From the late 1950s, the music of Grammy-nominated doo-wop era rock ‘n’ roller DION (Dion DiMucci) of The Wanderer and Runaround Sue fame, has been getting people onto their toes, dancing at the hop.
We’ve described Dion’s sounds as “superbly structured, brilliantly developed, and gloriously presented…”
Now, the rock ‘n’ roll elder statesman has set the release of “The Rock ‘n’ Roll Philosopher”, an album companion to his book, co-authored with Adam Jablin, of the same title. The work will go on sale October 24th through KTBA Records both digitally and on CD.
KTBA Records is the label, founded by Joe Bonamassa and Roy Weisman that has released DION’s recent string of much lauded collaborative albums including Blues With Friends (2020), Stomping Ground (2021) and last year’s Girl Friends which we described as “brave, poetic, and worldly-wise.”
will brighten your day with An energizing blend of
Raw Ramp
rolling rhythms and
dancebeat rock boogie…
The new album is prefaced by a release via all streaming services of “I’m Your Gangster of Love,” (with Wayne Hood) a new-sprung recording of one of six songs on “The Rock ‘n’ Roll Philosopher” album written by Dion with his longtime songwriting partner Mike Aquilina. The new song arrives with a music video (shared below) that evokes gangland themes of the ‘30s and ‘40s.
“I’m Your Gangster of Love” is a loco chug of guitar and organ, with Dion’s voice neat as a pin and sturdily sooted in all the right places. The guitar slashes through the piece like jasmine acid. It will brighten your day with an energizing blend of rolling rhythms and dancebeat rock boogie!
Collaborations on the new album include those with Sonny Landreth, Joe Bonamassa, Mark Knopfler, and Eric Clapton. Clapton also wrote a 600-word foreword for the album, referring to Dion as “one of a kind, unparalleled in his achievement and stature. He is a genius singer, writer, musician, and healer.”
Clapton also wrote, “He is the perfect example of how you can do what you love to do and still be available to the lives of others…”
Longtime Dion fan Clapton also wrote the prologue for the text version of The Rock ‘n’ Roll Philosopher and can be heard on Dion’s song “If You Wanna Rock and Roll,” which is featured on the new album.
New Album – “The Rock ‘N’ Roll Philosopher“
Released October 24, 2025
Pre-order Album : https://shop.ktbarecords.com/collections/dion
Main photo: © David Godlis
DION, the Philosopher’s Stone
RAW RAMP 