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Sincerely,
Dion DiMucci
Interview
Who are some of your earlier influences?
With Hank Wiliams, 1 got completely wrapped up in his music and taken on a trip. He would attack a lyric and bite the end of the words off, and he was so committed spiritually and lyrically, and every which way you could think of that 1 became a collector of his records. 1 think 1 had every one by the age of 14. And 1 knew over 70 Hank Williarris songs. 1 also was influenced by a guy named Willie Green that lived in my neighborhood. He was the janitor and also worked in the neighborhood bars and swept up, mopping, and 1 used to hang out with him and 1 soaked up a lot of the heartache in those great blues riffs of the Jimmie Reed and John Lee Hooker renditions that Willie used to do.
2. Were you scheduled to be on the plane that killed Buddy Holly?
Well, 1 was on this Winter Dance Party Tour in 1959 with Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper. And also Waylan Jennings, at the time, was playing bass for Buddy Holly. And it was sub-zero degree weather and we didn't have those beautiful luxury converted touring buses that we have today. It was just a school bus, and we slept in the luggage racks and it kept breaking down, and it was really a rough time for two weeks. But we got very close with each other. In fact. so close, on some of the trips Buddy and 1 would cover ourselves with this blanket, it used to get so cold. And 1 used to tell him 1 all about the characters in Bronx, New York City, where I grew up. Like Frankie Yunk-Yunk and Joe Bee-Bee Eyes. He'd laugh, and he'd tell me stories about Lubbock, Texas. I was supposed to be on that plane. We were recruiting people, the more people the less the fare would be. And when 1 found out it was going to cost $38, 1 bowed out of it. Because at that time, 1 come from Bronx, New York City, and my parents were paying, like, $38 in rent. And my head hadn't expanded to that yet, where 1 could spend a month's rent on a plane trip that was going to be an hour. So you could say $38 saved my life, because that plane went. down in February of 1959, and at the age of 19 1 was baffled. 1 just wondered why 1 was here, and where 1 was going, and what was the meaning of life, those kind of questions. Because we were riding on top of the world. It was a exciting tour, and then the rug was pulled out from under me. And it left me with a lot of questions. Today, thank God, 1 have the answers.
Today you have state of the art sound and lights, luxurious touring buses and incredible venues to work. How does that differ from touring in the early days of rock & roll?
What was differen-t about touring then versus now?
You're talking about equipment, transportation, the different venues that we used to work. 1 think it's difficult, sometimec, for the later generation of rockers to appreciate a time when there were no rules, no expectations. Not to mention no luxury buses, no stage monitors to hear yourself. We had no legal protection and no artists controlling their own destinies. Just a bunch of street singers regarded by society as degenerate infidels. One small step away from the jail or the gutter, you know? But it was a lot of fun because it was a very creative time. Rock & roll didn't exist. We were making it up as we went along and it was very cool traveling with guys like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly.
3. Did you make a lot of money from your early record sales and touring?
Well, you know, 1 think a lot of first-generation rock & rollers got ripped off because they knew nothing about the business. When someone put a contract in front of us and said, "Sign here, it'll protect your song," we didn't know we were signing away the writing or the publishing, and a lot of us even produced our early records and we didn't get production credit. We didn't even know what that was. But, 1 don't think 1 got ripped off completely, entirely. 1 did get ripped off. But looking at it now, 1 did have a lot of opportunities too, and 1 jumped in the water. 1 jumped in, even though it was wavy. Music opened 2 my whole world. It took me from Brorix, New York City, all across America many times. 1 went to Australia, England, Europe, South America, all through Canada, Israel. It just opened my world. 1 met a lot of interesting people and I'm eating fine. So, yes, 1 do have some horror stories, but 1 don't dwell on them. 1 just learn from them and move on.
