"Time in his Heart" - Dion DiMucci
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Above: more famous for his talent
and songs than for his album covers, the “Together Again” front cover is an
exception. Dion and the Belmonts pose in an iconic
moody picture of the band in mid-60s New York (Gapstow Bridge in Central Park,
as seen in 2014 (right)). Introduction. With Dion it’s easy to
understand why he is as famous as he is, and at the same time hard to
understand why he is not more famous! We know him on first name terms, and most
people can name at least a couple of the songs he brought to the pop charts.
Most people know he can sing, but fewer know his excellence on the guitar and
of his songwriting skills. In short he is both
appreciated for his skills and under-appreciated. What is it
about the general populus that leads us to
pigeon-hole artists into certain genres and be unforgiving, or at least
unaccepting, of a change of style? In the late 50’s and early 60’s Dion, both
solo and with vocal group “The Belmonts” had pretty
much established himself as the King of Doo-Wop. But where next? Many would
understandably sit on the laurels. Dion was one of those first performers who
looked beyond performance to artistry and musical progression. In some
ways it is surprising that Dion DiMucci is just one
person! In his career he has moved from 50’s pop and doo-wop styles into blues,
sixties pop, then to folk and from there into the singer-songwriter movement,
Christian music and back to pop. He has too many singing styles to count
(although I probably will try and count them later). True, he has now been in
the music business for more than 50 years, but it is rare to see such diversity
from one person. It’s
probably best to start with Dion’s breakthrough hit, “I wonder why”, with the Belmonts – Carlo Mastrangelo,
Freddie Milano and Angelo D’Angelo. Sure I had heard and admired “The Wanderer”
and “Runaround Sue” from the radio, and I would have
probably have associated with them the name “Ernest Maresca”
(the writer of Wanderer and co-writer with Dion of Runaround
Sue”) but hearing this on the radio for the first time in early 2009 was what
turned me on to Dion. The sheer energy, skill and catchiness of this two and a
half minute wonder is immediately infectious. I knew I had to hear more. Starting
with a Dion and the Belmonts Greatest Hits (also
containing Dion solo of course), it doesn’t take many listens to realise that
Dion was no one-trick pony (a ten trick pony maybe). Some songs he sings with a
swagger (“The Wanderer”), others with a laugh in his voice (“Love came to me”)
some with sadness (“Noone knows”), some, the ballads
with incredible smoothness (“Where or when”). (Remember I was telling you about
all those singing styles). Whatever style he's singing in it's with sincerity -
he sings like he means it and has lived it! It sounds so obvious when it's put
in writing - see Dion's rendition of Tom Paxton's song "Can't Help but
Wonder where I'm bound" - not on the greatest hits CD but we'll come to it
later in the article. The
compilation I have is the blue and orange coloured “Dion and the Belmonts Greatest Hits” CD with 20 tracks on it. This I
think is a good starting point. However I must stress it is a starting point.
You can’t expect to fit a 50 year career, and a varied one with artistic progression
at that, onto one CD. Why write
this and set up this website? In short, to get the message out about Dion DiMucci, if one visitor buys a CD of Dion as a result, then
it has done its job. Discovering Dion is rewarding in itself, and the more of his
work you hear, the even better it gets. Career
phases. Dion's
career has had a number of phases. 1.
Doo-wop - circa 1958, with the Belmonts, what
initially made him famous - eg "I Wonder
Why". 2. The Baladeer - circa 1959/60, initially with the Belmonts (the second Dion and the Belmonts
album entitled "Wishing on a star", latterly without, eg the first few Dion solo albums) - at a time when either
at his instigation, or more likely his record company, he was recording mostly
ballads and being moulded as an easy listening singer. 3. The
pop era - circa 1961-63 - with Runaround Sue, etc.
