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DION "RUNAROUND SUE" AND "TEENAGER IN LOVE"

HITMAKER WHO MADE A CONTROVERSIAL ALBUM WITH PHIL SPECTOR

Record Collector (UK) article May 1984 BY SPENCER LEIGH

Dions curious career goes back over 25 years, and it's full of fits and starts and changes in direction. He is very much his own man and .the songwriter Mort Shuman put it succinctly. Dion is one of the great ones but he's his own worst enemy. He's a very, very good singer but he's never been satisfied with anything he's done. He always been searching, trying to find himself, and so he's never achieved the real heights. I'm sorry about that because he has so much sensitivity in his voice and he's a very sweet person". Or, as Dion himself sang, "I'm the type of guy who'll never settle down". The first peculiarity is his name. Dion, his first name, rhymes with 'neon', whilst his surname, which he uses professionally from time to time, has been shown as DiMuci, Dimuci, Dimucci, Di Mucci and Deimucci. I think DiMucci is correct.

Clearly the name is of Italian extraction. Dion DiMucci was born on 18th July 1939 in the Bronx, a cosmopolitan area of New York. He has said, "I have two sisters and 250 other relatives", and there would be large, musical get-togethers. He was given an old Gibson guitar when he was 10 and he learnt Hank Williams' songs. At 12, he was appearing on stage with his father. In 1954, he appeared on a Philadelphia TV show hosted by the bandleader Paul Whiteman. He regularly worked in night-clubs.

Richard Price's powerful novel and subsequent film 'The Wanderers' describes Bronx street gangs and was aptly named after one of Dion's hits. I'm told that Dion thought the film accurate - except in one respect. The Baldies, of which he was one, didn't have shaved heads themselves. Rather, this is what they did to their victims. Dion was well-behaved at home and he taped a song for his mother as a Valentine's Day present. She played it to her friends and one of those friends knew someone in the record business. So in September 1957 Dion made his first record with a big band and a studio vocal group, the Timberlanes. The record, "The Chosen Few"/"Out In Colorado" (Mohawk 105) did well in Boston and Philadelphia, and it was picked up by a bigger label and released on Jubilee 5294. Mohawk asked Dion to bring a vocal group along for his next session. It wasn't difficult for as Dion says, "Every house in the Bronx has a vocal group in those days. Every street corner had a gang of layabout harmony experts. It was real crowded".

Dion therefore formed the Belmonts, who were named after an avenue in the Bronx. There was Angelo D'Aleo (first tenor), Freddie Milano (second tenor) and Carlo Mastrangelo (baritone) and they were aged between 16 and 18. They cut two singles for Mohawk, "Teenage Clementine"/"Santa Margerita" (106) and "Tag Along"/"We Went Away" (107). The Mohawk tracks are rare and very collectable, but "Tag Along" surprisingly appeared in the UK on a 1976 Dion and the Belmonts compilation album.

"Tag Along", a wild rocker, was written by Gene Schwartz and he signed Dion and the Belmonts to his new record label, Laurie. Their first single for the label, "I Wonder Why", was an amusing barrage of scat phrases and frantic vocals. Listening to it now on a hi-fi system, it sounds dated, but it was great on a Dansette in 1958. "I Wonder Why" was the group's first US chart hit, making No.22, but the publicity was so low-key in the UK that noone noticed that the label said "Dion and the Delmonts" (sic). In 1978 the song almost made No. 1 in a smoothed-down version by Showaddywaddy.

Dion and the Belmonts made No.19 on the US charts with their next single, an anguished ballad called "No One Knows", but the B-side "I Can't Go On (Rosalie)" has proved to be more durable. Another ballad "Don't Pity Me" made No. 40, and this was their current single when they toured in "The Winter Dance Party". Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper were killed in a plane but decided to stick with the road.

In April 1959 Dion and the Belmonts made No. 3 in the US charts with a Mort Shuman-Doc Pomus song, "A Teenager In Love". Mort Shuman says, "Laurie wanted something sweet and romantic to suit his plaintive voice. So we wrote "A Teenager In Love". I sang it at the piano to Dion and the Belmonts with all the oohs and aahs put in and they loved it".

Dion and the Belmonts faced stiff comptition with UK cover versions from Marty Wilde (who also recorded "No One Knows" and "Don't Pity Me"), Craig Douglas (who sounded a little too happy) and Dickie Valentine (who had left his teenage years long behind). In the event, Marty Wilde went to No.2, cheerful Craig to No.13, Dion and the Belmonts to No. 28, and Dickie Valentine didn't get a look in. Undoubtedly, Dion and the Belmonts would have fared better without the competition but at least they had made the charts. In 1961 the Four Preps parodied the song as part of "More Money For You and Me", suggesting that Dion and the Belmonts were more at home ripping off hubcaps.

