WELCOME BACK
More than 60 years after his first hit single, he returns with an album of women-only collaborations.
AT 84, DION DiMucci shows no signs of slowing down. He first came to prominence at 17 with the Belmonts, a vocal group hand-picked from the Bronx. Having racked up hits with such evergreens as The Wanderer and Runaround Sue, Dion repeatedly changed tack to retain contemporary R&B relevance, with King Of The New York Streets in ’89 and a trio of albums for Joe Bonamassa’s label KTBA: Blues With Friends, Stomping Ground and most recently Girl Friends, a set of collaborations with female artists.
What inspired Girl Friends?
My last two albums featured a lot of collaborations, some with female artists like Samantha Fish and Rickie Lee Jones, and I had such a good time doing them that I decided to do an album exclusively with female artists that sometimes fly under the radar, wonderful artists like Joanne Shaw Taylor. I didn’t want every song to be conversational across-the-table duets, so I wrote some where the girls just play guitar, or do background vocals. I wanted to mix it up a bit.
Why these particular artists?
I really wanted Carlene Carter on An American Hero. I heard her on it; that whole down-to-earth Carter family attitude. She got it, and came aboard. I wanted Susan Tedeschi for Soul Force because she is a soul force.
Were there names on your wish list that couldn’t make it?
Christine McVie had died, and I loved her voice. She was always on my wish list. Chrissie Hynde was going to do I Got Wise but was too busy. Then I met Maggie Rose on Joe Bonamassa’s Blues Cruise, loved her voice and, well, I had to get this thing done. Though I missed her this time, hopefully Chrissie and I will do something together in the future.
Don’t You Want AMan Like Me is the kind of sweet-talking you’d expect of The Wanderer’s central protagonist.
Exactly. There�
