Feature on Dion in Fine Art Magazine

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“Life is hard, but life is the art.”

“Yo! Halleleujah!” from Dion’s “Bronx Poem”

Bronx Zoo, 1957 photo by Susan Dimucci Fine Art Magazine • Summer 2012 • 1


DIONOLOGY BOOK ONE: BELMONT AVENUE

The Prince Bakery, Belmont AVenue landmark For Frederick Bruce Martuscelli August 4, 1950 - Dec. 14, 1972

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his street, like any other live being, would be entitled to an aura of its own. It didn’t breathe but it offered air to its inhabitants; it didn’t see, but it gave sight to its strollers. One minute it would exude the sweetness of soft rolls rising in the cavernous ovens of the Prince Bakery. At other times, it would reek with the stench of too many hot July days without garbage pick-up. They would turn the hydrant on – before water shortages and modern sprinklers – so that the garbage, caught in the current, would flow down the street, never higher than the curb, racing to unforeseen purification on Fordham Road. During spells like this, you could smell the ape house in the Bronx Zoo, a few long blocks to the east. There were days when the street would crackle as opposing gangs fought territorial wars on her stony terrain. Blood would spill. And there were days when the street would sing for joy, in moonshine and sunshine, under the street lights. There was life on this street of decay and love emanated from the apartments 2 • Fine Art Magazine • Summer 2012

From hallways like this one on Belmont Avenue, a harmony sound was created and perfected that defined an era and is still wildly popular today. It’s all about the echo.

The author points out DION DIMUCCI WAY (Belmont Avenue and East 188th Street). to grandson Matthew Bennett Forbes,

in the stone dwellings, where people lived one on top of the other, separated by twelve inches of concrete. This story begins in the street, this Belmont Avenue, named af ter some longforgotten settler, where I found kindness, affection and a beauty of spirit that I never dreamed existed on earth. I set foot on that beautiful, stinking street – rife with filth, strife and life, abundant with love – and soaring, in a second floor tenement, with music and art. I could not tell you exactly why such a soul came and went like a flash in such a place at such a time. But I knew early on my role in the drama: to chronicle it. And I want to share it with you, because it is a story of hope. A strong story, one you can take hold of in your hands and hold up to the heavens and shout: Yes! We are left on earth! Yes, we love our lives. Yes! We will be waiting for you and YES! You never left. –VICTOR FORBES

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By the age of 12, Dion was an With The Belmonts, Street Corner Talkin’: Freddie Milano, Carlo Mastrangelo, established neighborhood star working Angelo D’Aleo and Dion, 1957. “I’m a lover not a fighter but I’ll kick your ass.” (a line from Son of Skip James, the title cut of Dion’s 2007 CD) clubs & restaurants, like the Villa, reviewed here by the noted author/ restaurateur Helen Dunn in 1972

What’s Cookin’ at the Villa Italian Restaurant

T h e heavenly and hearty a r o m a of home cooking, just as you open the door of the Villa Italian Restaurant, New York’s Helen Dunn, Marilyn Monroe n e w e s t privately owned and operated restaurant, and the warm welcome by Ralph Martuscelli, one of the most genial hosts here in “Lttle Italy” in the Bronx are twin ingredients hard to beat. The Villa menu, a la carte and moderately priced, lists over a dozen pasta pleasers including the traditional spaghetti al dente, linguini and lasagna, with your choice of Ralph’s delightful sauces. Entrees? You name it and Ralph will cook it for you. But … please be patient. Seafood? such succulent shell foods as Shrimps Fra Diavlo, Mussels Possilipo and Scungilli, cooked to a tenderness and served with a hot-hot sauce are highlights. Steak lovers, this is your dish: Steak Pizzaiola, tender, juicy, and tasty served with a slightly seasoned sauce. Chicken Cacciatore, plump and generous chicken parts and mushrooms which Ralph simmers and simmers to a delight in a mouthwatering sauce.

Dion and Susan Butterfield “Top Ten Girls were all I dated.” They are married some 50 years.