4. Who were some of the other acts you toured with and what were your impressions of them?
1 consider myself very fortunate because 1 traveled with so many other acts, and 1 toured with such great performers that made a big impression on me, from early on. Like Sam Cooke, did a long tour with him, and he was great. The guy was just smooth and had great rhythm. And Bobby Darrin taught me so much. Actually, Bobby Darrin taught me about taxes. 1 knew nothing about taxes. My father never made enough money to pay taxes. So Bobby showed me. We were on tour for six weeks. 1 kept this journal every day. He would tell me about deductions, it was a novelty to me. When 1 ended up paying $5,000 less than each of the Belmonts, 1 said, "Well, there's something to this." Now it's a pain. But back then it was a novelty. 1 was very fortunate to travel with some of the early rock & roll legends. To me, working with Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Bo Diddley. He had an impact on my life. They changed my life. The music just opened up my whole world. The expression of individual freedom which 1 think rock is, at its best. Was writing songs back in the fifties different from now?
1 think writing songs today, in the '90's, you could use your awareness and write about many subjects, You could express yourself completely. In the '50's, we dwelt on relationships. But it was limited, compared to what you could write about today -- we had some great melodies though.
5. What were some of your inspirations for your songs over the years?
Well, 1 love writing about strong characters, like Runaround Sue, Donna the Prima Donna, King of the New York Streets. 7he WandereCwas written about a guy named Jackie Bums who joined the army, and he was a real character, a real guy with a tot of swagger. He had "Fio" tattooed on his left arm. When he broke up with Flo, he had it covered up with a panther. And then he had "Mary" on his right arm, and he broke up with Mary, two weeks later, he had it covered up with a 3 snake or something. Then he had "Janie" tattooed on his forearm. He kept covering these girls' names up because he'd break up with them, and he finally went out with Rosie, tattooed on his chest. And when they broke up, eventually he had that covered up with a battleship. But 1 like writing about strong characters.
6. Where did you try out your earlier songs?
Well, in the early days of rock & roll, 1 would try out songs on street corners, school yards, the church dances, the beaches, the rooftops. Anywhere the people were we'd break into a song. I'd get my guitar out and I'd try it with the group. We used to record those early songs. When they would work with our friends, we'd bring them down to the studio, record them. We'd bring the record back to the neighborhood, and let our friends hear it, they'd always reprimand us, like, "Hey, man, you ruined it. It was better the night you did it at Joey's house."
7. When and how were Dion and the Belmonts formed?
Well, Dion and the Belmonts were formed in eady 1957. 1 got a record contract, and they kind of put me together with a group called "The Timbedanes," real lame. And 1 told the record company, Laurie Records at the time, 1 said, "Listen guys, let me go back to my neighborhood and get some guys who could sing." So 1 went back to the Brorix and 1 rounded up the best street corner singers from different neighborhoods and brought them down to Laurie Records. And we recorded a thing called, 1 Wonder Why," and that was the beginning of Dion and the Belmonts.
8. What was the image of Dion and the Belmonts and how was your image different from that of Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell and Bobby Darrin?
Well, it's a funny thing. 1 think there were a lot of guys from Philadelphia, like Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Fabian, and all those kind of guys. Good-looking Italian guys. 1 think they lumped us all together. But basically, Dion and the Belmonts were a guy's group. 1 mean, the girls loved us, but we were popular with the guys. And we had an edge. We were more into the rock thing than the pop thing.
4 r Why did the group break up?
Well, the Belmonts and 1 split up in the beginning of 1960. 1 just had a different vision than they had. They kept trying to gear the whole career into kind of jazz mellow harmonies. And 1 was just a rock & roll die-hard. 1 think that's what broke us up. That was the reason. I've never gone towards that music. I've never leaned towards that. I've been a rock & roll fan all these years, from the '60's, whether it was the Stones, or Bob Seeger, whoever was coming along. Springsteen, or John Cougar Mellancamp, I've always been a rock & roll fan. 1 even like some of the young groups: R.E.M., kind of a punk country rock group. And there's a group out now 1 love, it's called Live. They're great.
9. How would you define your style of music over the years?
1 would define my style of music over the years as just, Dion music. 1 think I've been influenced by R & B, definitely country music, definitely blues. And doo-wop. Some of my early records, like "Ruby Baby" and the "WandereC 1 think is a mixture of country, rock, rhythm & blues, with some doo-wop thrown in. It's just been my brand of music all these years, no matter what I've done.
