Dion

Induction Year: 1989

Induction Category: Performer

"Singer Dion DiMucci, better known simply as Dion, epitomized the indigenous music of the Bronx streets where he grew up. In 1957, he teamed with three neighborhood pals - Fred Milano, Angelo D’Aleo and Carlo Mastrangelo - to form a vocal group that earned a reputation as the best streetcorner singers for miles. Dion and the Belmonts (named for Belmont Avenue, in the Bronx) perfected four-part harmonies while falling under the spell of rock and roll. The quartet combined the doo-wop sound of their home turf with a raft of rock and roll and R&B influences that included , , and . With the encouragement of Dion’s parents, the budding singer got signed to the New York-based Mohawk label (later Laurie Records) and was initially groomed as a solo singer. Soon after his debut single, “The Chosen Few,” Dion brought the Belmonts on board. In early 1958, Dion and the Belmonts recorded their first Top Forty hit, “I Wonder Why.” A year later, they cracked the Top Ten with “A Teenager in Love,” written by and Mort Shuman. That winter, as the single moved up the charts, Dion and the Belmonts joined the Winter Dance Party, a package tour. Because he balked at paying the $35 it would have cost him, Dion declined an invitation to fly on the chartered plane that went down on February 3rd, 1959, killing fellow musicians , and J. P. “the Big Bopper” Richardson. Dion and the Belmonts scored their biggest hit, “Where or When,” in 1960, but the group found itself being steered in a polished, adult-pop direction and Dion left to reclaim his rock and roll roots. In 1961, he hit upon a loose, swaggering style that he could call his own with the songs “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer.” At this time, Dion was nearly alone among all the “teen idols” in attempting to equal the sultry charge that had brought to rock and roll. Other hits in the same swinging, spontaneous vein followed: “Lovers Who Wander,” “Little Diane,” “Ruby Baby,” “Donna the Prima Donna.”

Dion’s star subsequently dimmed in the wake of the British Invasion and some personal setbacks that included a struggle with drug addiction. However, he re-emerged in 1968 with a more introspective, folk-based style that earned him his tenth Top Ten song, a thoughtful ode to slain martyrs entitled “Abraham, Martin and John.” In 1973, he reunited with the Belmonts for a concert at Madison Square Garden that resulted in a well-received live album, Reunion. Subsequently, the ever-versatile Dion added Christian music to a stylistic canon that includes folk, doo-wop, rhythm & blues, and rock and roll.”

TIMELINE

July 18, 1939: Dion was born.

1958: Dion and the Belmonts reach #22 with “I Wonder Why”.

1959: Aldon hires Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who marry and become a songwriting team. “Teenager in Love,” by Dion & the Belmonts, reaches #3.

1959: Dion and the Belmonts hit #5 with “A Teenager In Love”.

1960: Dion and the Belmonts hit #3 with “Where or When”.

October 23, 1961: Almost one year after splitting with his backing group the Belmonts, Dion’s “Runaround Sue” hits #1.

1963: Dion reaches #2 with “Ruby Baby”.

1989: Dion is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Essential Recordings

The Wanderer
Runaround Sue
A Teenager in Love
Ruby Baby
I Wonder Why
Donna the Prima Donna
Lovers Who Wander
This Little Girl
Lonely Teenager
Abraham, Martin and John