And speaking as we were the other day of the ridiculously great Dion DiMucci...
From 1965, during the period when his hits had dried up, please enjoy his (not released until the 90s) utterly astounding and atmospheric white boy take on Willie Dixon's about-to-be-a-blues-classic "Spoonful."
Let's just say that nobody else comparable -- not The Stones, not Paul Butterfield, not The Yardbirds, not anybody except perhaps the equally unheralded Rising Sons, with Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal -- was doing stuff this authentic at the time.
I should also add that just two years earlier, Dion was recording the most gorgeous doo-wop street corner r&b -- as in "Can't We Be Sweethearts" -- ever heard by sentient mammalian ears.
Words fail me, frankly.
8 comments:
No argument here over Dion's talent. He's a real musician, and like so many others, what filled his spoon at that time then went into his veins.
Yes, he did have a real rough patch with the drugs. But luckily he's still around, and should be proud of the vast repertoire of music he's released over these many years. Dion's the coolest!
It wasn't until the Allman Brothers came along a half-dozen years later that anyone arranged the Chicago material in such a fresh, original way.
pete said...
It wasn't until the Allman Brothers came along a half-dozen years later that anyone arranged the Chicago material in such a fresh, original way.
Wow. Talk about a lot happening in such a short amount of time. Look at Dion, and then think about what the Allmans looked like.
I want to see Dion in person.
How about "Daddy Rollin' In Your Arms"? Badass. One of the coolest guys ever.
Dion's the greatest. How 'bout "Two Ton Feather" also on Columbia.
Steve - WAY late on this one - but 1) yeah, Hoochie Coochie Man was released on 45 and went nowhere
2) AFAIAC, "Drip Drop" is spot-on blues (with backing by the Del Satins). One of my all-time top Dion tracks.
3) I ACHE to try and interview him on my show. Several recent STRAIGHT BLUES recordings. This compels me to try and make something happen.
I would add, though, that Charlie Musselwhite was pretty heavily steeped in the blues in the early-to-mid 1960s - as was Billy Lee Riley (AKA, Lightnin' Leon, recorded "Dark Muddy Bottom" and "Reposession Blues" on the Rita label he co-owned in 1960):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJYhEm5GD2Q
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