Los Angeles Dodgers Quiz (1958 – ): 1) Most hits, career? 2)
Most homers by lefthander, season? 3) Most RBI, season? 4)
Most games lost, season? [Hint: 1968] Answers below.
Dion DiMucci.one of the best
Born on July 18, 1939 in the Bronx, Dion DiMucci had a rough
childhood. His father hardly worked, there never was any
money, and the fights were legendary. Escaping his wretched
family life, Dion sought escape through music. And he also
discovered heroin at 14!
Growing up, his idols were of course Elvis and Bill Haley and
after getting a recording contract of his own, the record company
formed Dion and the Timberlanes, only Dion didn”t know who
the backup singers were. So Dion was like, heck, I can do better
with guys from the neighborhood, and a few months later you
had Dion and the Belmonts, with Dion as lead singer and Fred
Milano, Carlo Mastrangelo, and Angelo D”Aleo as the
supporting cast. The name “Belmonts” came from Belmont Ave.
in the Bronx where they lived.
The group would rehearse its doo-wop sound on the 6th Ave.
”D” train to Manhattan and by May 1958 they had their first big
hit, “I Wonder Why,” which peaked at #22 on the Billboard
charts. A successful single back then was quickly followed with
a tour and in October, Dion and the Belmonts played with
Frankie Avalon, Bobby Darin, Buddy Holly, Clyde McPhatter,
and the Coasters. Then in January 1959, Dion and the boys
started off on the “Winter Dance Party” with Holly, Richie
Valens, and the Big Bopper
It was on February 2 that the tour played the surf ballroom in
Clear Lake, IA. During the concert the Belmonts” Mastrangelo
played drums on Holly”s last set because his regular drummer
was suffering from foot frostbite because of the unheated bus
that they all were touring in.
Late that night, 1:00 AM on the 3rd, having commandeered a
small plane because he was tired of bus travel, Holly, along with
Valens and the Big Bopper (who took the seat of Holly”s bassist,
Waylon Jennings) took off in a storm for the next tour
destination. Dion had an opportunity to fly with the group but he
didn”t want to pay $36 for a seat. It was a month”s rent after all.
Of course, the rest is music history. [It was Jennings who
responded to Holly”s “I hope your damned bus freezes again,”
with “I hope your ole plane crashes.” Needless to say, Jennings
took years to recover from the tragedy.]
As for Dion and the Belmonts, by April 1959 they cranked out
“A Teenager In Love” which became a #5 hit. The following
January they had a #3 with “Where Or When.”
But by October of 1960, Dion split to pursue his solo career and
in 1961, he had the #1 smash “Runaround Sue” and the #2 “The
Wanderer.” The ”Sue” in the first tune was Dion”s future wife,
Susan.
[Just another aside, both “Runaround.” and “Wanderer.”
were co-written by Ernie Maresca. In the spring of ”62, Maresca
then recorded his own top single, the #6 “Shout Shout (Knock
Yourself Out),” one of the great tunes of all time.]
Dion had some other top tens, “Lovers Who Wander,” “Little
Diane,” “Love Came To Me,” “Ruby Baby,” and “Donna The
Prima Donna.” He was hot. But he was also drinking and
shooting up a good portion of his newfound wealth. He married
Susan but then basically went into seclusion with the arrival of
the Beatles and the British Invasion. Sure, he still recorded, but
he achieved none of his earlier success.
Then, six months after finally getting “clean” and sober, Dion
recorded the 1968 tribute to Lincoln, King, and Kennedy,
“Abraham, Martin and John,” which rose to #4.
By the 1980s, Dion had transformed himself into a gospel singer
and then in 1989 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame.
Two other notes. In 1993, Dion inducted Dick Clark into the
Hall, saying, “I met Dick when I was 17 and at that time I looked
up to him like a father. In the 70s, I started regarding him as a
brother. These days, I look at him as a son.”
Finally, there is Susan. Dion was 16 when he started going out
with her. She was all of 14. They are still married to this day, a
rarity in the entertainment field, let alone with the way Dion
abused his body in those early years. So why didn”t Susan opt
out?
“You make a vow when you get married. You”re together in
good times and bad times. You fight together, you make up
together. And you stay together.” [Source: Liz Doup / South
Florida Sun-Sentinel…plus the other works referenced for past
music stories in this space.]
The End of the World
So on Tuesday there were at least 3 different stories on the
plagues of locusts and crickets that have inundated farms from
China to Southern Russia to Utah. It”s time to sell all of your
stocks and start partying. The end is near. To wit.
