Dion

Starting out singing Hank Williams songs on street corners in The Bronx, Dion DiMucci went on to become one of the doo-wop stars of the early 1960s and croon his way to a string of hits. First coming to prominence with singing group The Belmonts, the band had success with the singles Teenager In Love, I Wonder Why and Where Or When, and were part of the Winter Dance Party Tour during which Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper tragically died in a plane crash. Dion left the band in 1960 suffering from heroin addiction, but recovered to release debut solo album Alone With Dion (1960) and score the hits Lonely Teenager and Havin' Fun. His first huge hit came in 1961 with Runaround Sue, which reached Number 1 in the US, sold over 1 million copies and went on to be named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Its follow-up The Wanderer became Dion's signature tune, reaching Number 2 in the US and later being covered by The Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Status Quo and a whole host of artists. Ruby Baby, Little Diane, Donna The Prima Donna, Drip Drop and Abraham, Martin and John all became Top 10 hits in the US, but by the late 1960s Dion's status as a teen idol had dwindled and he developed a more mature style, working with Phil Spector on the cult album Born To Be With You (1975) and releasing the Grammy Award nominated gospel record I Put My Idols Away (1984). Lou Reed, Paul Simon and Bryan Adams all featured on his rock album Yo Frankie (1984) and he won acclaim for his blues records Bronx in Blue (2006) and Son Of Skip James (2007), but Dion will always be better remembered as doo-wop idol and star of the first wave of pop music.