By Marc Myers

Dion DiMucci was there the day the music died—and when it bounced back. He was the fourth headliner on the Winter Dance Party tour in 1959 when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (the "Big Bopper") were killed in a plane crash. He's also one of only two American rock stars on the cover of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album (Bob Dylan is the other).

For the Beatles and many other '60s artists, Dion marked the start of teenage male vulnerability and confusion about love. After Dion released "Runaround Sue" in September 1961, the song became his first and only No. 1 Billboard pop hit. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.

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Source: http://www.wsj.com/