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Dion

The Bronx singer who led Dion and the Belmonts, then made Runaround Sue and The Wanderer on his own, and kept reinventing himself for six decades, from a lost Phil Spector album to a late run of blues records.

Origin
The Bronx, New York, United States
Years active
1957-present
Genres
doo-wop, rock and roll, pop, folk rock, blues
Labels
Mohawk, Laurie, Columbia, ABC, Warner Bros., Phil Spector Records, Lifesong, DaySpring, Arista, Norton, Keeping the Blues Alive
Also known as
Dion DiMucci, Dion Francis DiMucci

The Belmonts

Dion Francis DiMucci was born on 18 July 1939 in the Bronx and raised in the Belmont section. His father, Pasquale, was a vaudeville entertainer. What lit Dion up was Hank Williams: by twelve he had collected fifty of his singles. In 1957 he brought together Freddy Milano, Angelo D'Aleo and Carlo Mastrangelo, and the four took the name Dion and the Belmonts from Belmont Avenue.

Their first Laurie release, I Wonder Why, was the label's very first record. It was cut at Bell Sound Studios and reached 22 in 1958. A Teenager in Love, written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, reached five in 1959, and Where or When, released that November, reached three. By the time of the breakup all eight of their Laurie releases had charted. Dion left in October 1960. The group wanted to stay with harmony, he said, and he wanted to rock and roll.

Solo and Columbia

Billed simply as Dion, he made Alone with Dion for Laurie in 1961. Then he took a song he had co-written with Ernie Maresca to a new vocal group, the Del-Satins. Runaround Sue reached number one in October 1961 and gave its name to an album the same year, Runaround Sue. The follow-up, The Wanderer, began as the B-side of The Majestic and rose to number two in February 1962.

At the end of 1962 he moved to Columbia, the first rock and roll artist the label signed. His first Columbia single, Ruby Baby, reached number two, and Donna the Prima Donna and Drip Drop both reached six in late 1963. Then John Hammond introduced him to the blues, and he recorded Hoochie Coochie Man and Spoonful.

A lost album and a comeback

In 1965 he formed a new backing band, the Wanderers, with Mastrangelo on drums. In sessions that ran through the spring and autumn, with Tom Wilson producing at Columbia's Studio A, they cut fifteen songs, three of them Bob Dylan's. Columbia issued a few as singles but shelved the album, and Dion left the label. It finally appeared in 2017 as Kickin' Child: The Lost Album 1965. In 1966 and 1967 he reunited briefly with the Belmonts for Together Again on ABC, and in 1967 he appeared on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

In August 1968 he returned to the top of the charts with Abraham, Martin and John, a Dick Holler song that reached four on the Hot 100 and number one in Canada. He moved to Warner Brothers in 1969 and made albums as a singer-songwriter.

Spector and the wilderness

Phil Spector, who had admired the early Belmonts records, produced six of the eight tracks on Born to Be with You, released in October 1975. Spector held it back for a year. In Britain the music press called it a dirge, and Dion said that the production made it sound like funeral music. By the 1990s it was being rediscovered, with Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream, Jason Pierce of Spiritualized and Pete Townshend all among its admirers, and it is on the 1001 Albums list.

Streetheart (1976) and Return of the Wanderer (1978) were commercial failures. From 1980 to 1986 he made Christian albums for DaySpring, and I Put Away My Idols reached 37 and earned him a Grammy nomination.

Return

A 1987 concert of his old hits at Radio City Music Hall led to a series of appearances. Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Lou Reed all named him as a prime influence. Yo Frankie (1989), produced by Dave Edmunds, brought in Reed, Simon, k.d. lang and Bryan Adams. Reed inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the same year. Runaround Sue entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002, and The Wanderer followed in 2017.

From 2006 he made a series of blues albums. Bronx in Blue (2006) earned a Grammy nomination and reached number two on the blues chart. Blues with Friends (2020) spent nine weeks at number one, with Springsteen, Paul Simon, Van Morrison and Jeff Beck as guests and liner notes by Bob Dylan. Girl Friends (2024) was his third number one blues album. In 2023 Rolling Stone placed him at number 154 among the 200 greatest singers. Springsteen has called him the link between Frank Sinatra and rock and roll.

Records

Songs

Phil Spector, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan

Where to go next

Official

Reference

Writing and criticism

Interviews

Labels

Sources

  1. Dion DiMucci, Wikipedia
  2. The Belmonts, Wikipedia
  3. Dion: career, Dion official site
  4. Dion, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  5. Dion interview: now at 80, he is embracing the blues, The Guardian (2020-06-16)
  6. Born To Be With You/Streetheart, Ace Records
  7. Dion Talks Lost 1965 Album, Billboard (2017-03-20)