Influential Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dion sings at Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on July 27
From a press release:
Dion, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and former member of The Belmonts, will perform at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre on Friday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets, which are $45, $55, $65, and $79, plus fees, go on sale this Friday, Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at the Kirby Center box office (71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre), online at kirbycenter.org, and by phone at 570-826-1100. A Kirby Member pre-sale begins on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 10 a.m.
A street poet and singer of extraordinary versatility, range, and resonance, Dion DiMucci defined rock ‘n’ roll for a generation.
In 1957, he brought the best of the neighborhood street singers together to form his group Dion and the Belmonts, named after Belmont Avenue in the heart of the Bronx.
“I Wonder Why” was their first hit and, over the next two years, the group earned a reputation not only for topping the charts but for creating some of the most vital and exciting doo-wop music on the American scene. With songs such as “A Teenager in Love” and “Where or When,” Dion and the Belmonts earned their place in the history books.
Going solo in 1960, Dion racked up a string of No. 1 hits that many still consider to be the best of the entire rock and roll era, from the rocker “Runaround Sue” to the driving “Lovers Who Wander” to the anthemic “The Wanderer.” As the first rock and roll artist ever signed to Columbia Records, he continued his streak with such smashes as “Ruby Baby,” “Donna the Prima Donna,” and “Drip Drop.”
In 1989, Dion was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has never stopped recording, never stopped writing, and never stopped performing. He was nominated for a Grammy in 2007 and has shared the stage with such longtime Dion fans as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, and Lou Reed, all of whom cited the originator of the “Bronx Blues” as one of their prime influences.