This was commercially his most successful era. 4. The
Blues - circa 1963-4, when Dion found the blues and his recorded material
mostly consisted of cover versions of blues material. 5. The
Wanderers - 1965 - when Dion returned to recording mostly self-penned material,
pop but mid-sixties/Dylan influenced. This period goes on to cover the Dion and
the Belmonts reunion album "Together Again"
of 1966, which contained less original material but in much the same vein as
the Wanderers material. (This, in the author's mind, is Dion's creative peak
not just as a singer but as a songwriter, whilst being commercially
unsuccessful). 6. The
silence - 1967 - Dion's period of silence from late 1966 through to mid 1968 amongst personal issues, with no recording
contract, and his family's relocation from New York City to Florida. 7. The
singer/songwriter - 1968 - 1979. More introspective material abounds, mostly
self-written or with writing partners. 8.
Christian Dion - 1979 - 1985. Almost exclusively Christian music releases. 9. Modern
day Dion - 1985 to present - occasional album releases. Phase 1 -
Doo-wop This was
ushered in by the chart success of "I wonder why", incredibly this
break-through hit made only number 22 in the charts in the USA, but it's
incredible performance and production make it, still, one of Dion (and the Belmonts) best known tracks. That's Carlo Mastrangelo on the bass vocal on the intro (more of Carlo
later), Freddie Milano on the tenor and Angelo D'Aleo
on the soaring falsetto. They would have established themselves as a great
singing group on the back of this one track alone. An album, "Introducing
Dion and the Belmonts" was to follow, this also
included the songs "I got the blues" and "No-one knows"
written or co-written by Ernie Maresca, more on him
later as well. Dion and
the Belmonts were on the ill-fated Winter Dance Party
tour of 1959. Freddie
is the only member never to have left the Belmonts at
any stage so he holds the rights to the group name, as of today, Angelo is also
currently performing with the Belmonts, making them
the two original members. The album
introduces the concepts of Dion's different singing styles, again we can
categorise these as follows: 1.
Straight/pop - (but in Dion's unique style!) as on "Runaround
Sue" and "I wonder why" This
phase was relatively brief (despite Dion and Belmonts
fame in respect of this genre), as the Belmonts
second album contained no doo-wop. Phase 2 -
the baladeer During
the later period of Dion and Belmonts and during the
first part of his solo career, Dion seemed to being pushed into an
easy-listening / baladeer career, recording mostly
standards. These saw decreasing returns, and it was apparent that a change of
tack was required. There are varying reasons stated for the split between Dion
and the Belmonts. It seems that Dion's reported drug
use, finance (the band wanted an equal split of income, Dion wanted more), and
choice of music (Dion did not want to go the easy listening route) were
factors. The Belmonts continued as a singing group
after Dion's departure. Phase 3 -
pop This
phase starts with a bang with the huge success of "The Wanderer" and
"Runaround Sue", the former written by
Ernie Maresca and the latter by Ernie and Dion
together. These two songs really provided the springboard that Dion needed for
his solo career and to this day remain his best-known recordings. The phase
ends with "Donna the Prima Donna", "Ruby Baby" etc circa 1963, post Dion's move to the Columbia record
label, post these recordings Dion tours UK, and on his return is introduced to
the blues by producer Tom Wilson, this completely changes his way of thinking.
Phase 3 has been by some distance Dion's most commercially successful (and most
documented) phase, with major hits throughout the period 1960-1963. Phase 4 -
the blues Dion
discovers the blues and during late 1963 and 64 records almost entirely blues
material, in a move away from his pop era. While there is no doubting the
sincerity behind the recordings, as well as excellent quality on some, it sees
Dion moving out of the commercial mainstream, no albums are released during
this period, and none of the singles are major hits. However it can be argued
that Dion needed to develop and not stand still. Also at this point the music
scene was very intensively Beatles dominated, it was the time of the
"British Invasion" and many established artists pre-Beatle era were
struggling to have hits during this period. Certain highlights include Dion's
cover of Guthrie's "900 miles", and various other tracks. Phase 5 -
the Wanderers In 1965
Dion forms a new backing band, The Wanderers and works on recording mostly
original or co-written material with producer Tom Wilson. The Wanderers
included Carlo Mastrangelo (formerly of the Belmonts) on drums as well as, on certain tracks, Al Kooper on keyboards. Carlo had left the Belmonts
circa 1962 for a solo career which had been hit-less, despite some good
recordings (such as Stranger in my Arms and Time is Wastin',
both written by Ernie Maresca for Carlo), he had also
previously been drumming for Dion on TV appearances since circa 1963. Despite
the undoubted quality of the material, none of the "Dion and the
Wanderers" material (released as singles) charted. What is apparent,
nearly 50 years on, is that the material should have been released at the time
in album format, as the tracks very clearly make up a body of work. This is
Dion's obscure period, and clearly not a happy one, he does not generally talk
about it in interviews. However to simply assume this period consists of
sub-standard work by a drug-addled former star past his prime is simply not
accurate, despite his continuing problems, the songwriting
and perfornances are terrific. Notable original
tracks include "Knowing I won't go back there", "My love",
"Time in my heart for you" "Tomorrow won't find the rain"
and "Now". In addition, the recording of "I can't help but
wonder where I'm bound", written by Tom Paxton, remains, in this author's
opinion, Dion's greatest cover version. In fact, it could have been written
especially for Dion, although it wasn't. Due to
the inexplicable (or maybe again the Beatles shadow) lack of success of these
tracks, Dion was dropped as a solo artist from Columbia records in late 1965.
