A number of Catholic outlets have noted Dion DiMucci’s new music album, Blues with Friends. You may know Dion from the 1950s! He was the lead singer of Dion and the Belmonts, players of Doo-Wop style of rock-n-roll. Well, if you’ve kept up with his music career, it didn’t end in the 50’s with “Runaround Sue.” He’s made other music as you can read in his Wikipedia entry, some of it popular. What you may not have known is that throughout his 57 year career he has been a believing Catholic and at some point a devout Catholic. He has actually written songs with the well-known Catholic historian, Mike Aquilina.
Dion’s new album has gotten a bit of air play because each song features a different virtuoso, usually well known. Given that I love the blues, given that I love Dion, given that I love many of the virtuosos featured, I had to get the album. Before I feature some of the songs let me provide a few excerpts of articles from Catholic outlets.
First about the record, let’s turn to the National Catholic Register’s article, “The Wanderer Sings the Blues: Rock ‘n’ roll legend Dion chats about music andfaith.”
Dion tells us about the making of the
record.
“You don’t know how much
fun it was to make this album,” Dion told the Register. “This album was like
riding a cloud — no stress involved at all. It was amazing because sometimes
making an album can be excruciating. … [This time] the songs came. I wasn’t
under pressure. I was writing them as they came to me. I decided to record
them. I went into the studio and knocked these tracks out in three days. I just
sat down with the guitar and sang maybe six songs one day, six the next, two
the next. A lot of them are just one take.
“One take — that way the
songs are full of light, full of expression,” he continued. “You might not get
it perfect, but its full of expression. I’m full of expression. I’m not a
draughtsman. I express my art.”
Next in an article titled “Blues with friends, life with God: A conversation with Dion and Mike Aquilina,” from the Catholic World Report we get a one paragraph summary of the work:
Dion’s latest album,
Blues With Friends, has spent months on the Billboard “Blues Album” charts,
much of that time in the #1 slot. Featuring guest appearances by such rock
legends as Jeff Beck, Paul Simon, Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top), Van Morrison,
Bruce Springsteen, and more, the album is another triumph from the man whose career
began with Dion and the Belmonts, and has lasted another 60 years beyond – and
counting.
Perhaps
the most obvious question a Catholic journalist would ask is the first he asks:
Catholic
World Report: Let’s talk about your Catholic faith,
and how that influences your music.
Dion
DiMucci: Well, my Catholic faith influences everything. That’s
at the center of my being, of my mind. If you would unzip my mind and look
inside my brain, you’d find a very orderly place, and that’s because of having
a personal relationship with God. I came into a 12-step spiritual program 52
years ago and it was gleaned from St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Disciplines. It’s
designed to lead you into union with God. And that’s a very peaceful place! A
place of wisdom, a place of power, of serenity; it’s home. I’m home, and I’m
not living in a chaotic world, because I’m living in God’s presence – or trying
to, a day at a time.
That influences
everything. It frees you up to write about beauty, and truth, and goodness, and
relationships. I think it helps you be creative. I’ve had a lot of people say
to me, “At your age, you sound like a young guy! Your voice is incredibly
vital.” That’s God. Without God I’d probably be drinking and drugging, sounding
husky – I probably wouldn’t even be alive. If he wasn’t the center, I think I’d
be in trouble in some way. I think I’d be living in a chaotic state. I’d
probably be grasping for position and power and money and pleasure and honor,
fighting everybody, trying to be better, trying to win, all of that. Instead of
just being content in all things.
CWR:
Can you briefly recount how you and Mike Aquilina got to know each other, and
how you came to write songs together?
Dion:
We found ourselves in Rome together, in 2000. We were on the bus, and we
stopped and there was a statue of St. Jerome. I remembered a quote that I read
in the back of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church in the Bronx that said, “Ignorance of
Scripture is ignorance of Christ,” and that’s St. Jerome. So I said that to
Mike, and he says to me “The Thunderer!” I said “’The Thunderer’? What’s that?”
And he said, “Well, St. Jerome – he gave ‘ignorance of Scripture’ new meaning.
He was from what we now call Croatia, the brightest of the bright, so he was
sent to Rome. The pope saw how bright he was and had him translate the Bible
from Greek to Latin – the Vulgate. And he was an intolerant guy – he didn’t
like Italian women and Greek women, the way they combed their hair, the way
they did their eye makeup. People got on his nerves.” I said, “People got on
his nerves? How could he be a saint?” He said, “Well, it takes all kinds to
make it to heaven. He had great qualities. He moved to Israel; he made friends
with a rabbi, and he learned how to speak Hebrew, and he translated the Bible
again, from Hebrew to Latin! So he gives ‘ignorance of Scripture’ new meaning.”
I said, “I’ve got to write a song about this guy!” And we ended up writing a
song called “The Thunderer” about St. Jerome. That was the beginning, that’s
how we met.
CWR:
Coming to your new album: in the liner notes, you talk about how the album’s
genesis was in an interaction you had with Joe Bonamassa. How did the album
come to fruition? How did you come to choose the “friends” on the album – Paul
Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Jeff Beck, etc.?
