A Blast from your Pop-Music Past

Ingélou said:

Dion: Runaround Sue (1961)

This single was bought by my eldest brother, whom I idolised, and he played it a lot, so it has the charm of recreating a childhood scene, me aged ten in with the teenage boys (thirteen & fourteen) in our cosy York lounge on a rainy day. I liked the tune and the lyrics and the lively men's chorus, but most of all I liked the playful twinkle in Dion's voice as he sang it, following the mock-mournful introduction.
I still love it - the rhythm is infectious.

Glad to see that Dion is still on the planet.

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One of the better songs and singers to come from the early 1960s. Runaround Sue was released September 1961 and was a Number One Hit. Even more impressive that he actually wrote the song as well (with his friend Ernie Maresca).

This was released almost a couple of years after he'd checked himself into a hospital to combat his heroin addiction.

Dion had been invited to be on the plane that crashed in 1959, killing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. Legend has it that he decided that he did not want to spend $36 for the flight, as it was the same monthly rent his parents paid for his childhood apartment and he could not justify the indulgence.

Anyway, it revived his career, although the B-Side, Runaway Girl was a throwback to the style that was pigeonholing him by the end of 1960. But listen to those lyrics; they're actually pretty edgy. And Dion's vocal really is good.

Dion had recently left The Belmonts, so the backing vocals on both Runaround Sue and Runaway Girl were provided by The Del-Satins.

P. J. Proby: Let The Water Run Down (1965)


P. J. Proby was older than usual, in his mid-thirties, when he burst onto the pop scene (or his trousers did); he had a mop of dark hair tied back with a Tom Jones bow and wore big shirts - probably a good idea in view of his trousers fame.
I liked the look of him when I was fourteen. But in particular, I liked this hit single - for its pulsing chorus but especially for its depiction of a man overcome by emotion, running the tap to drown his tears:
'I hear them waiting by the door.
And then pounding on the door.
They're getting out. You're coming out.
Ooh I wish they wouldn't shout.
All I need 's one minute more.
Then I'll open up the door. And this is what I'll say.
I'm alright. I'm alright.
Come on darlin' let me hear ya'.
Let it roll let it roll. Let the tears fall down. Let them roll.'

Somewhat maudlin, I see now, but it still has its attraction.
Apparently P. J. Proby is still on the planet & lives in the UK, but his past does seem a bit 'interesting':