Runaround Sue

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"Runaround Sue" is a popular song, originally a US # 1 pop hit for Dion in 1961.

[edit] Original recording

The song was written by Ernie Maresca and Dion (DiMucci). It was recorded in 1961 by Dion, backed by vocal group The Del-Satins. Released on Laurie Records, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in October of that year, and also reached number 11 in the UK charts.

It is a song about a man whose ex-girlfriend had commitment trouble and ran around (hence the name of the song) with other people in the city. The song caught on with millions for its catchy hook "Hey, hey, hum-ba-diddy-diddy".

In the liner notes of Dion's box set "King Of The New York Streets", he wrote^[1]:

"It came about by partying in a schoolyard. We were jamming, hitting tops of boxes. I gave everyone parts like the horn parts we'd hear in the Apollo Theater and it became a jam that we kept up for 45 minutes. I came up with all kinds of stuff. But when I actually wrote the song and brought it into the studio to record it, well, her name wasn't actually Sue. It was about, you know, some girl who loved to be worshipped but as soon as you want a commitment and express your love for her, she's gone. So the song was a reaction to that kind of woman."

Co-writer Ernie Maresca said ^[2]:-

"Everybody was singing in the neighbourhood, on the street corners and in the hallways. I was in a group called The Regents at the time. They didn't have a hit yet. Everybody was coming to me for songs, which was nice, you know. .... I'd never even heard of Laurie Records until I went up there with Dion and met Gene and Bob [Schwartz] who owned the company. After they put out 'No One Knows', I would go up there with demos. I used to cut a lot of demos, you know. Then they cut an album and on it they put 'Runaround Sue'."

[edit] Other recordings

The song has also been recorded by Leif Garrett (U.S. #13), The Alley Cats, The Hypertonics, Racey and is often covered live by Magnum.

Preceded by "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles	Billboard Hot 100 number one single October 23 - October 30, 1961	Succeeded by "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean