Growing Up With Dion: From "The Wanderer" To Son of Skip James - Page 3

In 1960 Dion went solo and scored enormous hits with "Runaround Sue", "The Wanderer" and later in 1963 with "Ruby Baby." It was these songs that elevated him to the top rock n roll recording stars of his time.

After a brief hiatus and some personal challenges, he found a new focus and would resurface in 1968 with the hit "Abraham, Martin and John." For the next 15 years Dion would came out with several gospel albums embracing his faith in God, and would be nominated for a Grammy in 1985. 

In 1987 Dion put together a concert at The Radio City Music Hall that would celebrate his career. He shared the stage with several performers such as Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon; who both recalled Dion as one of their major influences. In 1988 Dion's autobiography The Wanderer: Dion's Story was published. The following year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a speech given by Lou Reed.

Dion was a big part of my sisters and many teenage girls’ existence back in the late fifties and early sixties. You would think he’d grown up mostly on good old rock n roll, but that wasn’t the case. Instead Dion grew up listening to southern radio stations and was really influenced by Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, and Robert Johnson. Another great childhood inspiration was Hank Williams.

When the British invasion hit, Dion had a bit of a break from the limelight. It was around this timeframe that he started to once again listen to some of the classic blues artists that he recalled from his youth.  Even though his management company was against it, he did some blues oriented recordings that were not too successful. In 1964 Dion met the legendary Skip James, who was a major influence to Robert Johnson. He looked up to artists such as Skip James as a father figure. This would be a moment he would never forget.

My father pulled up to the front of the house

in his Chevy Bel Air and he had my 9 year old brother with him. He looked with curiosity as he saw my sister and me bopping to the sound of Dion that was flowing out the window. Slowly he got enraged when he noticed the teenagers gawking at his daughter through the window. He approached the boys from behind who were unaware of my father's presence.

                  FATHER: (tapping onethe boy’s shoulders)   OK!                        Show’s over. What the hell is wrong with you?                                (raising his voice)  You better scram …

Both of these young fellows took off like the wind. No one wanted to confront the angry father of a teenage girl. No harm was meant and both my dad and my brother got some entertainment out of the situation. As they entered the house my sister was still in her trance, but would eventually be caught off guard by my dad’s sudden appearance. She went to the turntable, and with a heavy sigh her moment with Dion ended. 

Article Author: The Blues Blogger

I love music! It was a memorable part of my life growing up in the sixties and continues to be to this day. I recall hearing different genres from every room in our house. However, it was the soulful blues and improvisational jazz texture that would …

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