2 Kinds of Bronx Tales: Dion & Pusha T

Dion and Pusha T don’t have a hell of a lot in common but they were both born in The Bronx. Dion was born in 1939 and grew up around Arthur Avenue. Dion and his group The Belmonts, named for the Avenue and the neighborhood it runs through, began to attract attention when he was about 18 and he was on his way to a rock and roll hall of fame career. Pusha T was born in 1977 so at the moment he is exactly half the age of Dion. On stage at PlayStation Theater in Times Square on 3-26-16, he referred to the Silver Towers on Gun Hill Road where he spent summers as a kid with his grandmother. He had moved down to Virginia when he was still very young and was known to have a Virginia Beach home base when he broke into the game at about the same age Dion did. Pusha T released King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude in December. Around that time the King Push album was announced for released this month. That almost certainly is not going to happen but my pal at Def Jam assures me sometime this year. Thanks to Steve at NY1 of Brooklyn Street Party Entertainment fame who shot the Pusha T vid.

Dion’s show at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on 4-9-16 featured Ronnie Spector as a special guest. I asked permission to shoot her as well but was denied! However, Ronnie and Dion will again appear on the same bill on July 31st at Bethel Woods. Dion’s appearance at the 92nd Street Y next month is slated as a conversation with Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone magazine. Here’s the man pointed out on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper’s album as I referred to it in the video…