Filed under: News, New Music, Exclusive, Q + A

Allison Michael Orenstein

It was with his street corner buddies from the Bronx, Carlo Mastrangelo, Angelo D'Aleo and the recently deceased Fred Milano that Dion Dimucci changed the musical world. As Dion and the Belmonts, they all but owned the late-1950s pop charts with tunes including 'I Wonder Why' and 'A Teenager in Love.' DiMucci found even more meteoric success with his solo hits 'Runaround Sue,' 'The Wanderer' and 1968's 'Abraham, Martin and John.'

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, today Dion lives in Florida with his wife of 48 years, Sue. And now, the legendary rock 'n' roller releases his new album, 'Tank Full of Blues,' which you can stream below. It's his third blues-themed album in the trilogy of recordings that started in 2006 with the release of 'Bronx in Blue.' Unlike Dion's two preceding blues albums, his latest release is comprised almost entirely of original, newly written songs. It's a personal, evocative collection that finds the artist in exceptional form.

Dion recently spoke with Spinner about the new album, his storied career, Bob Dylan and "The Day the Music Died."

Of all the original rock 'n' roll stars from the late 1950s, you're one of the only ones still making original music.

I feel more relevant today than when I was making hit records. Your opinions change over the course of your lifetime, your worldview changes and you have more to say, so I just keep on trying to push ahead. The writer, Dave Marsh, spoke to me not too long up at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He said to me, "You're the only artist from the '50s who has remained creative." I wanted to argue with him because that's a hell of a thing to say, but what it did for me is it pushed me. It made me think, "OK, now I'm going to have to express who I am: Write my own songs, make my own statement within this form" and so I went for it. And I ended up with 'Tank Full of Blues.'