A 20-year rock veteran shares his faith, hope and love

Contemporary Christian Music magazine (circa 1980, I think. I left the

original at my mom¹s house)

I have to be honest. I don¹t remember when there wasn¹t a Dion. But then I

don¹t remember when there wasn¹t rock Œn¹ roll either. I learned to line

dance to ³Runaround Sue² and ³The Wanderer.² And in Œ68, ³Abraham, Martin

and John² expressed my own deep disappointments and precarious hopes so

simply that I wept the first time I heard it. So, sitting in the airport

waiting for a plane and an interview, my nerves buzzed.

I had already accumulated enough biographical data to write a book; yet

talking to a few friends, I had also learned that although Dion¹s career

spans the last two decades, many rock aficionados may need a brain boost to

remember this New York Italian¹s musical credentials.

Try: He¹s appeared with Bobby Darin, the Everly Brothers, Sam Cooke, Johnny

Mathis, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and (remember now?) The Belmonts. He¹s

worked with producers like Steve Barri, Michael Omartian and Phil Spector.

He¹s played virtually everywhere, including Madison Square Garden, the Roxy

and the Golden Banana. And in 1960 [error theirs--Devanie], he barely missed

a plane to Fargo, North Dakota--the one that crashed, killing Buddy Holly,

Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson).

Brought up in the Bronx, Dion is the prototype rock n roller. He spent

half his life struggling with a drug problem he picked up on the streets at

age 16. He¹s cut 32 charted singles since 1958 and released 24 LPs (not

counting last year¹s street rock album never pressed or his newly released

Christian LP.) Richard Price even wrote a novel-made-movie inspired by

Dion¹s tune, ³The Wanderer.² (The film, The Wanderers, vividly reflects the

New York streets where Dion grew up--skinheads and all.)

Inside Job, Dion¹s first recording since his conversion to Christ, possesses

the stylistic variety critics have enjoyed in his work since the early days.

This new Dion sings a message available to rockers and New Jersey

housewives. The songs are simple and sincere lyrical reflections of his

relationship with the Lord in rock, rhythm Œn¹ blues, country and pop.

I met Dion on the plane. I hadn¹t heard the new album. Neither had Dion. He

was not yet signed to a Christian label and most of the songs on his new LP

had not even been written. Unwilling to begin a formal interview in mid-air,

we talked about Jesus and the Church and air-plane food. Then, on our arrival

in Miami, as we hurried across the airport to catch a cab, I asked him where

he planned to begin his ministry. He looked at me funny. I rephrased the

question.

Where will you first be performing your Christian material?

³I don¹t know. I hadn¹t thought about it really. I have thought about

playing New York again. I love the people there. And they like me. It¹s old

home week whenever I go back.²

The next day, we sat for the following interview and Dion expressed concern

over his answer.

³Look, don¹t ask me about this ministry stuff. I really don¹t know much

about this Christian music business... I mean yesterday you asked me about

my ministry. I¹m not even sure I know what that means. All I know is that I

write and sing songs. I¹ve always liked to get up in front of people and

just sing and talk to them. But I¹m gonna let God decide because whenever I

try to run my own life, I end up in the hospital.²

A street approach. Very direct. Sensitive. He seemed tense about my probing,

as if my questioning might violate his freshly-founded faith. I asked him

what it was like to grow up in New York City.

³I grew up in the Fifties and it was like, well, to be cool, you couldn¹t

talk to people. You just had this, kind of, attitude. I mean you couldn¹t

show any kind of sensitivity or tenderness or any kind of caring because...

you¹d get punched in the face. I¹m talking about the Bronx, New York City,

standing on the street corner with the gang.

³I was kind of lucky because I had my Hank Williams records and I could go

up to my room and I had a ticket out. At a very early age I realized that,

uh, I could even take those guys on the street corner on a trip. You know, I

could sing ³Be Careful of Stones You Throw² and take those guys with me. A

guitar was kind of an odd instrument to have in the Fifties. It wasn¹t that

popular. I mean, the Beatles didn¹t invade the states yet.

Were you like one of the kids in The Wanderers? Would you consider yourself

rebellious?

³Yeah, I was rebellious, but there¹s two ways to rebel. One is for no reason

and one is for the truth.²

What were you rebelling against?

