Dion

Dion DiMucci is an icon of 1950’s music. Songs such as “The Wanderer,” “Runaround Sue,” “A Teenager in Love,” and “I Wonder Why” dominated the billboard. However, behind the scenes of his success and fame, Dion lived a troubled life. 

Born in Little Italy in the Bronx, Dion was baptized Catholic, yet did not enter into full communion with the Church until later in life. The only experience he had with the Church was “Mount Carmel Catholic Church; [that] was the hub of my little Italian neighborhood in the Bronx,” said Dion in an interview with the National Catholic Register. “It was prominent, and I heard things like the Father, Son and Holy Spirit makes [sic] the sign of the cross. It was a kind of reverence, but who knew what was going on. I had no idea.”

The rough and tumble life in the Bronx led to Dion turning to drinking and drug use when he was only 13. This would lead to an addiction that would plague Dion for many years of his life.

Dion has recently published an autobiography, Dion the Wanderer Talks Truth: Stories, Humor and Music, describing his struggles with stardom and faith. Here, he details some of the life changing moments that led to his conversion. He speaks about some of these stories in his interview with the National Catholic Register.

The first of these life-changing moments occurred on Feb. 3, 1959, the day Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper, J.P. Richardson, died in a plane crash, when Dion’s life was spared. Dion was touring with them as part of the “Winter Dance Party.” They had the opportunity to fly to their next gig, but the plane had room for only three. They tossed a coin; Dion won the toss, but let another go in his place. Remembering his humble roots, he couldn’t justify paying $36 for a one-hour flight.

Dion lived—but battled addiction for 9 years, until April 1, 1968, when he got down on his knees and asked God to take away his obsession with drugs and alcohol.

Since that moment—the second memorable thing in his life—he has never taken a drink or done drugs again. He wasn’t much of a regular churchgoer at this point, but he did begin praying on a regular basis.

The third memorable thing: On Dec. 14, 1979, he had a vision that changed his life: “I was in a 12-step spiritual recovery program for about 11 years, and I believed in God. But I said a prayer: ‘God, it would be nice to be closer to you.’ Suddenly, my world opened up. I had a vision of Christ and who He was and what He can do and why He stepped into history.”

Since then Dion has committed himself fully to the Church.“I love the Church.” Dion says,  “It gives me great peace, great comfort, strength, power, vision and a wonderful, beautiful worldview. I don’t get that from Fox News or MSNBC. I get that from the Church.”

Dion beautifully summarizes his spiritual journey in this excerpt from his autobiography. “I was a millionaire before I was twenty years old, self-made up from poverty, and I was pretty impressed with myself. It was the typical rock-star attitude. The truth, however, is that I was living in darkness, falling deeper into the black pit of myself and my hungers. I’m one of the lucky rockers who lived long enough to learn I was wrong, and that’s a grace in itself.”

Featured Image Courtesy of Ed Kaz via Wikimedia Commons