10. How did your bout with drugs come about?
My struggle with drugs were from my very early years. 1 started using drugs when 1 was 14. Didn't know what 1 was doing. And 1 think when 1 got involved in a career 1 kind of went in and out of that. 1 just never worked out the root of the problem. 1 was very successful as a rock & roll artist from'58 to'63. 1 made a couple of million dollars when 1 was 21, and that's when a buck was a buck, travelled all over the world, 12 top 10 records, and that whole bit. The success, in its own way, was a narcotic. It's just very habit-forming, the adulation and recognition. It could just drive you. So 1 really never worked out the drug problem. What happened to me as a result of using and abusing drugs was, 1 started not to like myself, 1 started blaming people for situations, conditions and circumstances 1 was going through, and 1 didn't like what was happening to me. One day 1 sick and tired of being sick and tired, and 1 kind of looked up to heaven and said, "God help me," and He did, 1 haven't had a drug or a drink since April 1, 1968. By the grace of God, 1 found a way.
5 11. What advice would you have for the youth of today regarding drugs?
That's a difficult question, because usually people who are involved in drugs, it's hard to reach them. There's a denial that goes along with it. But if people realise they're having some problem with it, there are so many places that you could go to today, people that are award of the problem, and there is a way out. It's no way to spend your life. Anybody that's doing anything today, with some consistency, doesn't do this.
12. What was the press like in the early days?
Well the press, in the '50's, were very puff-oriented. They never really wrote about what you were like. It was all puff, and impressions, and just very surface. You'd have to put down the cigarette, smile into the camera, that kind of stuff. So some of the documentation of the early roots of rock & roll weren't documented properly. They had magazines like Sixteen. Rolling Stone, and print like that, didn't come along till later on.
13. Who do you listen to today?
1 like John Haftt, 1 listen to Bonnie Raitt, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, 1 listen to Tom Petty, Springsteen, John Cougar Mellancamp. 1 like rock & roll, you know. 1 like Rory Block, she's a new, young girl playing blues, she's terrific. People like that. Dire Straits.
14. What made you record "Abraham, Martin and John" in 1968?
1 recorded "Abraham, Martin and John" in 1968 out of sheer frustration. Martin Luther King was assassinated, and a couple of months later, Bobby Kennedy. The country was in such an unrest, and it looked like a bad situation, and a sad situation, and something that just baffled me and confused me, that 1 was just trying to get a solution, or some answers to such a problem. And 1 just felt that this song was a three-minute piece of hope. And just simply says, "You could kill the dreamer but you can't kill the dream." Because that state of love would be picked up on by us and carried a little further. So these 6 guys were an inspiration in my life. There's a Scripture that says, "Unless a seed fails to the ground and dies, it doesn't bear fruit." And 1 felt like, that's why these men gave their lives.
15. In 1980, you started to record Christian records. What prompted that change?
Well, 1 started recording Gospel music in maybe 1980. At one time 1 was just very selfish, self-centered, very concerned about what 1 was doing and what people thought of it. My life changed around. From self-centered 1 went to peoplecentered or God-centered, where 1 brought to the situation instead of looking to get out of it. Gospel music is a very uplifting kind of music. It focuses on unconditional love, the grace of God, such power, such wisdom, and eternal values. It's a very uplifting music. So 1 recorded, 1 made about six Gospel albums that 1 had just a lot of fun doing.
16. How were those records different from your other records?
Well, it's a funny thing about the Gospel albums 1 made. In Australia, when you walk into a record store, they just have Dion music in the Dion bin, so to speak. But in the States, here, they will put Gospel music in one section, oldies in another section, if you make a new album that goes in a "New" section. They have everything so categorised, instead of just, this is Dion music and -- something that's inside him and he's expressing himself. Songs are like a diary to me. As 1 move through life, my perspective and my thought can be communicated through my music. 1 think rock & roll starts off with a lot of anger, frustration, loneliness. The need to communicate and to connect. The search for some inexpressible need, a need, perhaps, to fill an unrecognised emptiness inside. Probably some of these serve to motivate us. But unless you work through that, and you come to understand that it's an international means of communication for people, so you kind of move through that, and its a wonderful thing to be in music today, to be in this art form. That you could express yourself.
