A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY


• Dion DiMucci was born July 18, 1939 in the Bronx, New York City
• at age of 12 received a second-hand guitar
• influenced by country (Hank Williams), rock and roll, R&B, blues and doo-wop
• as a teen he sang and played at school dances
• formed the group Dion and the Belmonts and landed a contract, recording "I Wonder Why"
• followed with hit records, concerts, appearances on tv shows and movies
• did worldwide tours with Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison and others.
• a millionaire by the age of 21
• avoided tragedy in 1959 by not taking flight with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper
• after successful recordings (9 hits in two years) such as
  Teenager in Love and Where or When the group broke up.
• In the early sixties he recorded #1 hits
  Lovers Who Wander, The Wanderer and Runaround Sue
• Ruby Baby and Donna the Prima Donna were in top 5
• then drug addiction kept him away from the music scene
• after a spiritual renewal in 1968, he released Abraham, Martin and John
• followed with a series of gospel albums
• inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 (or 1989?)
• has recorded in different musical styles - doo-wap, rock'n'roll, folk, gospel,

SOME OF HIS HITS

• 1959 A Teenager in Love (with the Belmonts)
• 1960 Lonely Teenager
• 1961 Runaround Sue, The Wanderer
• 1962 Lovers Who Wander
• 1963 Ruby Baby / Donna the Prima Donna
• 1968 Abraham, Martin and John

LINKS

Official website of Dion DiMucci
Dion and the Belmonts at the History of Rock
Dion in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music