Dion DiMucci

Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known simply as Dion, is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. His music has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop, rock, R&B, folk and blues. Initially as the lead singer of Dion and the Belmonts, and then during his solo career, Dion was one of the most popular American rock and roll performers of the pre-British Invasion era. He had 39 Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a solo performer, or with the Belmonts and the Del-Satins. He is best remembered for the singles "Runaround Sue", " The Wanderer", "Ruby Baby" and "Lovers Who Wander", among other hits.

Dion's commercial popularity waned in the mid-1960s, and toward the end of the decade he shifted his style with more mature and contemplative songs, such as "Abraham, Martin and John". He remained popular in the late 1960s until the mid-1970s, and continued making music. During the 1980s, Dion produced several Christian albums, winning a GMA Dove Award in 1984 for the album ''I Put Away My Idols''. He returned to secular music in the late 1980s with ''Yo Frankie'' (1989). Between the mid-2000s and 2021, Dion released six chart-topping blues albums. Critics who had dismissed his early work, labeling him as a teen idol, praised his later work and noted the influence he has had on other musicians.

A Grammy-nominated artist, Dion has released over 40 albums, and scored eleven Top 10 hits (including with the Belmonts) on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. In 2002, Dion was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "Runaround Sue". Recent album awards include: Favorite Blues Album for ''New York is My Home'' (2016), Favorite Compilations and Reissues for ''Kickin Child: Lost Columbia Album 1965'' (2017) and Favorite Blues Album for '' Blues with Friends'' (2020).

Early life

Dion was born to an Italian-American family in the Bronx, New York. He accompanied his father, Pasquale DiMucci (a vaudeville entertainer), on tour as a child. He developed a love of country music, particularly the work of Hank Williams. He was also fond of blues and doo-wop musicians he heard performing in local bars, and on the radio. His singing was honed on the street corners and local clubs of the Bronx, where he and other neighborhood singers created a cappella riffs.

Music career

Beginnings with the Belmonts (1957–1960)

In early 1957, Dion auditioned for Bob and Gene Schwartz, for their short-lived Mohawk Records label. They asked Dion to sing a song which had been arranged by Hugo Montenegro, and recorded featuring Vic Damone doing vocals. At first Dion refused, stating the song would sound like something his old fashioned parents would listen to, but the Schwartzes convinced him to give it a try. The backing vocals were by a group called "the Timberlanes", whom Dion had never met. The resulting single, "The Chosen Few", was released under the name "Dion and the Timberlanes", and became a minor regional hit. In a 2019 interview at "Crashing the Party" (a radio program related to Norton Records in Brooklyn, New York), Dion stated that "The Chosen Few" hit the Top Ten locally in Boston, which enabled him to perform this song on ''American Bandstand''. The kids at the show started screaming during his performance, and gave Dion his first impression of being a record star. In his autobiography, ''The Wanderer'', Dion explained that he didn't even know who the Timberlanes were. "The vocal group was so white bread, I went back to my neighborhood and I recruited a bunch of guys – three guys – and we called ourselves Dion and the Belmonts".

Bob and Gene Schwartz signed Dion's friends, the Belmonts: Carlo Mastrangelo, Fred Milano and Angelo D'Aleo. The vocal group was named for the Belmont, Bronx neighborhood. They teamed them up, with Dion singing as lead. The new group's breakthrough came in early 1958, when " I Wonder Why" (on their newly formed Laurie Records) made No. 22 on the U.S. charts. Dion said of the Belmonts:

Their initial hit was followed by " No One Knows" and "Don't Pity Me", which also charted the ''Billboard'' Top 100. This success won a place for Dion and the Belmonts on the ill-fated "The Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), Frankie Sardo and other performers. On February 3, 1959 (after a concert stop in Clear Lake, Iowa), Holly and others decided to charter a flight to the next venue rather than travel on the tour bus. Dion was invited to accompany the group but decided that he did not want to spend $36 for the flight, as it was the same monthly rent his parents paid for his childhood apartment and he could not justify the indulgence. The plane crashed, killing all on board: Holly, Valens, Richardson and the pilot Roger Peterson. Dion and the Belmonts continued on the tour, along with Frankie Sardo, while Bobby Vee (then an unknown artist) performed in Holly's place at the very next concert. Jimmy Clanton, Frankie Avalon and Fabian were later added to replace the other now-deceased headliners.

Dion and the Belmonts' next single, " A Teenager in Love", was released in March 1959. It eventually reached No. 5 on the U.S. pop charts and No. 28 in the UK. The group's biggest hit, "Where or When", was released in November of that year, and reached No. 3 on the U.S. charts. However, in early 1960, Dion checked into a hospital for heroin addiction, a condition he battled since his mid-teens. Further single releases for the group that year were less successful. With musical, personal and financial differences between Dion and members of the Belmonts, Dion left the group for a solo career in October 1960. By the time of their breakup, all eight Laurie releases had charted on the Hot 100.

Solo stardom and touring worldwide (1960–1964)

By the end of 1960, Dion produced his first solo album on Laurie Records, ''Alone with Dion'', released in 1961. The single " Lonely Teenager" rose to No. 12 in the US charts. The name on his solo releases was simply "Dion". 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 an up-tempo number co-written with Ernie Maresca with a new vocal group, the Del-Satins. The record, "Runaround Sue", stormed up the U.S. charts, reaching No. 1 in October 1961, and No. 11 in the UK, where he also toured. "Runaround Sue" sold over a million copies, achieving gold disc status.

For the next single, Laurie promoted the A-side, "The Majestic", but it was the B-side, Maresca's " The Wanderer", which received more radio play and climbed swiftly up the charts to reach No. 2 in the U.S. in February 1962 and No. 10 in the UK. The 1976 re-release made the UK Top 20.

By the end of 1961, Dion had become a major star, touring worldwide and making an appearance in the Columbia Pictures musical film '' Twist Around the Clock''. In 1962, he followed with a string of singles he wrote or co-wrote including "Lovers Who Wander" (No. 3), " Little Diane" (No. 8), " Love Came to Me" (No. 10). He also had successful albums with ''Runaround Sue'' and ''Lovers Who Wander''.

At the end of 1962, Dion moved from Laurie to Columbia Records. He was the first rock and roll artist signed to the label, which was an anomaly considering that Mitch Miller (its then-A&R director), loathed that particular genre of music. The first Columbia single, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "Ruby Baby" (originally a hit for the Drifters) reached No. 2, while "Donna the Prima Donna