In February 1959, 19-year-old Dion DiMucci, with the Belmonts, was one of many 4 headliners of the Winter Dance Occasion Tour. After enjoying on the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, Dion opted for a bus as an alternative of spending $36 for a flight to the subsequent venue. That was some huge cash for a working-class Bronx boy; it was his mother and father’ hire for the month, in spite of everything.

Because it turned out, that monetary resolution spared his life. That ill-fated flight claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Massive Bopper. The lack of these artists is ceaselessly known as “The Day the Music Died“, but their music lives on by way of Dion, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen.

In January 1959, Dion DiMucci and the Belmonts had successful with the doo-wop ballad “Teenager in Love”. After splitting with the Belmonts, Dion had a number-one hit with “Runaround Sue” in 1961. Nonetheless, it’s the identical previous story: success can not convey happiness.

Within the early Nineteen Sixties, Dion DiMucci returned to heroin, which he first began utilizing as a young person, in addition to turning to drink. With the rise of the British Invasion bands, Dion’s recognition waned. He continued releasing albums for the subsequent decade, comparable to Born to Be with You (1975), earlier than changing into a born-again Christian in 1979, adopted by a string of spiritual data all through the Nineteen Eighties. All through these experiences, he remained well-respected amongst musicians, with visitor appearances from Lou Reed and Paul Simon on his 1989 album Yo Frankie.

The final three a long time have seen Dion DiMucci reinvent himself as a bluesman, collaborating with musical luminaries and reaching business success. As acknowledged in a beforehand revealed PopMatters article, Dion’s affect may be seen in Bruce Springsteen and Father John Misty’s music. Certainly, his legacy is far-reaching. In his eighth decade of creating music, Dion launched the doo-wop “New York Minute”, a love letter to New York Metropolis and his spouse of greater than 60 years, Susan.

PopMatters met Dion DiMucci to debate his and Adam Jablin’s new ebook, Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Thinker. We focus on his musical conversion, creativity, the blues, and the way discovering religion has made him a greater author.

“Yo, Jack.” That’s Dion, calling from the sunny climes of Florida by way of Zoom. His sturdy Bronx accent is a component swagger, half perspective. With a baseball hat and spectacles and a white goatee, Dion is buoyant, pleasant, and humorous—effortlessly cool. We start the dialog with the discharge of his new single, “New York Minute”. Enlivened by the dialogue, Dion begins an a capella rendition, handclaps, and all, as if he’s a young person once more, standing on a Bronx avenue nook together with his buddies, singing four-part harmonies, his scintillating eyes brimming with music and youth.

 “I’ve identified Adam since he was 12 years previous,” Dion says in reflection of his friendship with Adam Jablin, the co-author of Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Thinker. “We have now been pals a very long time. We’re in restoration collectively. We each don’t drink or take medication. We’re on this 12-step spiritual-based program collectively.”

Explaining how the ebook got here to fruition, Dion states, “A thinker is a lover of knowledge. And who doesn’t love knowledge? We’d focus on this stuff at lunches. We’d be fascinated. At some point, Adam says, ‘I want my household have been right here. I want all my pals have been right here. I want my youngsters have been right here. I like all people to listen to these conversations. They’re so fascinating to me.’ I discover them fascinating, too. So I mentioned, let’s doc a few of them. Possibly we may write a ebook on the conversations. So typically, we use a voice memo. Inside 5 years of doing this, he comes as much as me and says, ‘We have now a ebook.’”

Dion DiMucci has music coursing by way of his veins: his grandfather took him to see La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and different quite a few operas at his native Windsor Theater. Additionally, his grandfather listened to the opera tenor Enrico Caruso on 78s whereas his father would have data by Al Jolson, Louis Prima, and Burl Ives. By the point he turned 13, Dion knew 40 Hank Williams songs. Making music his profession, he has sung rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, doo-wop, blues, and nation.

What’s his favourite music style? “It’s in all probability the blues as a result of that was my past love,” he says. “Even Hank Williams did honky-tonk blues. It was nation blues. I beloved Jimmy Reed once I was younger. Even Louis Prima and Al Jolson—my father’s favourites— have been steeped in New Orleans.

“I believe the roots for me are the blues,” he continues. “They affected me. Sort of modified my DNA. Dylan wrote one thing for my ebook. He mentioned, ‘A Teenager in Love’ comes from the blues, which I might by no means have thought. However he may hear it. Even ‘Runaway Sue’ is cleverly disguised as a blues music.”

As a sequence of conversations, Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Thinker covers the entire gamut of points from the private to the common, with Dion revealing some pivotal moments from his life. He writes concerning the peaks and troughs of his music profession and substance abuse and restoration. At instances, Jablin involves Dion for recommendation. Though that is definitely not a self-help ebook, loads of pragmatic recommendation may be discovered.

“The explanation I referred to as it Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Thinker is the artwork of philosophy is making distinctions,” Dion explains. “Make unhealthy distinctions, it’s unhealthy philosophy. I’ve a mentor in my life. He is sort of a wordsmith. He likes defining phrases and making distinctions. A great distinction can be to differentiate between an individual and his opinion. One other instance is that I do know a whole lot of profitable folks, however they aren’t fulfilled. These tales are quite simple, however they are often very potent. Should you actually discuss them.”

Dion DiMucci advocates for self-improvement and sees his perception system manifesting in real-life conditions. ”As a result of once you see what you consider, you see it in relationships: together with your spouse, youngsters, pals, and household. You see it bodily. So that’s what the ebook is about. To point out you the way these ideas play out when the rubber hits the street or relationships get ornery, sticky, or joyful.”

