Dion

Dion was born Dion Francis DiMucci to an Italian-American family in the Bronx, New York.

Dion started singing in doo-wop groups in the Bronx during the 1950s. His group, The Belmonts, had a string of hits, including "A Teenager In Love" and "I Wonder Why." These songs captured the youthful innocence and energy of the doo-wop era.

Dion was originally supposed to be on the plane that crashed and took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) on February 3, 1959. There was a coin toss between him and Valens for the last seat, and Dion won, but he couldn't afford the $36 cost of the flight, so he let Valens have his place.