The group's followup to "A Teenager In Love" was not so successful. "Every Little Thing I Do" peaked at No.48 in the US charts, while the B-side "A Lover's Prayer", written by Ernie Maresca, made No. 73. Furthermore, the group was having problems as Angelo D'Aleo was conscripted and Dion needed hospital treatment for drug addiction. However, in January 1960 Dion and the Belmonts soared up the US charts with; the Rodgers and Hart oldie "Where Or When", reaching No.3. The lyric was suited to older singers, but nevertheless it is one of the most romantic singles from the late 50s and early 60s. Another oldie, "When You Wish Upon A Star", made No. 30, and the US B-side, "Wonderful Girl", was replaced in the UK by "My Private Joy", a contender for the most strident rock 'n' roll record of all-time. Dion's final record with the Belmonts, "In The Still Of The Night", made No.38 in the US and failed miserably here. Only one of Dion and the Belmonts' records made our charts but as their releases were being switched from label to label, record companies had difficulty in promoting the' group.

Dion split with the Belmonts in 1960 because their management could envisage two separate careers. Dion, with neat suits and Brylcreem'd pompadour, would emerge a teen idol, while the Belmonts would follow the doo-wop road. It didn't quite work out that way. The Belmonts released several singles, mostly for the Sabrina Label, but only two were US hits: "Tell Me Why" (18,1961) and "Come On Little Angel" (28,1962). However, they continued singing and their highly-rated LP "Cigars, Acappella, and Candy" (US Buddah) includes a 14-song medley, "Street Corner Symphony".

DEJECTED

"Runaround Sue", written by Dion and Ernie Maresca, topped the US charts and reached No. 11 here. Dion's slurred vocals were full of cocky intonations, and this highly-charged piece of white R&B makes nonsense of the theory that there 'was only bland pop between Elvis and the Beatles. This was the punk record of 1961.

To this day, DJs wrongly refer to this record as being by Dion and the Belmonts. On "Runaround Sue" and for the next two years, he worked with the Del-Satins, who weren't credited for their contributions but who went on to have their own successes as Brooklyn Bridge. The Del-Satins played a major part in Dion's follow-up to "Runaround Sue", Ernie Maresca's "The Wanderer'.

"The Wanderer" was about Runaround Dion, and the lyric is allied to the sexual boasting found in blues songs. For example, compare "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man with such lines as "I love 'em and I leave 'em, they don't even know my name". Feminists today might be horrified by the lyric, but it went to No.2 in the US and No.10 here. The dance song on the B-side, "The Majestic", also made the US charts. Great videos could have been made of Dion's records and it's a shame that we only have the perfunctory performances in the films "Teenage Millionaire" and "Twist Around The Clock".

Although Dion's next record, "Lovers Who Wander", made No.3 in the US, it was a disappointment as he had simply regurgitated "Runaround Sue". Similarly, the B-side, '(I Was) Born To Cry", was derivative of "The Wanderer". "Little Diane", a Dion composition that made No. 8 in the US, was far better and had another macho lyric:' "I should knock you down and slap your face/Bad girls like you are a disgrace". Interestingly, the song was published by Spanka Music!

"Love Came To Me", with some lovely harmony work, reached No. 10 and ,was Dion's last release before he left Laurie for Columbia. However, Laurie issued old; product in opposition to his new and he got to" No.21 that way with "Sandy". He had been very productive during his time with the label and Dion was actually featured on 11 of the label's first 22 albums. The best way to build up a collection is to seek out the boxed set 60 Greatest Of Dion And The Belmonts", which was only released in America. His two UK albums with the Belmonts, "Presenting Dion And the Belmonts" and "Toppermost, Volume 2", are highly collectable, although the latter contains reworkings of oldies that lack the imagination of "Where Or When". His solo UK albums, "Runaround Sue" and "'Lovers Who Wander", merge passable covers of contemporary material ("The Twist", "Dream Lover") with original material I'm particularity fond of the EP "Swingalong With Dion", which contained four tracks that hadn't been issued elsewhere. Dion's work at Laurie, with and without the Belmonts, had been very creative and it's ludicrous for Charlie Gillett to dismiss them in his book "The Sound Of The City" as "little more than puppets, dutifully doing as their producers instructed". Dion is one of only two 60s musicians on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". The Beatles got it right.

