In 1965, still with Columbia, Dion
formed a new group to back him, The Wanderers that included Carlo
Mastrangelo of the Belmonts on drums. A number of self-penned tracks
were recorded and released unsuccessfully as singles, but were not
released at that time on album format.
In 1966, Dion briefly reunited with the Belmonts for the album Together
Again on ABC Records. Again, this bombed, despite one classic
self-penned song, "My Girl The Month Of May". Although by this stage
Dion’s career appeared to be nearing an end, he retained enough
credibility to be, along with Bob Dylan, one of the only two pop artists
featured on the album cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band in 1967.
In April 1968, Dion experienced what he identified as a powerful
religious experience. After getting clean from drug use, he approached
Laurie Records for a new contract, and they agreed on condition that he
record the song "Abraham, Martin & John", written by Dick Holler (also
the writer of The Royal Guardsmen’s "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron") in
response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and those of Martin
Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy during the summer of 1968. The success
of this song – later recorded by many others including Marvin Gaye –
which reached # 4 in the US charts and #1 in Canada, resuscitated Dion’s
career. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[3]
The mature period, 1968-1986
For the next few years, Dion’s music became radically different, moving
to more contemplative and mature material. He released several albums
essentially as a singer-songwriter, to moderate sales, moving to the
Warner Brothers label in 1969.
There followed a one-off live reunion show with the Belmonts at Madison
Square Garden in 1972, released on album. This was followed in 1975 by
the album Born To Be With You, produced by Phil Spector. The album was a
commercial failure, but has been subsequently praised by such artists as
Jason Pierce of Spiritualized and Pete Townshend of The Who.
In 1978 Dion released an album drawing on many of his teenage
influences, Return of the Wanderer, another commercial failure. In
December 1979 there was a radical spiritual change in Dion, who had
become a born-again Christian. Thereafter, his recordings for several
years were in a contemporary Christian vein, in which he released a
number of albums on the Dayspring label reflecting his evangelical
Christian convictions. Singles were successfully released to Christian
radio, notably "Still in the Spirit" from his 1985 release entitled
Kingdom in the Streets.
In 1984 he won the Dove Award (Christian Music Award) for the album 'I
Put Away My Idols'. He was also nominated for Grammy Award, best male
Gospel performance, for the same album.
Recent work
In 1987 Dion agreed to do a concert of his old hits at Radio City Music
Hall in New York. The two disc CD of this concert was released in 2005,
featuring concert photos by Dion's friend, Michael J. Friedman. This
concert helped free him to celebrate both his past and his future, and
led to a series of special appearances, including a fundraiser for
homeless medical relief. There he shared the stage with fans such as
Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Lou Reed, all of whom cited Dion as
one of their prime influences.
In 1988 Dion's autobiography (co-authored by Davin Seay) titled The
Wanderer: Dion's Story was published. In the following year, he was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the induction speech being
given by Lou Reed.
In 1989 he returned to secular rock music with the contemporary album Yo
Frankie, which included appearances by Paul Simon, Lou Reed, k.d. lang,
Patti Smith and Bryan Adams. Produced by Dave Edmunds (who also plays
guitar along with Dion on the album), "Yo Frankie has a sharp sound
while never losing sight of Dion's soulful, doo-wop voice." Overall,
"the relevant and nostalgic statement from an artist who helped forge
rock & roll's first wave" found his way back on radio and in music
videos during this period (both on VH-1 and MTV), as well as touring.
In the late 1990s, Dion visited his old Bronx parish, Our Lady of Mount
Carmel, and returned to Catholicism.
Since then, Dion has released several albums with contemporary rock
artists. His Déjà Nu album in 2000 found him covering Bruce Springsteen,
a major follower over the years. Dion joined Springsteen onstage in
Miami in 2002 for a performance of "If I Should Fall Behind" from Deja
Nu.
He joined Scott Kempner of the Del-Lords and Mike Mesaros of The
Smithereens in a short-lived band called Little Kings. A live album was
later released, but not widely circulated or promoted.
In 2002 he was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "Runaround
Sue". Dion continues to perform songs from his albums live.
In January 2006, he released Bronx in Blue, an album of blues and
country standards, which was nominated for a Grammy. In November 2007 he
issued a follow-up in similar vein, Son of Skip James.
In October 2008, he released Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock, an
album of his covers of early rock and roll songs he considers seminal to
the genre. The album includes versions of songs originally recorded by
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash and many other
early rock guitarists.
Now a practicing Roman Catholic, Dion pursues prison ministry and
reaches out to men going through addiction recovery. He is also a member
of the American Board of Directors of Renewal Ministries. He currently
lives in Boca Raton, Florida.
