Saturday Morning Soundtrack -- "A Teenager in Love" by Dion & the Belmonts (1959)

As we end our first era in the Saturday Morning Soundtrack series, and prepare to head on to the 1960s, we're going to look at one of the greatest (and, in my opinion, underrated) early rock n' roll acts: Dion & the Belmonts.


As always, I'm not alleging that the songs I pick are necessarily the "best" songs from a given year. Just my favorites.  You'll hear some big hits and some B-side buried treasures. If your favorite song gets overlooked, let me know just how wrong I got things in the comments below! Or, even better, consider writing your own Saturday Morning Soundtrack entry for a future post. And, after you read the commentary, keep checking out the Youtube page to play through the entire series playlist seamlessly while you write, work, exercise, or simply rock out!

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Saturday Morning Soundtrack @ Youtube

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"A Teenager In Love" -- Dion & the Belmonts (1959)

Though not as well known as other popular acts of his time period (particularly that other one-name legend, Elvis), Dion was an important figure in early rock n' roll, penning hits like "The Wanderer," "Runaround Sue," and (later) "Abraham, Martin, and John." What we sometimes forget, however, is that Dion started out as a member of The Belmonts before going solo. And in his time with the group, he performed on one of rock's greatest hits, "A Teenager in Love."

This song (and Dion's DiMucci's career) almost didn't happen, as he was originally scheduled to be on the chartered plane flight that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson on February 3, 1959 near Clear Lake, Iowa. (An upstart musician, Dion couldn't afford the $36 cost, at the time.)

At the time of this recording, Dion wasn't technically a teenager anymore (he was 20), but he does a nice job of capturing that combination of naivety and angst that characterizes teenage love. "Why must I be a teenager in love?" Dion opines, as he stares at the stars and ponders the up-and-down drama of his youthful relationship. Someday, he'll reach a point (and a romance) where every little "quarrel" doesn't spell potential doom for his love-life, a fact he seems to recognize ("I guess I'll learn / to take the good with the bad"), but he's not there yet. And so we get this poor, dumb kid, sitting in his bedroom and asking the kind of questions we all asked when we were teenagers. And it doesn't come across as sappy or melodramatic because we know that's a fairly typical part of growing up. Dion and The Belmonts recognize this, and they treat the scene with empathy, rather than with "oh-how-precious" condescension. It's easy to see why this song was such a big hit with rock n' roll's youth fan-base. 

Eventually, Dion would outgrow this subject matter, and he'd move on to more adult work, giving up doo wop and leaving The Belmonts in favor of a more guitar-based solo career. He'd overcome heroin addiction, which he'd struggled with since the age of fifteen. He'd become a born-again Christian, and his work would become more contemplative. In 1989, his career in music would be recognized, celebrated, validated with induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Today, he continues to perform his hits and covers of other classic rock songs, as well as new music (Tank Full of Blues), and he is actively involved in prison ministry and addiction recovery outreach. The Belmonts have also continued to perform off and on (mostly without Dion) enjoying modest success.

And, as a parting shot to all those listeners out there who think that this group is just a footnote in rock history, you might be interested to know that The Red Hot Chili Peppers paid tribute to Dion and The Belmonts as one of their influences by covering "Teenager in Love" on their 2012 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame EP. To hear one Hall of Fame rock group pay tribute to another, follow this link.

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So what do you think? Did I get it right or miss the mark? Please, feel free to weigh in using the comments below. And, if you would like to write a Guest Entry for the "Saturday Morning Soundtrack" series where you creatively respond to one of your favorite rock songs, don't hesitate to contact me with queries.