17. How is that industry different from the secular music industry?
1 think the Gospel music business is different than the secular music business only in terms that the focus is on a very high standard. It's focused on eternal values and God's character and His nature. But the business part of it, 1 guess, is the same. My secular albums are focused on my joys, my hopes, my dreams, my fears, my journey, and it's more diversified.
7 You could express your feelings and how you work through certain things or relate to certain things, your perspective on Green peace or the rain forest, ecology, or politics, anything you want to express yourself, you can.
18. What type of places did you work and were they different?
Well, when 1 recorded Gospel music it was very interesting to me, because 1 got called out to do a lot of different types of churches and different forms of religion. 1 saw people in gatherings with different forms of expression, in their way of approaching God. It was a very educational thing for me. 1 was never outside a Catholic church. The first time 1 went into a Baptist church 1 thought 1 was in a bank. So, it was very eye opening, and 1 met a lot of wonderful people in that business.
19. What prompted you to write your autobiography?
What prompted me and motivated me to write the autobiography were a few things. One, 1 think the early years of rock & roll weren't accurately documented. Sometimes people just see the surface, they see the career, they see the image, and they don't know what's going on behind the person. For instance, what 1 have in the book is, after the plane crash that took -- Buddy Holly and Richie Valens and the Big Bopper's - life. The that next night we decided to go on with the Winter Dance Party Tour. We felt they wanted us to go on with the tour, they would have wanted it that way. That very night, Bob Dylan played piano for Bobbie Vee. He was a local act at that time in the Midwest, and was brought in to open for myself and the Belmonts. But everybody has beginnings. And all these little musical stories, 1 think, are of some interest, because those years weren't documented with any kind of reality. We didn't have Rolling Stone Magazine.
20. What was it like being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame meant a lot to me. First of all, it was a great night. 1 was inducted with Stevie Wonder, the Rolling Stones, the Temptations, and Otis Redding. 1 mean, 1 just, 1 felt good. It's a wonderful thing to look out on an audience filled with people, of rockers that have kept me young over the last three decades, like, Springsteen, and Bob Seeger, and Paul Simon, and on and on. And they come there to honor you. It was a wonderful feeling. It just feels... Well, when you're making music, you're sharing a part of yourself. And a night like that just says, you F contributed something and you reached somebody. Because music comes from the heart. And it's just a time to say, 7hank you.
21. How does it feel having such a memorable place in history?
1 think being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was one of the nicest honors that I've ever had. 1 feel grateful.
22. How does it feel when young people come to see you in concert and get off on your music?
Well, it feels great when young people come to a concert and they get off on our music. 1 remember when 1 was coming up, 1 was very interested in the roots of the blues, and 1 went to Carnegie Hall one night to see the Evolution of the Blues. They had everyone from Jimmy Reed and Mississippi John Hurt and Sunhouse to Chuck Berry to Moes Allison. 1 just loved watching the roots. And 1 guess there's a lot of people that come to our shows that enjoy seeing us, for the same reasons that 1 enjoyed seeing some of these blues legends. It's hard to relate to that, but it feels good to see young people in the audience appreciating what we do. And that's what it's all about. 1 love getting out there and seeing the response to what we're doing.
23. You have just recorded a new album, "Dream On Fire." What is it like and how is it different from the "Yo Frankie" album?
"Yo Franki& was an exciting album to do because Paul Simon, Brian Adams wrote a song for me and sang with me, K.D. Lang did some harmonies, and Patti Smythe, and Lou Reed sing on a couple of songs. Dave Edmunds produced it, and it was exciting for me. But this new album, "Dream on Fire," 1 must say, the most fun album 1 ever recorded. 1 had a chance to produce it, and say, and sing, and do exactly what 1 wanted. Nobody was looking at me. 1 had complete freedom. The record company was crazy enough to give me that. So 1 had a lot of fun. And 1 had a chance to do an accapella tune, Bruce Springsteen wrote it. There's a song on there, politically oriented, kind of like an "Abraham, Martin, and John" very relevant and timely right now, it's called, 7he '90's Is the'60's Turned Upside Down." And 1 had a chance to write a song that was very much influenced by Dave Marsh, from Rolling Stone. A tribute to the legends of rock & roll. 1 enjoyed doing that song. And there's a lot of songs about relationships. It's my most favorite album to date.
