Keen on the blues and what would become known as doo-wop, he learned his vocal skills singing a cappella on street corners in the Bronx, New York. Dion’s first record release, ‘The Chosen Few’, was credited to Dion and the Timberlanes, with backing vocals from a group he’d never met. It motivated him to find three more like-minded singers, which became the Belmonts, taking their name from the street on which some of them lived.

The breakthrough for Dion and the Belmonts came in April 1958 with ‘I Wonder Why’, which made it to number 22 on the US chart. Further singles earned them a place on Alan Freed’s Biggest Show of Stars for Fall 1958, and then the Winter Dance Party tour. Despite the tragic events of 3 February 1959, the tour continued on for another 13 dates.

The following month, ‘A Teenager in Love’ became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic for Dion and the Belmonts. By the time Dion made the decision to go it alone, the group had run up a string of eight consecutive US hit singles. ‘Runaround Sue’ and ‘The Wanderer’ were high points of his solo career, along with the distinction that he and Bob Dylan were the only rock artists to be featured on the cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

Mike Read