BLUESY

"Ruby Baby" was followed by "This Little Girl", a Goffin-King song in the mould of "Little Diane", which made No.21 on the US charts, while the next release "Be Careful Of Stones That You Throw" stuck at No.31. This country music narration would have been a bizarre choice as an album track, let alone a single. Dion got to No.6 with "Donna This Prima Donna", another song in the vein of "Runaround Sue" which was made worthwhile by its amusing reference to Zsa Zsa Gabor. He also went to No.6 with "Drip Drop", which like "Ruby Baby" came from the Drifters' repertoire. It had an unusual lyric construction in that the final word in each line was repeated twice and Dion gave the song everything he'd got.

Rock 'n' roll package shows were becoming a thing of the past and Dion was being cultivated as an all-round entertainer. He emulated Bobby Darin with a sophisticated stage act that included the number, "I'm The Last Of The First Name Singers". We had the opportunity to see for ourselves in October 1963 when Dion came to the UK as part of a tour with Brook Benton, Lesley Gore, Trini Lopez and Timi Yuro. Backed by Ken Thorne's orchestra, he opened the second half and belted out "Once In A Lifetime", "Ruby Baby", "Little Diane", a dramatic and jazzy "Moanin' The Blues" and "Runaround Sue". He'd omitted "A Teenager In Love" and "The Wanderer" but it was a strong set.

John Hammond Snr. introduced him to the blues of Robert Johnson and Lightnin' Hopkins. Dion's interest led to a disastrous fall in his record sales and it's odd that it should have been instigated by one of the label's producers. It ,wasn't the Beatles that knocked Dion off the charts, but the performer himself. His subsequent records for columbia were very good but no one bothered with them at the time and theres been little interest in them since. Hopefully this feature will enable his work to be re-assessed.

One of my favourite Dion records is the B-side "The Road I'm On (Gloria)", a guitar and harmonica performance in which he outlines his life. His folky treatment of "Johnny B. Goode" is a lot of fun and he gives a moving interpretation of "Chicago Blues". Columbia, in a desperate attempt to get him back on the charts, culled "Sweet Sweet Baby", from the "Donna Prima Donna" LP but with no success and further US singles, "Tomorrow Won't Bring The Rain", "Time In My Heart For You" and "Two Ton Feather", sank without trace. Dion appears bearded and with dark glasses on the cover of the US LP "Wonder Where I'm Bound", which demonstrates that his voice was highly suited to the folk and blues songs that he chose. I believe that may also have recorded with the bluegrass band, the Greenbriar Boys, and I'd welcome any information of this.

Dion no longer appeared on stage because his drug habits had caused him to lose his timing and confidence. Columbia dropped him but the Belmonts rallied round for a reunion album "Together Again". (US Pickwick subsequently reissued the album as 'Doo wop', omitting two tracks.) Although the album was a critical success, it was a hybrid between folk and rock 'n' roll that didn't really work, largely because the material was weak. The single "Berimbau" was a collection of nonsense syllables.

Meanwhile Gene Schwartz had decided to reactivate the Laurie label, and he asked producer Phil Gernhard to contact Dion. DicK Holler had written "Abraham, Martin and John" following Bobby Kennedy's assassination in June 1968, and Gernhard wanted Dion to record it. He was reluctant at first because he didn't want to cash in on tragedy but then his wife Sue persuaded him that it was a song about living.

Dion recorded "Abraham, Martin an John" with an orchestral backing and it restored him to the US charts, reaching No.4. His version didn't make the UK charts but the song was a hit for Marvin Gaye in 1970. The B-side, "Daddy Rollin", was a blues number he had recorded with some friends in Miami and Laurie speeded the tape up before release. Greil Marcus in "Rolling Stone" loved "Daddy Rollin" and called it "something that no Dion fan can afford to be without". As the track hasn't been included on an album, it is fairly hard to obtain but it has been issued twice on a single in the UK.

The album that contains "Abraham, Martin and John" was simply called "Dion". When Tim Hardin started, I noticed a Dion infection in his voice: now Dion seemed to have been influenced by Tim Hardin. He sings softly but passionately and it's a very good album, although the publicity verged on overkill: "Dion was a star who exchanged his stardom for real life and spent some years living it. This is his new album and it's real".

He acquired the confidence to perform in public again and he said, "From the small clubs I learned to like my audience and to walk away from shows feeling like I've made friends". his appearance at the Lincoln Folk Festival surprised many people because "Abraham, Martin and John" had not been a UK hit for him and they didn't know he'd changed direction.