From “Haulin’ Ash” to “Kickin’ Ass,” “The Wanderer” to “The Thunderer” THE BEST LOVE SONG EVER WRITTEN:

“They call me Sweet Papa D ’cos I’m slammin’ and tall but when it comes time to get my ashes hauled I let me baby do that, I let my baby do that, I let my baby do that and she ease my worried mind.” Wondering how to start this story about Dion with so much written and said about him by the great, iconic figures of our era. The Beatles put his face on the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Dylan, Springsteen, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Billy Joel, Steven Van Zandt all write liner notes for his records, cite him as a major influence and back him by singing The Belmonts parts at big-time concerts. Robert Plant never fails to catch his show when the King of the New York Streets hits England. Would it suffice to open with this: Is there another performer who is the go to guy for 1) The Blues Cruise 2) Malt Shop Cruise 3) The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 4) WCBS-FM 5) NPR and last but not least 5) EWTN Global Catholic Television Network? The answer is simple: there is only one and his name is Dion. So I was thinking of all these things, driving on the Cross Bronx Expressway and what passes me but a very large truck, loaded up. With ash. Hauling. “You can crank my car, shift my gear But when the easy riding goes on here, I let my baby do that…”* The appetizers, soups, salads, Pizza (Oh Yes) thin crisp Pizza in a variety of combinations to delight all Pizza lovers. Sandwiches, too, beverages and desserts to the smoothest home made cheese cake, you will be

happy you discovered the Villa Italian restaurant. The Villa is intimate in atmosphere and decor, with warm wood wall paneling and matching table tops. Open for lunch and dinner every day except Monday

with a seatintcapacity of forty. The Villa Italian Restaurant at 651East 187th Street at Belmont Avenue is long gone, as is my grandmother, Helen

Dunn. We present this review as a tribute to them both.

*”I Let My Baby Do That” Dion Dimucci from the CD “Bronx in Blue” © Dion Dimucci Bronx Soul Music, used by permission Fine Art Magazine • Summer 2012 • 3


DIONOLOGY BOOK TWO: THE BLUES MAN AS ARTIST & AUTHOR

Steven Van Zandt hosted an evening with Dion at the 92nd St. Y here they jam on a Robert Johnson tune. Photo by Arnie Goodman

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Dion’s Robert Johnson painting graces the cover of Bronx in Vlue

“The Blues is the naked cry of the human heart apart from God, wanting to feel at home.” – Dion

Above, Still Life, left, Madonna and Child

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Dion’s new book available everywhere and from Part 2 of Dion’s story will be in www.servantbooks.org our next issue and at www.fineartmagazine.com


The Sweetest Way Home: A Greyhound’s Tale, published by SunStorm Arts Publishing Co., Inc, had it’s coming out party at CFM Gallery June 9 in New York City. Written by Fine Art Editor-in-Chief Victor Forbes and beautifully illustrated by Michele Bramlett, it is packaged with an 11 song CD featuring original songs composed expressly for the book by Susan Pillsbury (Coming Home), Mark Naftalin (Puppy Lullaby) and Brad Hurlburt (Faith) as well as previously recorded tunes by Dion, Kim Simmons, Richie Cannata, Liberty Devitto, Martha Gallagher, Rico Rodriguez, and Chris Parker with a musical narrative by the author backed by Keene Valley’s own Back Porch Society. The story came about when Aztec the Greyhound (aka Big Grey) took himself on an excursion in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State, the Tall Peaks region, and was gone for about two weeks. He did return, and this book contains the story of his adventure deep in a “Certified Wildlife Habitat.” To learn more and hear the songs, visit www.thesweetestwayhome.com Special thanks to Neil Zukerman for a great afternoon.

Steve Zaluski and Michele Bramlett with Zaluski’s Greyhound Sculpture at CFM Gallery

Carla Baker, CFM Gallery owner Neil Zukerman, Dr. Bob Baker PHOTOS BY JAMIE ELLIN FORBES

Michele Bramlett, illustrator with author Victor Forbes at CFM Gallery opening reception for their book, The Sweetest Way Home: A Greyhound’s Tale www.fineartmagazine.com

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