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Dion Francis DiMucci (born July 18, 1939), better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter who blended elements of doo-wop, pop, rock and R&B styles.
Dion was born to an Italian-American family in the Bronx.[ As a child, he used to accompany his father, a vaudeville entertainer, on tour, and developed a love of country music particularly Hank Williams and the blues and doo-wop stars he heard in local bars and on the radio. His singing abilities were honed on the street corners of Crotona Avenue, where he rounded up other local singers inventing a cappella licks, and in local clubs.
In early 1957, he auditioned for Bob and Gene Schwartz, who had just formed Mohawk Records. They recorded him with a vocal group, The Timberlanes, and released a single "The Chosen Few", arranged by Hugo Montenegro, which became a minor regional hit.
Schwartz also signed up Dion's friends, The Belmonts, named after nearby Belmont Avenue. Their breakthrough together came in early 1958, when "I Wonder Why" made #22 on the national US charts, followed up with "No One Knows" and "Dont Pity Me" which were also chart hits.
This success won Dion and the Belmonts a place on the "Winter Dance Party" tour with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. On February 2, 1959, after playing in Clear Lake, Iowa, Dion decided that he could not afford the $36 cost of a flight to the next venue -- this was the same monthly rent his parents paid for his childhood apartment, and Dion decided he couldn't justify the indulgence. [2] The plane crashed, and Holly and the other stars were killed, still the tour continued with Jimmy Clanton and Bobby Vee being added to the bill as replacements. Dion and the Belmonts continued to perform until the end of the tour.
In March 1959, Dion and the Belmonts next single, "A Teenager in Love", was released, making #5 in the US pop charts and #28 in the UK. Their biggest hit, "Where or When", was released in November 1959, and reached #3 on the US charts. However, in early 1960, Dion checked in to hospital for heroin addiction, a problem he had had since his mid-teens.[citation needed] Further single releases for the group that year were less successful. There were musical and financial differences between Dion and members of the Belmonts, and in October 1960, Dion decided to quit for a solo career. The main reason was because of his heroin addiction.
By the end of 1960, Dion had recorded and released his first solo album, Alone with Dion, and the single "Lonely Teenager", which rose to #12 in the US charts. The performer name on his solo releases was denoted simply as "Dion" without the last name. Follow-ups "Havin Fun" and "Kissin Game" had less success, and the signs were that Dion would drift onto the cabaret circuit. However, he then recorded, with new vocal group the Del-Satins, an up-tempo number co-written with Ernie Maresca. The record, "Runaround Sue", stormed up the charts, reaching #1 in the US charts in September 1961, and #11 in the UK, where he also toured.
For the next single, the record company promoted the A-side, "The Majestic", but it was the B-side, Marescas song "The Wanderer", which received the radio plays and again rose swiftly up the charts, reaching #2 in the US charts in December 1961 and #10 in the UK. As a classic oldie, it made the UK top 20 again in 1976.
By the end of 1961, Dion was a major star, with a worldwide touring schedule, and an appearance in the Columbia Pictures musical film Twist Around the Clock. He followed up with a string of hit singles "Lovers Who Wander" (#3), "Little Diane" (#8), "Love Came To Me" (#10) - all making the top 10 in 1962. Several of these were written or co-written by Dion. He also had successful albums with Runaround Sue and Lovers Who Wander.
At the end of 1962, Dion moved from Laurie to Columbia Records, the first rock-and-roll artist ever signed to that label. The first Columbia single, Leiber and Stollers "Ruby Baby",(originally a hit for The Drifters), was a big hit, reaching #2, and "Donna the Prima Donna" and "Drip Drop" (another cover of a Drifters hit) ,both reached #6 in the charts in late 1963. (Dion also recorded an Italian version of "Donna the Prima Donna" using the identical backup vocals.) His other Columbia releases were less successful, and problems with his addiction and changing public tastes caused him to enter a period of commercial decline.
SOURCE: Wikipedia