Dion:
Well, you’re right, Joe Bonamassa was the catalyst for the album. Mike and I
had written all these songs. To be honest with you, Mike kept calling me saying
“Hey, got any plans to record those songs? They’re real good, and keep running
around my head!” I think this is the best batch of songs we ever put together.
They’re memorable, they’re great stories, they’re worthy to be told.
I went in and cut all of
the songs in three days. Bonamassa heard them at my house and said he wanted to
play on “Blues Comin’ On”. And that was it. That really sparked something in
me. It sparked the idea that I could cast characters, like each of these songs
is a mini movie and I could cast a character to infuse their personality onto
my song. It worked so well with Bonamassa, maybe it will work well with Billy
Gibbons – and it did! So I sent one to Brian Setzer – and it did! So I decided
to send one to Jeff Beck – and it worked again! When he said yes, that was the
gold standard, because he has magic in his hands.
After that it was just
like dominos, like riding a wave. It was crazy fun, because I never gave
anybody an idea of what to play – I just gave them the song, a finished track,
and they would just add their own thing to it. When these artists do something,
it really puts a smile on your face.
There’s a lot more good stuff in both those articles, and well worth reading. But now let me turn to the music. Here is the entire playlist with the featured artist of each song.
Playlist:
Blues Comin’ On Featured
Artist: Joe Bonamassa
Kickin’ Child Featured artist: Joe Menza
Uptown Number 7 Featured
artist: Brian Setzer
Can’t Start Over
Again Featured artist: Jeff Beck
My Baby Loves To Boogie Featured artist: John Hammond
I Got Nothin’ Featured
artists: Van Morrison, Joe Louis Walker
Stumbling Blues Featured
artists: Jimmy Vivino, Jerry Vivino
Bam Bang Boom Featured
artist: Billy Gibbons
I Got The Cure Featured
artist: Sonny Landreth
Song For Sam Cooke (Here
In America) Featured artist: Paul
Simon
What If I Told You Featured
artist: Samantha Fish
Told You Once In August Featured artists: John Hammond, Rory Block
Way Down (I Won’t Cry No
More) Featured artist: Stevie Van Zandt
Hymn To Him Featured
Artists: Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen
Whoa, those are some heavyweights. Dion should record with some of his friends more often.
So let’s start with the song that inspired the album, “Blues Comin’ On.”
Joe Bonamassa is a blues guitarists, a really good one. Dion’s vocals really intertwine nicely with Bonamassa’s guitar licks.
You will just love the rhythmic beauty of “Kickin’ Child” with Joe Menza, who I am not familiar with, on guitar.
This one has a religious message with “Uptown Number 7,” featuring Brian Setzer from the Stray Cats.
I can’t embed all songs, and I’m having a hard time cutting back. “I Got The Cure” with Sonny Landreth on slide guitar is superb blues.
Perhaps the highlight of the album has to be Dion’s tribute to his departed friend, Sam Cooke with “Song For Sam Cooke (Here In America)” featuring Paul Simon on backup vocals. Here’s a clip where Dion explains the song at the end.
I just love that melody. And the lyrics are beautiful. I’ll skip quoting the chorus, but here are the verses from the song.
We traveled this land
back in nineteen sixty-two
We played the places that
were home to me and you
We drove to Memphis,
rocked a set
We walked the streets at
night and smoked a cigarette
Down the block I saw the
people stop and stare
You did your best to make
a Yankee boy aware
I never thought about the
color of your skin
I never worried 'bout the
hotel I was in
You were the man who
earned the glory and the fame
But cowards felt that
they could call you any name
You were the star,
standing in the light
That won you nothing on a
city street at night
You stayed more steady
than a backbeat on a drum
You told me you believed
a change was gonna come
You sang for freedom but
lived life free
I saw it in your smile
and in your dignity
You were a star when you
were standing on a stage
I look back on it, I feel
a burning rage
You sang "You Send
Me", I sang "I Wonder Why"
I still wonder, you were
way too young to die
That’s one of the best tributes to another singer I have ever heard.
I do have to highlight Samatha Fish’s lead guitar on “What If I Told You.”
Wow, she can play. Great blues song too.
Around and round like an
old top
You spin my mind and then
it won't stop
Down and down you let a
name drop
Say you love me then you
flip flop
Finally I have to include with the most religious song on the album, “Hymn to Him,” featuring the husband and wife team of Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa.
He's the light of
salvation
He's the head that's
never bowed
He's the first step of
wisdom
He's the sun through the
clouds
That’s very moving and a great devotional. Another interesting note. The linear notes of the CD were written by a Robert Zimmerman. Hey, that’s Bob Dylan!
“Dion knows how to sing, and he knows just the right way to craft these songs, these blues songs. He’s got some friends here to help him out, some true luminaries. But in the end, it’s Dion by himself alone, and that masterful voice of his that will keep you returning to share these Blues songs with him.” - Excerpt from Bob Dylan’s liner notes for Blues With Friends
This
album is great.