1 27. Who produced "Dream On Fire" and who played on it?
1 had a wonderful time producing the new album "Dream on Fire." When you have that much control it's just a lot of fun. You don't run off the runway too often, because your focus, stays riveted. To be able to write, play and hear everything physically on that tape that's in your head, and in your heart and soul. It's truly sharing yourself. I'm on that album, that's for sure.
24. Do you still tour regularly and who do you tour with?
1 still tour regularly. To me, that's what it's all about. You make albums to get out there and make music for the people. 1 don't like, you know, sequencing things, 1 like live rock & roll just to see the response from the fans. That's what it's all about for me. It's always been that. 1 love going out in the summer, it's a fun time to tour, people are in a good mood, hopefully you could just take them on a trip and blow the roof off the place. And you know, 1 still have a lot of fun touring with guys like the Everly Brothers. We're going to do a European tour. We're going out this summer. All around the states. 1 work with Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino and Bo Didley. Did a tour recently with Dave Edmunds, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Graharn Parker. Also had a chance to open for Lou Reed and Tom Petty, that was fun. So it's good being active in rock & roll, you know? It's a lot of fun.
25. How do you feel about the newer forms of music like rap, head banger, hip hop, etc.?
1 like some of the groups: R.E.M., a group called Live, Jane's Addiction. 1 have an 18-year-old daughter, my youngest, we went up to the Lollapalooza concert. Unbelievable. 1 mean, strong. I'm not too into heavy metal. To me all those videos, and expression, everything looks the same. It seems to be All rock and No roll. Want to hear some of my rap? 1 could do rap. You know, 1 carry my own little drum machine here. Check it out. Check it out. 10 7 Yo, here's a story that must be told Italian Tony he just sold His house, car, all he got Went to the States Opened the gates To crime, that's what he was doing, The gang, that's what he was doing, The people in fear they shouted that out, The Wanderer, that's what it's about. 1 said, Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, Turn up the music, yo! Turn up the music, yo! You know, it's like, "I'm the type of guy that likes to roam around, I'm never in one place, 1 roam from town to town, and here 1 am."
26. How do you feet about the advent of music videos?
Today you see music. You don't just hear it, you see it. That brought a lot to the business, and yet, in some way, it takes away, in my opinion. Because when 1 did songs like 7he Wanderer` and "Runaround Sue," "King of the New York Streets," "Donna the Prima Donna," it lets the listener use their imagination. But today, it locks you into a video, and that's what you see. But, some of these videos are a work of art. That "Losing My Religion" is a beautiful video.
27. What do you listen to today?
Well, the kind of music that I listen to today is very diversified. But a lot of it is still roots: blues, country, rock & roll. I'm a rock & roll die-hard. 1 love rock & roll. 1 love these bands that are coming out today with two guitars, drums, bass and drums. That was popular 30 years ago, it'll be popular 30 years from now. 1 like rock & roll. 7 28. Is it true you married Runaround Sue and how long have you been married?
Yes, it's true 1 married Runaround Sue. My kids keep saying, the Wanderer got together with Runaround Sue, they cooled each other out and we've been together 29 years. In L.A. years that's like 92.
29. What are some of the highlights and major moments in your career?
What are some of the highlights? Two come to mind. One was a comeback concert for WC13S-FM in 1987, when 1 did two concerts at Radio City Music Hall with a bunch of friends that helped me out. 1 hadn't sung my hit records as Exhibit "A" for years prior to that concert. It was a wonderful turnout, an exciting time for me. That night kind of fused me together, because I'd been doing Gospel music, and it kind of put me together, the past, the present, and the future. It thrust me back into the mainstream. And of course, the concert 1 did at Madison Square Garden with Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Paul Simon, and Lou Reed singing background for me on 7eenager in Love" and 7he Wanderer" at a charity for abused children in New York City. Wonderful night.
