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"Dion and the Belmonts were perhaps the suavest of New York Cities late-fifties white teen idols." (The History of Rock and Roll)
"Dion DiMucci for a relatively short period of time was at the top of what he did, his "white style" of Doo Wop."(This review)
This is album review number One Hundred and Ninety Two in the series of retro-reviews of both vinyl and CD albums from my collection.
The series is called Cream of The Crate and each review represents an album that I believe represents significant musical value, either because of its rarity, because it represents the best of a style or styles of a music or because there is something unique about the music, the group or the particular production. The first fifty reviews were based on vinyl albums from my collection, with the following fifty on CD albums from my collection. Links to all these reviews can be found at the bottom of the page.
The 1950's were without any doubt that halcyon days of Rock 'n' Roll. There were rock artists of every genre imaginable. One group that provided an amazing variety of high quality material, never actually played an instrument, even though there were four of them. That group is being featured this week.
I am talking of Dion and the Belmonts and the vinyl album I have chosen is titled - Everything You Always Wanted To Hear (but couldn't get). It was released on the Interfusion label in Australia in 1977 and has the identifying code of L-36.148. The album was originally released on the Laurie label in the USA in 1976. Yes it is a compilation album but it has all his best known and most loved tracks all on the one album, which in turn has 20 tracks on it covering the period 1958 to 1963, which, as we will learn later, is somewhat of a misnomer to credit them all to Dion and the Belmonts.
The story of Dion and the Belmonts really starts with the birth of Dion, born Dion DiMucci on July 18, 1939, in the Bronx. He was the eldest of the three children of Pasquale and Frances DiMucci. He also had two sisters Joanie and Donna. His father was a professional puppeteer who spent his summers performing in the Borscht Belt,a collection of lounges, theaters and hotel showrooms from Boston to Philadelphia.
Dion began singing at the age of five and it was only a couple of years later that his Uncle Lou, would buy him a guitar and teach him a few chords. His father because of moving from theatre to theatre met and became friends with a range of industry businessmen, and musicians. In fact he introduced the young Dion to Paul Whitman, a1920s bandleader who by the 1950s was best known for discovering and promoting young talent.
At about twelve years of age Dion began appearing with Whitman on radio and television programs along the East Coast, including Whitman's own program - Teen Club.
Like many young men in the Bronx, Dion had a love for girls, and, gangs! When he wasn't in school one of his major ways of occupying his time was hanging with his local gang known as Fordham Daggers. Any other spare time was taken up, particularly in the evenings, singing on street corners.
Early in 1957, Dion booked some studio time and recorded four rock and roll songs as aValentines Day present for his mother. History is a little unclear on what happened next, but somehow that demo record found its way into the hands of the producers of a popular show, the Teen Club TV show which was broadcast out of Philadelphia. This is where Dion DiMucci, and at the age of 15 he made his performing debut. The year was 1954.
Dion - circa 1954
Dion's reputation eventually spread far enough to reach Irv Spicer who owned Mohawk Records, who became well known for their Doo Wop recordings. Using unknown studio musicians and backing vocalist Dion recorded "The Chosen Few" and "Out Of Colorado." Just a few copies were sold locally and after some deals were done, the rights for distribution were taken over by Jubilee, a larger New York record company. However, the music was still unable to find an audience.
When approached by Spicer to record a second single Dion made a very smart demand when he said he'd only do it with his own backing group, which ironically he didn't actually have. Spicer somewhat reluctantly agreed and Dion found the three best street singers he knew. The first two were Carlo Mastrangelo and Freddy Milano, amazingly members of rival gang, the Imperial Hoods.
Carlo Mastrangelo |
Freddy Milano |
The third member, who was a friend of Dion's, Angelo D' Aleo. These three made up the Belmonts named after Belmont Avenue a popular hangout in the Bronx.
Angelo D'Aleo
Dion began listening to street doo wop and composing in this style, and in early 1958, Mohawk issued "Tag Along" b/w "We Went Away."
With a sound that was raw and crude it's no wonder that few records were sold. However, they served another purpose. The opened the door for them to join another record company.
In 1958 Bob and Gene Schwartz, Elliott Greenberg and Allen Sussel began Laurie Records. Gene Schwartz had written "Tag Along", so when looking for an opening act for Laurie Records, Schwartz looked no further than Dion and the Belmonts. Laurie Record's first single I Wonder Why was recorded on afternoon at New York's Bell Sound Studios. Dion's vocal was slightly flat with slight nasal overtones - a style that would become his trademark, but the Belmonts were right on the money. I Wonder Why wasn't really what Dion and the Belmonts were all about, but it made people sit up and listen and, little did they realise it would fire up.
