Dion & The Del-Satins - Runaround Sue (1961)

Born in 1939, Dion DiMucci was a huge star before the British Invasion. His popular hits came in the forms of doo-wop, rock and roll, and pop. After being dismissed as a teen idol, he began to write more poignant and reflective material such as his hit “Abraham, Martin & John,” which you can hear here.

The Del-Satins were a harmony group widely known for replacing Dion’s original backing group, The Belmonts. Their name was an amalgam borrowed from The Dells and The Five Satins, popular doo wop groups of the time.

This song was co-written by Dion DiMucci and his friend, Ernie Maresca, from the group The Regents (“Barbara Ann”). Both men agreed that the song came about after a forty-five minute jam session in a neighborhood schoolyard where boxes were being used as drums. It reached number one for a single week in October and was listed in Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”



Dion & The Del-Satins - Runaround Sue (1961)

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Lyrics:

Here's my story; it's sad, but true
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town

Yeah, I should have known it from the very start
“This girl will leave me with a broken heart”
Now listen people what I'm tellin’ you
a’Keep away from a‘Runaround Sue, yeah

I might miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hand and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't want to cry like I do
a’Keep away from a‘Runaround Sue

She likes to travel around, yeah
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
a’Sue goes out with other guys

Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
“a’Keep away from a‘Runaround Sue”

Yeah, keep away from this girl
I know- know what she'll do
Keep away from Sue

a’She likes to travel around, yeah
She'll love you and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
a-‘She goes out with other guys

Here's the moral and the story from that guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say’a
a’Keep away from a‘Runaround Sue, yeah

Stay away from that girl
Don't you know what she’ll do, now
Keep away from that girl
Don't you know what she’ll do…

Dion - Abraham, Martin and John (1968)

Originally a doo-wop and rock and roll singer backed by The Belmonts (and later The Del-Satins), this artist had huge success with hits such as “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer” just before the British Invasion. He lost popularity in the early ‘60s and was dismissed as a “teen idol” until he took a more serious approach to his songs in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.

This poignant song comes from 1968, just months after the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy.



Dion - Abraham, Martin and John (1968)

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Lyrics:

Anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people
But it seem the good, they die young
You know, I just looked around and he's gone

Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people
But it seem the good, they die young
I just looked around and he's gone

Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people
But it seem the good, they die young
I just looked around and he's gone

Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free someday soon
It's gonna be one day

Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill
With Abraham, and Martin, and John