As some of the readers of this blog know, I'm a huge music fan with pretty eclectic taste ranging across virtually all genres and eras. I've been thinking lately about who I would consider the most underrated rock star of all-time, and after careful consideration I've arrived at what I think is an obvious answer--
Dion DiMucci. I just listened to his newest album, which came out a couple of months ago, called
Heroes, in which he pays tribute to a number of artists who started their careers around the same time he did in the 1950s, paying particular attention to the guitar work on their classic songs. This is not your typical "oldies" set, performed by an artist locked in an earlier age. Instead, Dion makes this material fresh and delivers stellar performances, both vocally and on guitar.
Of course, one album does not explain why I consider him the most underrated rock star of all time. I'm sure most of you reading this remember his classic singles from the late fifties (with the Belmonts) and early sixties, like "Teenager in Love," "Little Star," "Runaround Sue," and "The Wanderer." What you may not know is that he has remained consistently active as a performer and recording artist in all the years since, moving easily from doo wop to folk-rock (another big hit-- "Abraham, Martin & John") to Christian music to blues. He's done incredible versions of songs written by everyone from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen, and also written some classics himself, and though they never achieved the chart success of those early hits, they are every bit as good. Prior to the
Heroes album, he released two incredible blues albums which critics raved about, and represented a return to his own self-proclaimed roots. He also put out a great live
album a few years back on which the music is supplemented by some great stories, both funny and touching.
I can't think of anyone who has sustained as long a career over the same period with absolutely no drop-off in quality (with the exception of Sonny Rollins, who works in a different genre). The reason why I call him underrated is that he does not seem to be mentioned as one of the pantheon figures of rock and roll, even though I think his artistic accomplishmentse warrant consideration for any such list. Since his work has given me such pleasure over the years, I just want to tip my hat to Dion and say that I hope he's got a lot more music to give us in the years to come, and that more people pay attention to it.
As some of the readers of this blog know, I'm a huge music fan with pretty eclectic taste ranging across virtually all genres and eras. I've been thinking lately about who I would consider the most underrated rock star of all-time, and after careful consideration I've arrived at what I think is an obvious answer-- Dion DiMucci. I just listened to his newest album, which came out a couple of months ago, called Heroes, in which he pays tribute to a number of artists who started their careers around the same time he did in the 1950s, paying particular attention to the guitar work on their classic songs. This is not your typical "oldies" set, performed by an artist locked in an earlier age. Instead, Dion makes this material fresh and delivers stellar performances, both vocally and on guitar.
Of course, one album does not explain why I consider him the most underrated rock star of all time. I'm sure most of you reading this remember his classic singles from the late fifties (with the Belmonts) and early sixties, like "Teenager in Love," "Little Star," "Runaround Sue," and "The Wanderer." What you may not know is that he has remained consistently active as a performer and recording artist in all the years since, moving easily from doo wop to folk-rock (another big hit-- "Abraham, Martin & John") to Christian music to blues. He's done incredible versions of songs written by everyone from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen, and also written some classics himself, and though they never achieved the chart success of those early hits, they are every bit as good. Prior to the Heroes album, he released two incredible blues albums which critics raved about, and represented a return to his own self-proclaimed roots. He also put out a great live album a few years back on which the music is supplemented by some great stories, both funny and touching.
I can't think of anyone who has sustained as long a career over the same period with absolutely no drop-off in quality (with the exception of Sonny Rollins, who works in a different genre). The reason why I call him underrated is that he does not seem to be mentioned as one of the pantheon figures of rock and roll, even though I think his artistic accomplishmentse warrant consideration for any such list. Since his work has given me such pleasure over the years, I just want to tip my hat to Dion and say that I hope he's got a lot more music to give us in the years to come, and that more people pay attention to it.
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