LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
THE WORD LEGEND is one of the most overused terms in music journalism, but it’s a fair word to describe Dion DiMucci, one of rock and roll’s original celebrated artists. He started out as the lead singer for the late-’50s doo-wop group Dion and the Belmonts before breaking off on his own to launch a career in rock and roll and folk. There is perhaps no other artist from that era who has continued to enjoy artistic and commercial success. From his early signature hits like “The Wanderer,” “Runaround Sue” and “Teenager in Love” through to his civil rights–era smash “Abraham, Martin and John,” and continuing through to the present day, Dion has consistently created great records that make good on his lifetime mission statement: “to be able to communicate like Hank Williams and groove like Jimmy Reed.”
Though he is instantly identifiable as the singer on those classic hits, most people aren’t aware that Dion wrote the majority of them. Even fewer know that he actually played guitar on all of his hit records. A lifetime blues fan, Dion is a gifted fingerstyle blues guitarist and has released a steady stream of essential blues albums over the past 10 years. (Keeping the Blues Alive Records), may be the strongest of his career and features a long list of guitar guests that includes Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa, Billy Gibbons, Joe Louis Walker, Brian Setzer, Sonny Landreth, Samantha Fish, John Hammond Jr., Rory Block, Jimmy Vivino, Joe Menza, Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt, all of whom were eager to show their love for the man and the body of work he has created. Now 80, Dion sounds as energized, enthusiastic and vital as someone half his age.