Religious longing was in him early on. At 15, Dion DiMucci wrote his first music, “Born to Cry“, which, later launched in 1962, has the road: “Sometime and possibly quickly / That grasp will name.” In 1963, he sang the Doc Pomus-written music “Troubled Thoughts”.  Opening with the phrase “Lord”, Dion stretches it to the purpose that you recognize the singer will not be at peace and is eager for salvation. Later, he repeats “drifted” twice, with a better sense of urgency the second time—maybe in hopes of bringing on an ascension to heaven – something to take him away from his wandering existence. Every week earlier than his demise, Lou Reed requested his supervisor to discover a recording of “Hassle Thoughts”. After listening to Dion’s rendition, Reed mentioned, “Now I can die in peace,” Dion writes in Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Thinker.

“I used to be in love with the seek for reality,” Dion reveals. “I used to be underlining the phrase search. Capital letters. I used to be in love with the search. However god forbid it’s best to settle for the reality. Individuals say there isn’t a such factor as reality. I used to be a junkie. So I needed to seek for the reality for myself.

“You can’t construct your life on a lie,” he says, “or it can crumble. Generally God provides you with every thing you wish to present you what you want. However, in life, folks don’t have a look at that. Every thing they need – one thing is unsuitable. I want more cash. Extra intercourse. Energy. Honour. Status. And it doesn’t fill you. Effectively, it didn’t fill me.“

Does he really feel that the search was at all times about him searching for religion? “That day that I had the non secular awakening, I wasn’t searching for it,” Dion says, referring to 14 December 1979 when, out for his every day six-mile jog, Jesus Christ appeared to him, and he turned a born-again Christian. “Nevertheless, consciously, I did ask. I used to be pissed off. One thing was unsuitable. One thing was lacking.

“I used to be in restoration for 11 years [Dion has been sober since 1 April 1968]. I used to be fortunately married. I had three daughters. They by no means have seen me drink or take medication,” he continues, “However I went out jogging. I used to be 38 years previous. I mentioned, ‘God, it might be good to be nearer to you.’ That’s all I mentioned. My life was modified straight away. I had this awakening of who God was. What forgiveness, mercy, grace, and freedom meant.”

“I’ve at all times checked out nature with awe and marvel,” Dion continues. “I used to be a bizarre child. I used to be at all times excited about that. ‘Why am I right here?’ I used to be on tour with Buddy Holly. Ritchie Valens, and The Massive Bopper. For 2 weeks, I used to be with them, and the carpet was ripped proper from underneath my ft. They did proper, two weeks into the tour. I used to be left with a whole lot of questions at 19. ‘What’s life about?’ ‘The place am I going?’ ‘Who am I?’”

Has his relationship with creativity modified since his non secular awakening? Dion says, “Within the final 5 years, I’ve written 40 of the most effective songs of my life. Even Bob Dylan mentioned so. I’ll take his phrase for it. I at all times say, ‘I’m underneath the spout the place the glory comes out.’ It has made me really open-minded and opened me to taking a look at relationships from completely different angles. On the final album [ 2024’s Girl Friends], I wrote songs referred to as ‘Soul Drive’ and ‘Do Women Get the Blues.’ I believe it has made me a greater author.

Dion DiMucci is a satirical author. For instance, the narrator of “King of the New York Streets” is daring and stuffed with braggadocio, a Casanova determine who races automobiles and indulges in cocaine. He creates these supercilious and leather-garbed characters, the kind of guys he grew up with within the Bronx. Beneath the floor, nevertheless, they’ve moments of self-realisation. You see it within the bridge of his 1961 music, “The Wanderer”, the place the narrator understands that he has nowhere to go.

“In songs, typically you convey your expertise into it,” Dion responds once I ask if his characters are purely fictional. “It’s slightly autobiographical. However no. I discuss to many pals, like Stevie [Steven van Zandt] and Bruce Springsteen. Generally, you might be similar to an actor within the music. However I believe relationships set off writing these songs in a whole lot of methods.

“Plenty of myself is within the songs,” he says, “however I’m not essentially the character within the music, particularly on the subject of what I name braggin’ rights. It’s satire, you get me. I really like that form of stuff. It’s such enjoyable placing your self into the character’s place. Braggin’ is a lot enjoyable.”

With the chapter “my prime lists”, which incorporates Dion’s favorite albums, blues songs, doo-wop songs, movies, books, and artists in thoughts, I requested if, in any approach, Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Thinker was influenced by Bob Dylan’s 2022 ebook The Philosophy of Fashionable Track. “No. Probably not. As a result of [Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Philosopher] was nearly completed earlier than The Philosophy of Fashionable Track got here out.”

“It’s humorous that I used the phrase thinker [in the title]. I like [Bob Dylan’s] ebook. It was humorous. I laughed by way of the entire thing. He’s acquired an incredible sense of humour.”

Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Thinker is concerning the friendship between Dion DiMucci and Adam Jablin; nevertheless it goes past their relationship, because it addresses elementary points—religion, dependancy, which means, and private fulfilment—that have an effect on everybody. Total, Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Thinker is for readers who’re looking out—and for individuals who have arrived. On the finish of the dialog, I’m left with the impression that the sobriquet Rock ‘N’ Roll Thinker is apt. Certainly, Dion loves knowledge—and the blues, too.