30. You've done rock, folk, country and blues. Which is the real you?
Well, they're all a part of me, because I've been influenced by all these different musical styles, you know? You kind of digest all that, and it comes out Dion music.
31. You've been making records through five decades. Even among great artists - this is an astonishing feat. Why do you think this has been possible?
Honestly -- 1 could take no credit for it. This is by the grace of God. I've been very fortunate, and I'm very grateful for it. Thank God.
32. Rock fame is fleeting and fickle, but you've been there since the beginning. What's been the most exciting and creative era?
You know, each era in rock & roll has been exciting in its own right. The '50's, -- there was no rock & roil and we were creating it as we went along. It was a tremendous, exciting, very creative time, especially when Buddy Holly came out of Lubbock, Texas, and Richie Valens from the San Fernando Valley out of the barrio in L.A., and you had Fats Domino from New Orleans with this Cajun blues background. i didn't even know what he was saying. It sounded funny, you know, with those rolling, happy licks on the piano. And Chuck Berry. Eddie Cochran from the Midwest. Here 1 am, from an Italian neighborhood in Brorix, New York City. Black music filtered through an Italian neighborhood, coming out with an attitude, like, yo. 1 mean, we all had these different brands of rock & roll and bringing them to the party. It was a tremendous era, exiting. The '60's -- what could 1 say? It just burst onto the scene. Rock & roll was being thrown back from England, the trans-Atiantic crossing there with the Rolling Stones and the Beaties. Tremendous, exciting time. The 70's brought a lot of artists like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seeger, Elton John, you know? It was wonderful. Rap burst on the scene, so each period has its own brand of excitement.
37. Like most American acts in the sixties, you had to be affected by the "British Invasion." What was the effect?
Well, the British invasion in the '60's did have an effect on me. Devastating in one way at the time, because the music business changed. New acts came in, and they started throwing rock & roll back to us, the rock & roll we threw at them. And things started to change. And that's difficult to accept and to move through. But in retrospect it had a great effect on me. To grow you need new blood and that's what the British Invasion was all about: new blood and new expression. And that's rock & roll.
38. Apart from music, what really interests you most?
Well, you know, to me, my interests are relationships. Not only have 1 been married 29 years, but 1 have 3 daughters, Tane, Lark, and August, and to me, as 1 breathe and move through life, 1 think the real treasures come down to relationships, not how much money you have or how popular you are. My peace of mind doesn't depend on a hit record these days. So that's where my interests fie, in eternal values.
39. What kind of music do you listen to while riding in the car?
Rock and Country -- Some of the pop stations, or rock & roll, has drifted far off of the path of rock & roil. And 1 think, it's almost like the new country acts are closest to the rock & roll 1 started with. And there should be a Country-Rock format, definitely, because it reminds me... the Vince Gills, and Dwight Yoakum, and this kind of country-rock, Travis Tritt, and Marty Stuart... It just reminds me of the rock & roll 1 started with. And there's a lot of thoughtfulness. People playing and backing each other up, and it's kind of a family atmosphere, which 1 relate to, and which 1 started off with.
40. What did writing your autobiography do for you?
1 think everybody should write a book. But very few people do. 1 think it's a wonderful thing to get, out of your mind, your life from A to Z in continuity. A lot of people just flash on the past, and they pull slides out of their head while they're lying in the sun, and kind of go, "Oh, 1 remember when 1 did this." But it's very rare that you go from A to Z in continuity. And this showed me what was really important in my life: the people, the motives that 1 have. And it helped cut away a lot of bad patterns that 1 started seeing. So 1 think 1 learned a lot from looking at myself, in a good way. Actually, here you are writing an autobiography, but 1 think it makes you less self-centered because you get it out. 1 don't know, it made me more interested in people.
41. How do you feel about singing "The Wanderer," "Runaround Sue" and songs like "Ruby Baby" today?
Well, you know, it's a funny thing, you think I'd be tired of them. But those particular songs, those hit records, have become more valuable to me as time moves on. They mean more to me. And 1 think they mean more to the people that come and see our shows. 1 see the response. We hold these songs in a very fond place in our minds, and 1 enjoy singing them today.