In western China, locusts are descending by the billions and the
government is actually flying in hundreds of thousands of
specially trained ducks to the worst areas. Yes, these ducks have
learned to eat a pound of locusts a day. Amazingly, this is
viewed to be more environmentally friendly than using
pesticides. I say ”amazingly” because I can”t believe this is the
same government that is now looking to put members of Falun
Gong to death. The locusts destroy crops, while Falun Gong (the
humans) distribute leaflets and perform that scary routine,
stretching.
In southern Russia, specifically the province of Dagestan, the
locusts cover 44 square miles but that figure is about to explode.
“The locusts currently move at between one and two mph, but
when they reach maturity in two weeks and grow wings, they
will be able to cover hundreds of miles a day.” [AP] Two years
ago, locusts devoured 27% of Kazakstan”s harvest. They then
washed it down with the finest vodka and a good time was
had by all.
Finally, in Utah the problem is with an infestation of crickets and
grasshoppers, the worst since the 1940s. In some areas, they are
covering every stalk of wheat. Authorities have instituted a
poison control program, which can be effective when the crickets
eat it and die, thus becoming gourmet treats for other crickets!
Said one local official, “They like to eat a lot and they have no
preference whether it be alfalfa or one of their own. One
ingestion of the bait will go through three to five crickets.”
So I”m picturing Jimminy Cricket talking to his girlfriend,
“Cricket” Cricket. “How was it, Jimbo?” “Tasted like cricket!”
[Additional sources: Reuters, London Times]
Sam Jethroe
The first black to play major league baseball in Boston died the
other day at age 83. In 1950, Jethroe became the oldest player
(age 32) ever to win the Rookie of the Year award while with
the National League”s Boston Braves.
Born in East St. Louis, Jethroe was a superstar in the Negro
Leagues, winning the batting title in 1945 with a .393 average.
He was also one of the fastest players to don a baseball uniform,
witness his nickname “The Jet.” For awhile there was even talk
that Jethroe would be the first to break the color barrier in
baseball, not Jackie Robinson. The Dodgers Branch Rickey went
on to acquire Sam but with Duke Snider ensconced in center,
Rickey sold Jethroe to the Braves for $100,000.
Despite his rookie season, where he hit .273 with 18 homers, 58
ribbies, and a league leading 35 steals, Jethroe didn”t live up to
his reputation and the fans were hard on him. They figured with
all the money the team shelled out to acquire Sam, he should
have been better.
In fact, Jethroe was accused of dogging it on more than one
occasion. Others just said he was lonely being the only black on
the team. Regardless, Jethroe was a horrible fielder, leading all
outfielders in errors his 3 full seasons (1950-52), though he did
lead the N.L. in steals his first two years and hit .280 with 18 HR
and 65 RBI in 1951. But by ”52, he was tailing off badly and his
career was over.
But lest this look like I”m trashing a dead man, of course if
Jethroe had been allowed to play in the Big Leagues when he
was in his 20s, his legacy may have been quite different. So
we”ll leave this discussion on a positive note. When “The Jet”
was playing with Montreal in the Dodgers system, many was the
time that opposing managers would intentionally walk the
pitcher to put a roadblock in front of the leadoff batter, Jethroe.
Now that”s fear of speed.
Bad Baffert…Baaad Baffert
Bob Baffert, who trained Preakness and Belmont champion Point
Given, has been suspended for 60 days because of a positive test
for morphine in one of his horses at Santa Anita. He is appealing
the decision.
U.S. Open
With Tiger not in the hunt on Sunday, television ratings were
down 20% from last year when Woods romped by 15 strokes.
U2 and Jesse
Senator Jesse Helms, 79, attended his first rock concert last
weekend at the invitation of Bono. As I”ve mentioned before,
Bono and Helms became fast friends when Bono called on
Helms for his support in the singer”s campaign for debt relief for
Africa. Helms was so taken by Bono”s appeal, that he has since
done all he could to help. Which is another reason to like Bono;
a celeb who backs up his talk with action and understands the
issues.
Top 3 songs for the week of 6/19/71: #1 “It”s Too Late” (Carole
King) #2 “Rainy Days And Mondays” (Carpenters) #3 “Want
Ads” (The Honey Cone…just a simply awful tune)
Los Angeles Dodgers Quiz Answers: 1) Most hits, career: Willie
Davis, 2091. 2) Most homers by lefthander: Darryl Strawberry,
28 (1991). 3) Most RBI, season: Tommy Davis, 153 (1962).
4) Most games lost, season: Claude Osteen, 18, (12-18.1968).
Next Bar Chat, Friday…nuclear war. Yeah…really!
