Dion DiMucci, best known mononymously as Dion, is a world-renowned singer and songwriter with a career spanning decades. Best known for doo-wop jukebox classics like "Runaround Sue," "The Wanderer" and "Ruby Baby," Dion earned 39 Top 40 hits across the 1950s and '60s both as a solo artist and with the Belmonts and the Del-Satins. Many classic pop and rock musicians, such as Paul Simon, Lou Reed and Bryan Adams, cite Dion as a direct influence on their work.
Born in the Bronx in 1939, Dion found musical inspiration from his father, a vaudeville performer. Dion was also drawn to the blues, doo-wop and country music, particularly that of Hank Williams. In the early days of his career, Dion sang in local clubs around the Bronx and on street corners. In 1957, Dion was teamed up with Bob and Gene Schwartz to form doo-wop group the Belmonts, with Dion singing lead vocals. Together, they toured with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, and Frankie Sardo. In 1959, Dion narrowly escaped tragedy when he declined to join the other performers on a flight to the next tour stop, opting instead to take the bus. The plane crashed, killing all on board.
In 1960, Dion checked into rehab for heroin addiction. Subsequently, he pursued a solo career and released his first solo album, Alone With Dion, in 1961. Later that same year, Dion recorded "Runaround Sue" (co-written by Ernie Maresca) with the Del-Satins--the single was a smash, hitting No. 1 and selling over a million copies. Dion also found significant fame via "The Wanderer," a B-side to "The Majestic" and also written by Maresca. The same year, Dion performed around the world and appeared in Columbia Pictures' musical film Twist Around The Clock. He signed with Columbia the following year.
From 1965 on, Dion began performing more blues-driven material and teamed up with a new group, the Wanderers, featuring former Belmonts bandmate Carlo Mastrangelo on drums. In 1966, Dion reunited with the Belmonts, recording one LP, Together Again.
By the late 1960s, Dion began singing predominantly Christian material, recording Dick Holler's "Abraham, Martin and John" in response to the decade's assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. The song was enormously successful, selling over one million copies and was certified gold.
Dion spent the 1970s and part of the 80s recording contemporary Christian music. He also reunited with the Belmonts in 1972, releasing a live album Reunion: Live At Madison Square Garden. In 1984, Dion won the GMA Dove Award, also known as the Christian Music Award, for the 1983 album I Put Away My Idols. He was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male for the same album. In 1987, Dion published his autobiography, The Wanderer: Dion's Story.
In 1989, Dion was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was introduced by Lou Reed. Later, in 2002, Dion was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "Runaround Sue." Dion's 2006 album of blues and country standards, Bronx in Blue, was nominated for a Grammy and peaked at No. 2 on the Top Blues Albums chart.
Over the past 20 years, Dion has stayed extremely busy, releasing more than 10 solo studio albums, including 2007's Son of Skip James, 2020's Blues With Friends, and 2021's Stomping Ground, which became Dion's second No. 1 blues album. He has also collaborated with the likes of Joe Bonamassa, Van Morrison, Jeff Beck, Paul Simon, and Bruce Springsteen.