Dion had been signed to a lucrative contract with Columbia since 1962, and the
loss of this contract must at the time have been a great financial concern to
the DiMucci household, as well as a blow artistically
to Dion. In 1969,
post Dion's re-emergence (see next section), an almost random selection of
tracks from the Wanderers period was released by Columbia under the album title
"I can't help but wonder where I'm bound". The title track had inexpicably and unnecessarily had strings added. For many
years this incomplete work was the summary of the Wanderers period, until the
release of the compilation "The Road I'm on" (highly recommended)
which contains the majority but not all of, the Wanderers tracks. In 1966
Dion, with the original Belmonts Carlo, Freddie, and
Angelo, signed to ABC/Dunhill for a reunion album, titled "Together
Again". However this album was much in the sprit
of the times of 1966 and was not (thankfully) a continuation from "Wish Upon a Star". It would be the last original studio
album by the original Dion and the Belmonts, and,
aside from successful but brief reunion performance in New York in 1972 would
be the last time that Dion and the Belmonts would be
together. One suspects that Dion, as the undoubted hitmaker,
was calling the shots at this stage in terms of the making of the album. The
album was self-produced, and it's believed that Carlo played drums and Dion
played guitar on the album in order to save costs, this album did not have the
budget of Dion's solo Columbia recordings. The album
is a disappointment in two respects, it's relative
lack of Dion originals (it also contains relatively little of the Belmonts). There are three, the classic "My Girl the
Month of May", plus the excellent '"Come to my side" as well as
a semi-auto-biographical jam called "New York town", in this Dion
shaves two years of age citiing his birthdate as
1941, not 1939. Other highlights include the cover of the John Denver song
"For Bobbie" and of the Dylan song "Baby you've been on my
mind". Although the album remains highly listenable today, at the time it
did not achieve any great commercial success. The album
is only currently available on CD as an unofficial version called
"Together Again and More", which sources at least certain tracks from
vinyl, but also includes some extra tracks not on the original release.. We could do with a re-mastered official version of this
album from the original master tapes, if they are still available - how about
it ABC/Dunhill? The album cover is a very cool band photo taken in a New York
park with the members looking very mid-sixties. After
this, silence. Phase 6 -
the silence Drug use
was apparently not new to Dion, he had reportedly been involved since his early
teens, and from pre-fame to date. But it is clear, whether due to increased usage(?), the stalling of his career, family situation (Dion
and wife Susan's first daughter was born in 1966), it came to a head around
this time. Without a recording contract, Dion was not recording anyway,
resulting in this period of silence. Phase 7 -
the singer/songwriter. Dion had
a moment of enlightenment whilst on a visit with his father-in-law in early
1968. Thankfully and miraculously, he put his drugs past behind him forever as
of about April 1968. Who can say how many times he had attempted this, or how
painful the final successful departure from drugs was. At this time Dion moved
his family from NYC to Florida, which also seems to be a factor in putting past
demons behind him. He recorded a single track, called "Daddy Rollin'"
in a Miami studio, which remains unique in style amongst Dion's recordings. Later
that year, now clean Dion was invited to re-sign to his original record label,
Laurie Records. There was a condition that he record a new song that the company
was keen on, called "Abraham, Martin and John", written by Dick
Holler. A new album, simply called "Dion" was recorded in the space
of about a week. It was the first album to feature Dion's new nylon stringed
guitar, and to showcase his new singer-songwriter type style. This author
believes the title track and album to be rather dull (and rather lacking in
Dion originals), however it is an incredibly important album in Dion's carrier,
