Photo: Dion DiMucci | By Andrea Reiher, Parade || One of the most famous decisions in rock history happened because of $36. On Feb. 3, 1959, Dion DiMucci was invited to join Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson on a chartered plane following a stop at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, on the Winter Dance Party tour. The flight cost $36, exactly what his parents paid each month for rent, and the then-19-year-old singer decided he couldn’t justify the expense. Hours later, the plane crashed, killing everyone on board in the tragedy later immortalized as “The Day the Music Died.”
Today, July 18, DiMucci turns 87, celebrated not only as the last surviving headliner from that historic tour but as one of rock and roll’s most influential pioneers.
Born in the Bronx on July 18, 1939, Dion first found fame as the lead singer of Dion and the Belmonts, helping define the street-corner harmonies that became synonymous with New York doo-wop. Hits including “I Wonder Why,” “A Teenager in Love” and “Where or When” established the group as one of the era’s premier vocal acts before Dion embarked on a solo career in 1960.
That move transformed him into one of the biggest stars of the pre-British Invasion era.
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We all hear about the plane crash but what happened to the “survivors” . . .
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/dion-dimucci-last-headliner-of-1959-rock-tour-celebrates-87th-birthday/
Photo: Dion DiMucci | From his Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=894563165367879&set=a.266725261485009