In 1969 Dion joined Warner Bros. and began a production period that led to four folk-based albums in as many years. He began with "Sit Down Old Friend" which he described as "an intimate album with only my guitar for company". The tracks include Dick Hollers "Natural Man" which describes Jesus as the first hippie and a moving song about being a father, "Little Pink Pony". There isn't much variety on the album but it's a first-rate collection.

HEROIN

Although he was working with other musicians, Dion's second album for Warners, "You're Not Alone", was another intimate collection. He wrote seven of the songs including "The Stuff I Got" in which it's not clear whether he's selling drugs or sex. The album also contains an emotional version of Melanie's "Close To It All" and a full-blooded interpretation of "Let It Be" that (horror of horrors!) I prefer to the Beatles' recording.

Dion was at his happiest on the third Warner's album, "Sanctuary". "Willigo" and "Harmony Sound" show his ability as both a songwriter and a performer. He reworks "The Wanderer" as a funky blues with some new lyrics, and three of the tracks were recorded at the Bitter End in New York. Another track from those sessions, "Dr. Rock and Roll", found its way onto the collection "'The Bitter End Years.

The fourth album, "Suite For Late Summer , is a romantic collection of songs, largely self-composed, with an orchestral backing. The album drags at first hearing because of its similar tempos, but repeated playing helps appreciation. The songs are wordy, not to say pretentious, but it's still an enjoyable album. "Traveller In The Rain" and "Jennifer Knew" are particularly nice, but the lyric 'to "Tennessee Madonna" is so overblown that it's laughable.

REUNION

Dion's next venture was to record some songs with the producers Terry Cashman and Tommy West. A single, "New York City Song", was enhanced by Cashman and West's harmonies, but the sessions didn't restore him to the charts.

A more ambitious project was Phil Spector's desire to make a rock 'n' roll album with Dion. It should have been very successful but unfortunately on this showing Spector's Wall of Sound was about to collapse. Dion's voice is criminally misused on "Born To Be With You", the melodies are wasted, and the tempo is dreadfully slow. It's like hearing a 45 rpm played at 33 rpm. Noel Edmonds rejected the title track after only one minute on his breakfast show with the words "Who wants to listen to that"?

SPECTOR

Although the "Born To Be With You" album is supplemented by two tracks which Spector didn't produce ("Your Own Back Yard" and "New York City Song"), two further Spector productions were released on singles. One was a slowed-down version of "Running Close Behind You", a song that initially appeared on "Suite For Late Summer", and the other was "Baby, Let's Stick Together" on which Dion sounds like Gary Glitter. Perhaps it was a tribute to Glitter who had recorded "The Wanderer" on an album!

Dion returned to the UK charts in 1976 with a reissue of "The Wanderer", making No. 16, and since then there have been other reissues. To quote Robin Katz's sleeve notes on "Pick Hits Of The Radio Good Guys -Dion And The Belmonts' Greatest Hits", "A good song is like 'a good switchblade . . . It always stays sharp". Dion himself took to reviving his old hits in performances on "Dick Clark's Rock 'n' Roll Revue".

After the sorry collaboration with Phil Spector, Dion got back on course with "Streetheart", a less ambitious and far more successful album. His performance of "The Way You Do The Things You Do" recalls his slurred vocals on "Ruby Baby", and "Queen Of '59" is a lovely song about nostalgia with backup vocals from Phil Everly.

Dion was back with Terry Cashman and Tommy West for his 1978 album "Return Of The Wanderer", a superb album which crosses the bridge between his Bronx music and Bruce Springsteen's. The six-minute "Midtown American Mainstreet Gang" is an excellent study of gang life and describes how the gang fell apart through conscription, marriage and drugs. Other excellent songs include "I Used To Be A Brooklyn Dodger", "The Pattern Of My Lifeline",, Tom Waits' "Heart Of Saturday Night" and his thoughts about Bonnie Rait, "Guitar Queen". Dion's voice is very strong and it's unfortunate that the album has never been released in the UK. However, two other Terry Cashman productions, "We Don't Talk Anymore" (not the Cliff Richard song but a Dion original) and "Midnight Lover", were released somewhat belatedly as a UK single in 1983.

RETURN

Dion refers to his "new life of service" and there has been talk of UK appearances. However, there could be problems in promoting Dion as a religious set will not be what most audiences want But Dion has mastered the changes in his career very well, and his records have been consistently good. His rock 'n' roll ones may be, the ones for collectors, but others are well worth seeking out.