³I didn¹t even know. Just authority that had no substance, that wasn¹t based

on anything solid... just a lot of hypocrisy that I saw growing up in the

police department and a lot of institutions. I don¹t want to sound negative.

I¹m not puttin¹ down different groups of people. What I¹m into now is the

solution--I mean everybody knows the problems. I don¹t have the right to

criticize anybody, but I saw a lot of hypocrisy around me and I was

confused. I wasn¹t equipped to handle it emotionally at all so I just went

off and tried to get attention.²

An article in the New Yorker written in Œ61 quotes your agent, Bonefede...

³Turn that thing off...² He leans over and snaps off the tape recorder.

³Hey, you know, I don¹t know why you wanna bring up all this past stuff.

It¹s all just a bunch of garbage. There¹s so much more to life than I

thought, I was so cut off from life and people, trying to, you know, when

you¹re caught up in what you think people want you to do...²

O.K. But I have to ask just a couple of things for background. It¹s my job.

Our readers need to know where you¹re coming from.

³Oh, well then.² He signs audibly and leans back in his chair.

The writer quoted Bonefede saying that Dion has ³...the knack of knowing

what¹s good for himself, what¹s right for himself as an artist.² Did you

know what was good for you then?

³I don¹t know. I mean, you¹re going back to before I knew there was a power

greater than myself--and I lived a long time as a man of prayer before Jesus

became real to me--I wasn¹t too close to God in Œ61. I was confused--maybe

well-meaning. I was always a seeker and a searcher, and I wanted to find a

better way to express myself. I was always looking for a deep sense of love.

I think that was my motivation in everything wrong and right I did. I was

just I looked in a lot of wrong places--like the song, Center of My Life,¹

says. I used to think it was insecurity and being immature and emotional,

but I think I was just looking for a deep sense of love...

³So I was an artist, in quotes, trying to look for a better way to express

myself. I was on the surface and moving words around, looking for God. And I

looked in a lot of places that, uh, were just a waste of time--or maybe it

wasn¹t, maybe it got me where I am now. I think everything that happened had

to happen.²

What happened?

³What happened to me was, well, to give you an idea of my past: I was pretty

shy, you know. I got into music, got a lot of recognition. I was using drugs

as a kid before I ever got into music. I was kind¹a confused, very restless.

I went to about seven high schools. You couldn¹t talk to me. I was a

dreamer... I was gonna do it my way. I was really self-will-run-riot, you

know?

³So I went along that way. I became very successful to the outer picture--by

the world¹s standards. Eight gold records, 23 million records, success,

travelled all over the world, the whole bit. It kind of distracted me from

the search because I was getting all the pats on the back, you know,

rewarded for my efforts... Coming from a background in the Bronx, when my

parents only paid $30 a month rent, the kind of money I was making--I had a

contract with Columbia that was, like, close to half a million dollars and

whether I sold a record or not they would send me the checks--I thought if I

grabbed a hold of all this stuff that the world tells you, that¹s where it¹s

at. Not that things are bad; it¹s just that there¹s no substance; there was

nothing solid in my life... I was kind of, off on a tangent, makin¹ a lot of

money. It was fun, a lot of good things came out of it. It opened up my

world in a lot of ways.

But one point I want to make; it¹s very important to me. You¹re in a

terribly inadequate position trying to live apart from God in the world.

It¹s just totally inadequate, and that¹s where I was at. So I always felt

like a victim, at the mercy of whatever was happening.²

So what did you do about it?

³I stopped. I stopped because something was wrong. I stopped in the best

years of making records. I had, I think, Ruby Baby¹ on the charts or

Donna, the Prima Donna,¹ one of those rock Œn¹ roll records I made back

then. I started getting back closer to the roots of rock n¹ roll music. I

thought that was important to me at the time. And I started listening to a

lot of blues singers, kind of developed my music, got closer to the guitar

and how to express myself, getting closer to what I wanted to say.

³What happened was I had a kind of spiritual awakening in 67, and in 68--I

think as a result of all that working on the guitar and everything (God

works in mysterious ways) came Abraham, Martin and John.¹ I worked with

Dick Killer [yeah, that¹s what it says--Devanie], and the way the song was

presented was a result of those quiet years. And everybody said, Where¹d

this come from? Weren¹t you the guy who sang The Wanderer¹?

