Supremo Saturday Hanging at the 2023 Birthday of the King of the New York Streets, Dion DiMucci

by Robert Wilkinson

We begin our Saturday eclectic musical feast celebrating the birthday of Dion, "The Man Who Invented New York Attitude!”

Dion DiMucci (July 18, 1939) dominated the airwaves between 1958 and 1964. He then reinvented himself a few years later, after that he took a long vacation, and then came back and is still performing today! He had 39 Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a solo performer, with the Belmonts or with the Del Satins and was inducted by Lou Reed into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Today we have a broad spectrum from his career between 1958 and now.

We begin with Dion and the Belmonts!

Their first hit went to #22, and featured all the classic techniques of do-wop, including stops, drops, and pyramids! For a perfect example of street corner harmonizing in 1958, here’s a great lip synched performance of “I Wonder Why.”

Here’s the studio version of their next hit which made the Top 20, “No One Knows”

In 1959, Dion and the Belmonts hit big with this #5 hit written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman! Here they lip synch to “Teenager in Love”

They immediately followed with this one which went to #3! Great live tv performance footage! “Where or When”

After the Belmonts broke up and he went solo, he took this one all the way to #12! “Lonely Teenager”

After that hit, he went into the stratosphere! I found some classic must see movie footage of our birthday boy. For your twisting pleasure, from the 1961 movie Twist Around the Clock,” we Dion performing 3 songs! First, his signature smash 1961 #1 hit “Runaround Sue.” From the same movie, Dion belts out his #2 hit from 1962, “The Wanderer,” and we finish with the flip side of the previous tune, “The Majestic”

Here are the studio versions of subsequent hits!

“Lovers Who Wander” (#3)

“Little Diane” (#8)

We move into the Leiber-Stoller smash hit from 1962-63! Here’s our birthday boy live on television in 1963 with his unmistakable New York attitude lipsynching his #2 hit “Ruby Baby”

Leiber and Stoller gave him another big one that went to #6! “Drip Drop”

Live in a very peculiar set, here’s Dion with major attitude lip synching to the studio version of “Donna The Prima Donna” (#6)

Very live with an entire orchestra backing him, here’s Dion belting out “Donna The Prima Donna”

We’ll close this set of his early career with a great audio-only clip of the entire 1972 reunion of Dion and the Belmonts at MSG. This show is extraordinary! Dion and the Belmonts – Reunion at Madison Square Garden 1972

From 1988, with Ruben Blades and Lou Reed on backing vocals, Dion gives a picture perfect performance of “Teenager in Love”

This one’s too good to pass up! I grabbed it as soon as it was released in 1989, and it’s as hip and fresh as anything anyone could create! It was the beginning of his comeback, with lots of guests on this album, including Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Patti Smyth, k.d. lang, and more! This is worth every minute of your time, from the strut of “King of the New York Streets” to the poignant “Written on the Subway Wall/Little Star” to the urgent "Loving You Is Killing Me" to sweet “Serenade.” This is an extraordinary album from start to finish. For your enjoyment, iconic Dion! Yo Frankie

To whet your appetite, he did this live tv performance of the leadoff song which is the pinnacle of "New York Attitude" in 1990 on Into the Night! This song is too tough for words!! "King of the New York Streets." Turn it up!

This one is a must see! Another classic from that album, it's a poignant look back in a minor key at a world that no longer exists. It seems we should mark time as BB and AB (Before Beatles and after Beatles) since the world he sings about disappeared in 1964. The guest stars in this video are mind blowing. "Written On A Subway Wall/Little Star."

Here's the third from that comeback album! From 1990, a great tv performance of "And the Night Stood Still."

We'll close the 80s and 90s with an album from 2000 that is a rare gem! This is classic Dion updated for a new century, with a nod to the passing one, especially 1959-60. He was hanging with Bruce Springsteen when he cut Deja Nu. 44 minutes of fun doo wop, ballads, and great rock and roll!

I found this music video of "Angel In the Alleyways” with Patti Scialfa and the Boss!

From what looks to be an awesome benefit concert for the homeless in 1987, Dion got together with Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Billy Joel, and Paul Simon to perform “Teenager in Love”

Last year I had the entire hour and 20 show from 2004 at the Tropicana at Atlantic City, but this year it’s disappeared except for these 3 cuts. The first one is a superb performance complete with spot on stops, drops, and pyramids as Dion cranks out ”I Wonder Why,” which we’ll follow with “Teenager in Love” and close with “Love Come to Me”

Dion’s back strong these past 20 years! We’ll begin this phase with his performance with Paul Simon in 2009 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary show, where he cranked out a version of “The Wanderer.”

From 2015, another collaboration between Dion and Paul in this classic! “New York Is My Home.”

Our closer brings it full circle! Here’s a lost gem finally released in 2017. This is an album of unreleased tracks from when Dion was at Columbia in the early 60s. Produced by the legendary Tom Wilson (Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Mothers of Invention, Velvet Underground, Blues Project and more!), this is a great score of Dion in a transition period with a great producer! Kickin’ Child – The Lost Album 1965

Before our extraordinary encores, here's something friend of the site Steve Taylor found for us! It's the Library of Congress Off the Record Interview with Dion - 1987.

Our first encore is fresh! Released in June 2020, Dion invited a bunch of friends who are amazing blues cats to contribute to this album. This one’s great! For your enjoyment, Dion - Blues With Friends

For our second encore, here’s the incredible original 1968 performance on the Smothers Brothers show or "Abraham, Martin, and John" by Dion as the world first saw it performed in that terrible year. And for your reflection, here's the original studio version set to stills of the great ones in this song. "Abraham, Martin, and John" by Dion Dimucci

For your consideration, the lyrics:

Abraham, Martin, and John

Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.

Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, and it's a-gonna be one day ...

Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walk up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.

Written by Richard Holler in 1968 after too damn many assassinations. 12 years later another John joined the club.

Copyright © 2023 Robert Wilkinson

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