Dion and the Belmonts
Released the first week of May of 1958, it was on the national charts within two weeks. Within four weeks they were on Dick Clark's Saturday night CBS-TV show. For Dion, there would be no turning back. Immediately he and the Belmonts were booked on a one-nighter tour that crisscrossed the country. He was at this point he started dabbling in drugs and by the age of 16 had gained a heroin habit, and, it was a habit that he didn't kick until 1968.
The Belmonts single "I Wonder Why" was a solid minor hit, almost making the Top Twenty. No One Knows and "Don't Pity Me" followed, but the Dion and the Belmonts big break out hit came in the spring of 1959 with A Teenager in Love (#5) and the following year Where or When made it to #3.
In February 1959, Dion made a life changing decision when passed up a plane ride on the chartered plane. It was the plane that later crashed, killing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper.
By late 1960 Dion and the Belmonts broke up. The main reason was Dion's heroin habit which had taken its toll on him, but also his music. At first those around him tried to cover it up. In October 1959, while When and Where was nearing the top of the charts, Dion was hospitalised; in an attempt to kick the habit. Variety magazine quietly noted that he had been ordered by his doctor to "take a leave of absence." The outward impression was that Dion was overworked. In fact in 1960 the Belmonts broke away from Dion when the cohesiveness of the group was gone, and they feared that to stay with him would be a disaster.
The Belmonts went on to record through to 1964, only having very moderate success. Dion,in an attempt to distance himself from the fact that the Belmonts had dumped him, took a drastic change in musical direction hiring a female backing group. This was a total disaster and went away very quickly.
Not long after this aborted attempt to change his music style, Dion worked with the unaccredited Del-Satins brought in to sing background vocals in the style of the Belmonts. Ironically in returning to the "Dion & the Belmonts" style, brought with it amazing success. He had Top Ten hits with Runaround Sue (number 1 in 1960), TheWanderer (number 2 in 1961), Lovers Who Wander (number 3 in 1962), and Little Diane (number 8) in 1962 .
The Del-Satins
With his contract up with Laurie in June,1962, he jumped to Columbia Records. He brought along the Del-Satins who for all intents and purposes were often referred to (unofficially) as the "Belmonts" and to the audiences were left alone to make that conclusion. He went on to have hits with "Ruby Baby" (number 2) "Drip Drop" (number 6), and "Donna the Prima Donna" (number 6) all in 1963. Dion also appeared in the film Teenage Millionaire in 1961.
DiMucci amazingly dropped The Del Satins in late 1963. In 1964 he released a string of unsuccessful covers and then began recording blues material around 1965 with little commercial success something he would come back to with great success in later years.
Relegated to singing in coffee houses, struggling with his addiction, which he eventually beat, the 70's and early 80's were substantially "nowhere years". However he very successfully returned to the music scene in June 1987 with a series of sold out concerts at RadioCity Music Hall. His autobiography The Wanderer was published in 1988.
He had found peace with himself and Dion was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.
He continues to perform right up until this moment.
This album has been assembled with some of his biggest hits first listed first but in doing so, falls into the trap most compilations fall into, that is NOT listing the tracks in order of date recorded. This simple thing would mean the listener you listen to the evolution, or sometime devolution, of the artists music. In this case we start in 1960, flip flop between 1958 and 1963 and finish with a track from 1958!
Track Listing:
| A1 | Runaround Sue |
| A2 | The Wanderer |
| A3 | The Majestic |
| A4 | Love Came To Me |
| A5 | Little Diane |
| A6 | Lonely World |
| A7 | Lovers Who Wander |
| A8 | Born To Cry |
| A9 | I Got The Blues |
| A10 | I Wonder Why |
| B1 | A Teenager In Love |
| B2 | Where Or When |
| B3 | Runaway Girl |
| B4 | Lonely Teenager |
| B5 | When You Wish Upon A Star |
| B6 | Teen Angel |
| B7 | A Lover's Prayer |
| B8 | That's My Desire |
| B9 | Sandy |
| B10 | No One Knows |
So I'm moving away from my usual review process of starting with track 1 - because it is a compilation and my theory that the artists place their "calling card" as the first track, really doesn't hold. Besides, I think in this case it better to work through chronologically.
So I start with side 1 and track number 10. This is I Wonder Why, released in may of 1958 and as indicated previously, it was the first hit for Dion and the group and was also their first release as the first single's release by Laurie Records.
It really is a great example of Doo Wop singing and showed the great harmonies the Belmonts were able to produce. It was a tune for the time, uptempo, danceable and it didn't offend parents. It tells the story of a boy telling his girl that he loves her, and that when they are apart, he is sure she remains true . . . of course it is hard to tell whether he believes it, or hopes for this. Whatever, it was a great way for Dion to start his career.