Music Blog

Belmont Avenue, Bronx, NY

Nancy's Notes đŸ–ŠïžđŸŽ¶

As it’s now February, the challenge from Glyn at Mixed Music Bag is to write about a band or singer that starts with the letters C or D.

One of the greatest things about growing up Italian in the Bronx, NY (besides the food) was hanging out with my friends listening to music. We’d usually go to Sal’s Pizzeria on Belmont Avenue where the pizza was like nothing you ever tasted. It was thin and soft and light as a feather. On just about every street corner, doo-wop groups would gather and sing song after song and everyone would dance. Man, those were some of the best times.

One singer from Belmont Avenue (sadly a little before my time) was an Italian kid named Dion DiMucci. Dion’s dad Pasquale was a vaudeville entertainer and Dion would accompany him whenever he went on tour. Dion developed a love of country music, particularly Hank Williams, but he was really into the blues, doo-wop and rock and roll. His singing was honed on the street corners and local clubs of the Bronx.

In early 1957, Dion auditioned for Bob and Gene Schwartz for their Mohawk Records label. They asked Dion to sing a song but Dion refused, stating it sounded like something his old fashioned parents would listen to, but the Bob and Gene convinced him to give it a try. The backing vocals were by a group called “the Timberlanes”, some guys Dion had never met. The resulting single, “The Chosen Few“, was released under the name “Dion and the Timberlanes”, and became a minor regional hit which enabled Dion to perform the song on American Bandstand. The kids at the show started screaming during his performance and gave Dion his first impression of being a recording star. In his autobiography, The Wanderer, Dion explained that he didn’t even know who the Timberlanes were. “The vocal group was so white bread, I went back to my neighborhood and I recruited three guys and we called ourselves Dion and the Belmonts.”

The group’s initial hit was called “I Wonder Why” followed by “No One Knows” and “Don’t Pity Me”, which charted the Billboard Top 100. This success won a place for Dion and the Belmonts on the ill-fated “The Winter Dance Party” tour with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper and other performers. On February 3, 1959, after a concert stop in Clear Lake, Iowa, Buddy Holly and the others decided to charter a flight to the next venue rather than travel on the tour bus. Dion was invited to accompany the group but declined when he heard the price of the ticket was $36. That was the same amount of money his parents spent for one month’s rent for their apartment and Dion couldn’t justify the expense. The plane crashed, killing all on board; that tragic event has been referred to as “the day the music died”.

In March 1959, Dion and the Belmonts recorded “A Teenager In Love” which reached No. 5 on the U.S. pop charts and No. 28 in the UK. The group’s biggest hit, “Where Or When”  was released in November of that year and reached No. 3 on the U.S. charts. Further single releases for the group that year were less successful; with musical, personal and financial differences between Dion and members of the Belmonts, Dion left the group for a solo career.

By the end of 1960, Dion produced his first solo album on Laurie Records, “Alone with Dion”, released in 1961. The single “Lonely Teenager” rose to No. 12 in the US charts. The name on his solo releases was simply “Dion“. In 1961 Dion released “Runaround Sue” which stormed up the U.S. charts, reaching No. 1 and No. 11 in the UK, where he also toured. “Runaround Sue” sold over a million copies and was followed by “The Wanderer” another big hit for Dion. By the end of 1961, Dion had become a major star, touring worldwide.

In 2024, at the age of 84, Dion is still recording new songs and his career is going strong.

This is Dion with his biggest early hit, “Runaround Sue”. 

LYRICS

Here's my story, it's sad but true
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town
 
Yeah I should have known it from the very start
This girl will leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people what I'm telling you
Ah keep away from a Runaround Sue
 
I might miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hair and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't want to cry like I do
Ah keep away from-a Runaround Sue
 
Ah, she likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
She goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from-a Runaround Sue
 
Yeah keep away from this girl
I don't know what she'll doe
Keep away from Sue
 
She likes to travel around
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
She goes out with other guys
 
Here's the mora and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from a Runaround Sue
 
Stay away from that girl
Don't you know what she'll do now

Written by: Dion Di Mucci, Ernie Maresca
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – Week 6 – The Cure

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35 thoughts on “Belmont Avenue, Bronx, NY”

  1. “Runaround Sue” is a nice doo-wop song. I knew it but didn’t realize it was by Dion. For the longest time, I had only known him because of “The Wanderer.” Four years ago, Dion reentered my radar screen with his excellent “Blues with Friends” album. The follow-on “Girl Friends,” which came out in March of this year, sounds great as well!

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    1. Thanks for a great comment! I’ve been a fan of Dion since I was a kid. Runaround Sue is one of those songs that strikes a chord with everyone, no matter their age. You can hear this song at every wedding you go to and it’s remarkable to see everyone get up on the dance floor and just let it fly! Dion is a really talented musician and his Blues with Friends is to be taken seriously. It’s a fabulous album. Thanks again, for stopping by.

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  4. Thanks for the memories. I enjoyed seeing one of my favorite singers.

    Not one of my friends would sit while any of his songs were playing on the phonograph. Dancing was the thing.

    My hubby was one of those corner Doo- Wop singers in Brooklyn. He and his buddies were good. They made an album. It didn’t sell much. He changed, in the end, and started a dixieland jazz band clarinet player.

    I LOVED those Doo – Wop days. Great post … Thanks for sharing.

    Isadora 😎

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    1. Thanks for sharing such an intimate and interesting story about your relationship with this song and music in general! I love these personal stories and can’t get enough of them.

      Thanks, Isadora, for your terrific comments. I’m so glad you enjoyed my post and that it brought back a lot of memories for you.â€‚đŸ«¶đŸŒ

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  10. Maybe Sue just wanted to be popular, so she decided to date other guys.  Even though Dion married a girl named Sue, he said that the name of the girl who he wrote about wasn’t his wife Sue.  This song ‘Runaround Sue’ was inspired when Dion attended a basement birthday party in the Bronx for a girl named Ellen.

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    1. Thanks, D! I love Dion and you’re right …. good memories.

      Next time you’re at a wedding or some kind of reception and this song comes on, watch how everyone gets up and dances. It’s a given!

      She goes out with other guys! đŸŽ¶

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  12. Very interesting history of Dion’s rise from street corner to stardom. I was curious about that first record with the Timberlanes so I went to YouTube and found “The Chosen Few.” TERRIBLE! Recruiting the Brooklyn home boys (the Belmonts) was a brilliant move.

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      1. Ah, the Bronx. I know they’re different parts of the city, and I think I even know (generally) their relative geographical location. But I was half asleep when I wrote my comment. I’m lucky I didnt say Queens!

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