Friday, August 3, 2018
DION As a courtesy to the artists and for the uninterrupted enjoyment of your fellow patrons, please turn off all electronic devices. No portion of this performance may be photographed, recorded, filmed, taped, broadcast or mechanically reproduced without the written consent of the Artist and/or the Presenter. Mayo Performing Arts Center is not responsible for lost or stolen items. Program subject to change.
DION Dion and his music will always represent a special time and place...a moment when a song could mean so much and a singer could sum up what it means to be young, in love and on top of the world.
the star-crossed Winter Dance Party, the tour that took the lives of Buddy Holly and other musical greats. Dion was, in fact, scheduled to fly in the fateful plane that went down “the day the music died.”
Yet Dion is more than simply a cherished memory of a more innocent time. A singer, songwriter and performer of extraordinary versatility, range and resonance, Dion is fashioning music as relevant and revealing today as in the heydays of the 50’s when, along with a handful of other innovators, he defined rock ‘n’ roll for a generation.
But the vitality of the music lived on when Dion, venturing out as a solo artist in 1960, racked up a string of #1 hits that many still consider to be the best of that, or any other, era. Over an incredible four-year run Dion cut one quintessential rock classic after another, from the rollicking “Runaround Sue” to the driving “Lovers Who Wander” to the anthemic “The Wanderer” - it was an unparalleled musical feat that elevated him to the top ranks of recording artists. 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”. When not in the recording studio, he could be found frequenting Greenwich Village, NY listening to roots music and the blues, folk stylings that were shortly to sweep the music scene.
That mastery began at a very early age on the mean streets of the Bronx, New York. It was in the bars and on the street corners of his Bronx neighborhood that Dion’s musical skill and style really began. R&B, blues, doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll all influenced his approach to music, but it was country’s great singer songwriter Hank Williams who first sparked Dion’s singing ambitions. Whatever the reason, Williams’ hard driving lonesome sound attracted the city boy. By age twelve, Dion had collected a hundred of Hank’s singles and could sing as many by heart. It was his surprising feel for pure country that led to his first professional appearance on Paul Whiteman’s radio and television shows, singing “Jambalaya.”
In 1968, Dion had matured as an artist, a more contemplative songwriter and performer and also discovered some hard-won answers and, in the process, found new reasons for living. And singing. That same year he shot to the top of the charts once again with “Abraham, Martin and John”, a song that was as much an anthem Dion’s natural affinities and abilities were for that era as his early hits had been in theirs. further honed on the stoops and on the street What followed was a string of acclaimed LPs, corners of Cartona Avenue, where he rounded including such moving and deeply personal up other local singers, inventing a cappella offerings as Sit Down Old Friend, You're Not licks. Then in 1957 he brought the best of the Alone and Sanctuary Suite for Late Summer. The neighborhood rockers together: Freddy Milano, titles told all: Dion had come of age. Angelo D’Aleo and Carlo Mastrangelo to form Dion & The Belmonts, named after Belmont During the following fifteen years, Dion devoted himself and his music to folk, blues Avenue in the heart of the Bronx. and Gospel, again earning a reputation as an “I Wonder Why” was Dion’s first hit with The innovator. He also recorded a series of albums Belmonts and over the next two years the group that reflected an enduring faith in God, and was earned a reputation not only for topping the nominated for a Grammy in 1985. charts but for creating some of the most vital and exciting doo-wop music on the American Through his intent on always looking forward, scene. With songs such as “A Teenager In Love” it was at the repeated requests of friends and and “Where Or When”, Dion & The Belmonts fans that he agreed to do a concert of his hit earned their place in the history books, while material at Radio City Music Hall in New York the group's pioneering role in the development City in the summer of 1987. It was an historic of rock ‘n’ roll underscored their enduring music event, one that tied up the loose ends accomplishments. A national sensation, they of a legacy and, in many ways, freed Dion to toured extensively and were featured artists on celebrate both his past and his future.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2018 The Radio City shows were also the beginning of yet another career phase for Dion, leading to a series of special appearances, including a 1988 fundraiser for homeless medical relief. There he shared the stage with such renowned Dion fans as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Lou Reed, all of whom cited the originator of the Bronx blues as one of their prime influences.
same time, to set the stage for his active return to recording. Yo Frankie, Dream On Fire, and Rock and Roll Christmas are a collection of CDs showcasing the inexhaustible creativity and sheer exhuberance that has made this artist one of rock music’s most authentic legends.
Today, Dion’s songs grow more important and valuable to his fans, himself and to a new A subsequent autobiography titled The generation of believers. His works have been Wanderer published by William Morrow, and reissued on Sony, Warner Brothers, Rhino, Ace his recent induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Records and Capitol. Fame further highlighted Dion’s contribution His songs, his music, are continually impacting to the state of the musical art, helping, at the people worldwide.
COMING SOON TO MPAC
Vanessa Williams SEPTEMBER 14
TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW AT MAYOARTS.ORG
COMING SOON TO MPAC AUGUST 8/7 8/8 8/9 8/17 8/18 8/25
An Evening with Lyle Lovett and His Large Band Get the Led Out The Piano Guys American Idol: Live! 2018 Live Nation Presents: Hasan Minhaj: Before the Storm Wayne Brady
SEPTEMBER
9/6 9/14 9/20 9/21 9/27 9/28 9/29
The Robert Cray Band Opening Night! An Evening with Vanessa Williams Celtic Thunder X Felix Cavaliere and Gene Cornish’s Rascals Enchanted India! DHOAD Gypsies of Rajasthan An Evening with Pat Metheny Bobby Collins
OCTOBER
10/3 10/4 10/5 10/9 10/10 10/11 10/13 10/17 10/20 10/24 10/25 10/26 10/27 10/28
Paula Abdul: STRAIGHT UP PAULA! Anka Sings Sinatra - His Songs, My Songs, My Way An Evening with Melissa Etheridge - Yes I Am 25th Anniversary Tour The Greatest Love of All - The Whitney Houston Show Diana Krall: Turn Up The Quiet World Tour 2018 The Price is Right Live! Three Dog Night The Tenors: Fan Favorites Tour The Music of Cream 50th Anniversary Tour Gaelic Storm Friends! The Musical Parody An Intimate Evening with Kristin Chenoweth The Temptations and The Four Tops The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show
NOVEMBER 11/2-3 11/6 11/7 11/8 11/9 11/11 11/12 11/14 11/15 11/17 11/18 11/23 11/24 11/25 11/26 11/28
The Wizard of Oz The Wood Brothers Boz Scaggs: Out of the Blues Tour 2018 Dr. Drew Pinsky Howie Mandel Duty, Honor, Country - A Salute to Service: A Hanover Wind Symphony Veterans Day Concert In Dreams - Roy Orbison in Concert Puddles Pity Party Toto: 40 Trips Around the Sun Tour Ballet Folklórico de México Elf the Musical Manhattan Comedy Night The Wizards of Winter A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live on Stage Canadian Brass Holiday Concert Celtic Woman: The Best of Christmas Tour
TICKETS AT MAYOARTS.ORG