³My life began to open up in 68 because I knew there was a God--God the

Father--and I felt there was a lot more to life than what I was into. I

stopped druggin¹ and drinkin¹, thank God. And it opened my world to that

kind of intimate coffee-house scene. I met a lot of good songwriters and a

lot of nice people. It was a growing period in my life.²

In 1968, a writer for Rolling Stone quoted you saying you¹d had ³a spiritual

awakening... not religion exactly, but a spiritual thing.²

³Yeah, well, I knew there was a God.² He whispers, almost talking to

himself. ³I felt the strength, and I felt loved. And I faced all the things

I was always running away from the last 11 years. I¹m talking about

deep-rooted relationships with God, family, work, people--just becoming a

decent human being.²

But no religion?

³No religion. A lot of fellowship, talking about God, dealing with feelings.

Because all of my family, we all talk about God, but I understood Jesus

intellectually, I thought, Well, being I¹m trying to get close to God, I

know Jesus was closest. If any man ever tried to get close to God, he was

the closest.¹ And that¹s the way I understood Him...²

When did your new relationship with Jesus develop?

³Now, in the eleventh year of being a man of prayer and faith, and a day at

a time praying for God¹s will for me, God¹s will became a little vague. I

started to get restless and maybe slip. I heard myself saying a lot of

things that I say, I would never say those things,¹ you know? With my

children, I thought they were ungrateful--which children might be--but it

was the nature of how I said them and the way I was feeling. I was starting

to feel things close in on me. Yeah, I was starting to get a little

bitter--at moments. And I felt it because I¹d always been very open, and I¹d

felt a closeness to God, and when it does close up it just doesn¹t feel

right. I¹m hooked on comfort, you know, and I felt myself slippin¹ away.

³So one day, I¹m out here, and I¹m running--recreation running. Right? And

I¹m running and in about the second mile I feel a little fatigued and I know

energy comes from God and all I said was, God, I¹d like to be closer to

you.¹ And I guess it¹s like the Bible says, Ask and ye shall receive,¹ you

know?

³The total picture just became completely clear to me... I knew I was

forgiven--because it went through me quickly that I¹d been denying Jesus,

that I thought he was a man who lived 2,000 years ago and I thought some

people didn¹t recognize him. I didn¹t know it was me.

³But I don¹t remember running home. I¹ll tell you that. I was running off

the ground. It was like God spoke to me. He said, Dion, you¹re brand new,

ya hear? I want you to go out and be who you are today. You don¹t have to

imitate yourself when you were 19 or 22. You¹re you, right now. Just be

yourself. You could share this in all your affairs. You don¹t have to make

concessions, hide it in this area, you know. You don¹t have to be like

schizophrenic and live one life inside and one out...²

So you¹ve been born again?

³Oh, definitely. Brand-new. The old passes away...²

How [do] you reconcile that with Catholicism? Weren¹t you baptized and

confirmed Catholic?

³Yeah, but I don¹t remember too much Catholic upbringing. I went through

confirmation and all that, but it didn¹t happen for me then. And after that

I didn¹t pay much attention.²

How can you be born-again and be a Catholic?

³Oh I don¹t know about all that... You¹re not talking to someone who¹s that

knowledgeable in Scripture. I¹ve read the Bible--I¹ve read the whole

thing--after what happened last fall, I just came home and absorbed it like

a sponge. But to represent it, I¹m not, well, you know, all I can talk about

is my experiences. You know, what it was like, what I¹m like now, you know,

what happened to me. And maybe share my experience, strength and hope. But

as far as my being a scholar, I¹m not. I do know that John 3:5 says you have

to be ³born of the Spirit.² We believe that. I mean I practice as a

Catholic; I hear that in Gospel every week. I mean, I can¹t know people¹s

hearts completely, I can¹t take everybody¹s inventory. But I know in my

heart and my mind how Jesus changed my heart.²

Did Jesus change your music?

³Well, he¹s refined my direction completely. He¹s cut away everything I

don¹t want to do, and I¹m left. You see I was on the road doin¹ rock ¹n¹

roll because that¹s the effect I had on people, the image, something they

expected. And when I am at home, I sit down with my guitar. I guess there

were times when I thought that¹s when I feel closest to God and to myself,

really. I feel honest about my music, it¹s all come together. I don¹t have

to look back. I don¹t have to go back. Those songs, they¹re like memories.

If I¹m with a friend and we sit around, we could talk about memories, but I

don¹t want to be anybody¹s memory. I like livin¹ in the now.²

How will your ministry reflect your Catholic Christianity?

