But for a coin flip, this interview could have been with Richie Valens and not Dion DiMucci. You see, Dion LOST the coin flip in February 1959 for a seat in the ill-fated plane that cost the lives of Valens, Buddy Holly and Big Bopper. Actually, Dion WON the coin flip, he relates, along with Big Bopper, but didn't want to spend the $36 and deferred to Valens.
Dion is one of the true pioneers of rock and roll, maybe not from the VERY beginning, but definitely the first wave of the Fifties. Over 50 years later Dion has been to hell and back - and he talks in detail about this all this including stories about 'old soul' Buddy Holly and his friends as if it were yesterday - and his many career phases, from the social comment song of 'Abraham , Martin and John' to religious songs.
Today, Dion has found answers to many of his and life's questions - 'We're all wanderers' he says - as he relates in his book 'The Wanderer Talks Truth'. He talks about his relationship with fellow New Yorker, John Lennon and others. SEE Dion Store - scroll down to bottom for book
Dion, with many seminal songs in rock and roll , including 'I Wonder Why,' ' Runaround Sue' and 'The Wanderer' , has to be considered among the Top 10 true rock and rollers and certainly one of the top doowop acts. He was one of the few early artists to write and record many of his own songs and he talks about the real life inspiratons for these.
Though he's in the rock Hall of Fame, Dion has sometimes been left out of rock's historical perspective as he's never quite fit one category and spanned them all, so this is a important interview - and book that will, hopefully, bring him more cred- if that even matters to Dion. We look forward to viewing both. Enjoy!
PS One story we love about Dion, certainly covered in the book, is where he, a Christian, talks of walking by the Jewish Synagogue in New York and loving the minor, meloncholy melodies of the Cantor, which would inspire much of his sound and songs, such as 'Diane.'
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