providing a book-end to his early pop career and introducing the singer-songwriter
phase. "Abraham, Martin and John" struck a vein lyrically with the
American record buying public, in the light of recent troubles and went to
number 3 in the national singles chart, putting Dion back on the map. It
enabled Dion to sign a multi-album deal as a singer-songwriter with a good deal
of artistic control - a dream situation going forward. At Dion's insistence,
"Daddy Rollin'" was included as the B side of the single. The
follow-up single from the album, a cover or re-interpretation of Jimi Hendrix's
"Purple Haze" was less successful, despite gaining praise from the
song's originator. Dion then
recorded four albums in the singer-songwriter vein, the first two ("Sit
down old friend" and "You're not alone") are pleasant but
unremarkable, as if he is still to hit his stride. The third, Sanctuary, is
half of a great album, especially the title track (also written by Dick Holler)
and Dion's "Sunshine Lady", though the second half consists of a live
performance, which while entertaining and giving an insight into a Dion live
performance during this period, leaves the album feeling slightly incomplete.
However the following album "Suite for late Summer"
hits the spot completely, and is Dion's best album post 1966. The album was
produced by Russ Titleman. Highlights include
"Running right behind you" and "Traveller in the Rain".
Also recorded at these sessions was "New York City song", one of
Dion's best songs, and, regretably, missed off the
album due to its release as a single. Around
this time a Rolling Stone review of Dion suggested that he was at his best when
singing other people's songs. Journalists so often miss the point or fail to
research their subject properly and this is a case in point - Suite for Late
Summer was a very fine album and it was entirely co-written by Dion, who wrote
the music, with lyricist collaborators, most notably Bill Tuohy,
who writes an interesting article (including how he met Dion) in the Suite for
Late Summer CD re-release. See "Runaround
Sue", "My girl the month of May", "Love came to me",
"My Love" for just a few examples of Dion really cutting it as a
songwriter. At this
point, Dion took an unusual side-step of recording, in 1975, an album with
famous producer Phil Spector. Called "Born to Be With
You", the album has a number of famous fans. In truth it is a flawed
recording which has it's
moments, such as "Only You Know", co-written by Spector, and "In
and Out of the shadows". However it is telling that some of the most
memorable tracks, such as "New York City song" and "In your own
back yard" had been recorded with other producers for previous albums, had
been missed off them due to them being used as singles. In some cases Spector's
over-the-top production makes the some of the new tracks unlistenable on modern
equipment, for instance "He's got the whole world in his hands" which
manages to make even Dion's voice hard to follow. 1976 saw
the recording of the Streetheart album which was a
return to normal territory. There are some highlights, such as "Queen of
1959", a duet with Phil Everly, however on the
whole the album is unremarkable. Best of all was the single, not included on
the album called "Virgin Eyes (All Wrapped Up)", which an upbeat
track with clear Elton John influences. It is worth noting that "Queen of
1959" was written about Dion's wife, Susan, who had been the subject (or
her name used) for several previous Dion songs, such as "My girl the month
of May", "Sunshine Lady" and most notably "Runaround Sue". Several
more albums quickly followed, in 1978 Dion returned to his roots with the
"Return of the Wanderer" album, this was followed in 1979 by
recordings for an album called "Fire in the night" though this album
was not released for some years. In 1979
Dion had a religious experience whilst out on a morning jog near his home in
Florida. This had an effect on his subsequent recordings, which were in a
religious vein, and it would not be until circa 1989 that Dion would return to
recording secular mainstream pop. For this album "Yo
Frankie" Dion worked primarily with Dave Edmunds, a long-time fan. To be
continued! Mike
Pratt UK August 2014 |