³I may talk about a commitment and say to people that when you make a

commitment to make Jesus Lord of your life that¹s when things start

happening--good things. In my mind--and this is my own personal opinion--you

have to make a conscious decision. And I feel you should know when you did

that. I mean you make decisions all day long. You buy orange juice or

grapefruit juice. I think you should know when you turn your will and your

life over to the care of God.

³But I don¹t think it¹s necessary to get people all peaked up musically. I

mean, you can get people to jump up and start clapping their hands at the

end of a show, you know? I mean, is it emotion? I think it needs to be a

little more solid. And it needs to be with someone who¹s very understanding,

and it should be done not with a lot of emotion. It¹s an emotional

experience, sure, but I¹m talkin¹ about with the lights and the sound system

and a whole bunch of amplifiers and a whole bunch of people, all that¹s

outwardly. I¹m talkin¹ about a deep commitment--inside, quietly. This is the

first time I¹m talking about it, but I feel it shouldn¹t be a spectacle.²

You¹ve cancelled all your personal appearances until your next album. Why?

³Well, I felt like I was selling. I always said that if the joy was taken

out of what I was doing, then God has something else in mind for me. And it

got to that point. Now I¹d like to share on a personal level what God has

done for me in my life. It¹s like God spoke to me and said, The reason why

you¹re around right now and why I revealed everything I revealed to you...¹

It sounds spookey, but listen. If I¹m gonna drop names, I might as well drop

the big one. God talks to me--and to Pat Boone, too. But yeah, I feel very

strongly that He made sense out of everything I¹ve been through, and where I

should go from here.²

Will you play secular music again?

³I have no idea. The decision I¹ve made is to sing Christian music and to

share with people. I think it¹s important for me to do that to keep myself

right. I feel comfortable doing that so that¹s what I¹m gonna do. I have

some plans, but I can¹t plan the outcome. I don¹t know about tomorrow. I

make some plans and God works it out His own way.²

Do you ever feel your involvement in secular music may have been sinful,

that it might have taught kids immorality and led them away from God?

³I don¹t know. I feel like God will take care of my part. [I think they

meant ³past.²--Devanie] I gotta be honest with you here. I feel like a lot

of the songs I recorded, especially on an album that was supposed to come

out in March--I recorded it a year and a half ago--are a bunch of garbage.

What¹s wrong with them?

³They¹re negative. There¹s too much negativity out there. There¹s a funny

word: disease. But I look at it like dis-ease,¹ not at ease, you know? And

I feel like there¹s a lot of disease out there are and lot of that music

just adds to it. It¹s like throwin¹ up, it don¹t mean anything. It¹s people

who are lost and glorifying themselves. And there¹s so much more to life,

you know? I feel good giving the glory to God... And that¹s real, it¹s

beautiful. It¹s all the good things that Paul writes about: it¹s patience,

it¹s tolerance, it¹s love. It¹s got life, love, light--everything good.

³I lived in that other world and it¹s very fleeting... And those songs that

have to deal with all of that, you know--what chick you got on your arm,

where you live, or your position--you know, all of that kind of stuff.

³Don¹t get me wrong. I¹m not puttin¹ down havin¹ a nice car or sending your

kids to a nice school, or even having a hit record. But my peace of mind and

knowing I¹m loved by God doesn¹t depend on having a hit record today.²

Did it once?

³Yeah. I guess. Not when Abraham, Martin and John¹ came along, but in the

early days, it started to be like my happiness depended... like a woman

gettin¹ on a scale and her happiness depends on the numbers that she sees

down there. I mean, where¹s that at? You got a good number down there. What?

You¹re happy for a few days? Your peace of mind shouldn¹t depend on that.

³It¹s inside. It¹s all inside.²

A great deal has happened to Dion¹s life since his decision to commit his

life to Christ: He has witnessed to priests...

³Imagine me, doing something like that.²

And acted as music minister of Catholic young people¹s retreats...

³It¹s really beautiful to see them have the courage to open up and, well,

just love each other, you know?²

Recently, Dion and I spoke on the telephone and I asked him how he was

faring. He read me 1 Timothy 1:12.

³I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because He

considered me faithful, putting me into service.²

³That¹s how I feel about all this,² he added, ³I, I just can¹t contain it

all...²

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