DION AND THE BELLMONTS : I WONDER WHY

BUDDY HOLLY AND THE CRICKETS - BIG BOPPER - RITCHIE VALENS AND DION AND THE BELMONTS

At the time that I was signed by United Artists, I became friends with a group of guys who liked to hang out in diners and plan their musical careers.  The group included Dion as well as Buddy Knox and Bobby Darin.

(140) DION and the BELLMONTS 1961 # 1 RUNAROUND SUE

Dion and the Bellmonts had the #1 hit "Runaround Sue," in 1961. Here's a YouTube video of the performance.

Now, the number one hits of the year included a diverse number of sounds. "Runaround Sue" is in the DooWop category... and more than one DooWop song went high on the charts even though this sound is thought of as the 1950's now, plenty of people loved that sound and continued to buy records.

Video replaced November 2013




DION DI MUCCI OFFICIAL  new link!

(138) MY PEERS AND THEIR CELEBRITY

Friends, the next several blogs are meant to help you keep Elvis, me, and our peers in musical perspective.

While I was working at the songwriting factory, ambitious to write songs that would be hits for other artists, people like Gene Vincent, Bobby Darin, Ersel Hickey, The Everly Brothers, Pat Boone, and Dion and the Bellmonts, continued to perform, make records, and have hits. I was so proud to know them and to be associated with them. I knew that keeping celebrity was more difficult than becoming one. And though Melodie D'Amour had done well and I promoted it with live performances and radio interviews, bit by bit I was receding from public life even as the Hollywood bug continued to bite me.

(20) DION, THE BELMONTS, BUDDY KNOX and ME at HANSON's DRUGSTORE - NEW YORK CITY

DION DIMUCCI and THE BELMONTS liked to sit with Buddy Knox and me at Hanson's Drug Store, where we goofed off and drank lots of coffee.

They had a hit with "Run Around Sue." After the group broke up in the early 1960's Dion scored a hit with the wonderful tribute to civil rights leaders, with his "Abraham, Martin, and John."

HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL - Dion DiMucci and the Belmonts link above!

Here's Dion and the Belmonts performing their hit "Run Around Sue"

thanks to one of the many You Tube video aficionados!

And here they are on Dick Clark's American Bandstand

performing "Teenager In Love"

(19) BOBBY DARIN - DEMO RECORD SINGER EXTRAORDINAIRE!

Bobby Darin and I hung out at Hansons Drug store with a number of other friends like Rock-A-Billy Superstar Buddy Knox, and Dion and the Bellmonts. There was a real old man Hanson and he was always trying to run us out of there for going on too long on one coffee. (I think he actually enjoyed the ritual, as we wouldn't budge!)

Bobby spent years making demos for other artist and specialized in sounding as much like them as possible to sell the record to them. He could sound like Elvis Presley if he wanted to but Bobby was after his idol Frank Sinatra's crown.

After years of paying his dues as the demo record singer extraordinaire, Bobby Darin signed with a label and gave making his own records his all. He soon hit with "Splish Splash!" It's a fun song with a sexy saxophone rift.

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You Tube presentation - Bobby singing "Splish Splash."

I don't know what show this was on, and I think it's from the early 1960's but this video shows just how talented Bobby was, playing his own piano and harmonica, and what a true Rock and Roller he was, before he decided to be a crooner!

Video replaced 2009 with this great one below!

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BOBBY DARIN'S OFFICIAL WEB SITE link above!