Dion...The Original Badass Before (Or During) Elvis

Cafe Society
1

I think Dion is a badass rocker. He came out with many hits before or during Elvis and definitely before “Beatlemania”.

His epic snarl on “The Wanderer” is…epic. He had many other hit songs that were do wop or otherwise.

My point of contention is that he was more “dangerous” than Elvis in terms of rock sensibility. There was no “Blue Hawaii” for Dion.

The dude was a known heroin addict from his teens yet bashed people over the head with his “two fists of iron”.

Who else could eclipse his career besides Elvis?

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Dion was pretty cool, he turned out some good folk music in the late 60s also and then went back to his roots in the late 90s.

1968: Abraham, Martin and John
King of the New York Streets

4

Elvis was an entertainer. Dion is a musician. Songwriter, singer, guitarist. Listen to his recent Blues recordings- the guy can fuckin’ play.

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This is a fairly good example of his Blues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy7-xa_9Cq0

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Yep in a studio track. Check out this bit of solo playing - a bit of slop but really really good: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CILuOqHPNfY

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He is really good.

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I don’t know. His blues career after his initial fame seems an afterthought to me. “In The Still Of The Night”? “Teenager In Love”? “The Wanderer”? “Runaround Sue”?

The dude was a hit machine for quite awhile.

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My only point was to point out what a musician he is. Doo Wop. Rock n roll. Folk. Blues. And strong examples, too.

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[quote=“FoieGrasIsEvil, post:2, topic:805135”]

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I must have been too busy looking at the polite reaction to this song. If they’d really understood the lyrics they’d have stoned him.

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There’s no denying that. You are the musical diplomat of these boards!

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I suppose part of my point is his underlying snarl that perhaps people missed in the 1950’s. It’s just under the surface, but most prevalent in the linked “Wanderer” video. I love it, especially how old it is. He’s a fucking badass.

13

Yep, a great voice with an early rock snarl when he pushed it. Compare him to that other Doo Wop / Rock n Roll great, Frankie Vallee.

14

I still can’t get over the audience in the linked video. This God is in front of them and all they can do is smoke their cigs and MAYBE bob their heads? LOL.

15

I was going to bring up Del Shannon, but he wasn’t really Doo Wop was he?

I’m trying to think of any other Doo Wop artists known for playing instruments and I’m coming up blank. They were mostly harmonizing singers as I think about it.

16

He got new interest due to being used in Fallout 4 and it’s trailer. Sadly he filed suit because he or his representation thought the trailer was to violent. It’s really not, and this article seems to think it’s a misunderstanding. I can’t find any more recent updates.

https://www.gamecrate.com/dion-dimucci-wanderer-fallout-lawsuit-misunderstanding-fan-video/16704

17

I saw him with Dave Edmunds, Graham Parker and I think Steve Cropper some years ago (1990?)…some kind of rock’n’roll revue… He was ok. The other guys were better.

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Dion’s initial success was a little before my time, and it took me awhile to realize what a kickass he is. At any time, at any age, Dion was seriously cool. The way he looks, the way he moves, the way he dresses, and, of course, the music. The guy knows his way around a song.

Thanks to this thread, I’m listening to his blues. I like.

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Runaround Sue was the music in the video of dancing grandma, (Dancing Nana) in her mint green pantsuit, lol. (Maybe SHE was the original Runaround Sue, lol. Could’ve happened. I can picture her smoking a cigarette, filing her blood red nails, getting ready for another date with Johnny or Tom or Dick or Harry…
)

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It’s not like the performance itself is particularly exciting. It’s a lounge act. He looks pretty uncomfortable up there, to be perfectly honest.

Dion was one of the greats, there’s absolutely no denying that. But I think the distinction between great musician and great entertainer is valid.

Here’s a video where the girls in the audience seem to be having slightly more fun, but compare them to an Elvis or Beatles concert.