Inspired by this one time performance at a charity concert.
*
The Stray Aces (main years active 1988 - 1991) were an American doo-wop/accapella supergroup. They featured appearances from multiple famous musicians over the years, but their core group was composed of Dion DiMucci, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Lou Reed, and Ruben Blades. The idea for the group came after these musicians and others provided backing vocals for Dion in his performance of 'A Teenager in Love' at the Concert for Homeless Children in Madison Square Garden, New York City in December 1987. The artists paid tribute to Dion's influence on their music, and following the concert and the conclusion of Springsteen and Joel's worldwide tours in 1988, recorded an album, 'Lonely Hearts Sing The Longest' of his songs and other doo-wop classics in October 1988. In 1989, the core group of Stray Aces toured the United States and Canada. In September 1990, the Stray Aces wrote and recorded new material in their album, 'A Leap of Faith'. After a short tour the following year, the Stray Aces disbanded in July 1991 as the members wanted to dedicate more time to other projects. The group reunited for appearances since then, although without Lou Reed following his death in 2013. The group was part of a wider trend of 1980s supergroups that included The Traveling Wilburys and The Highwaymen.
Lonely Hearts Sing the Longest (released February 1989)
(lead vocals in brackets)
1. A Teenager In Love (Dion)
2. Dream Lover (Bruce Springsteen)
3. The Wanderer (Lou Reed)
4. Lovers Who Wander (Billy Joel)
5. Tonight, Tonight (Dion)
6. Somebody Nobody Wants (Ruben Blades)
*
7. I Wonder Why (Billy Joel)
8. Runaround Sue (Bruce Springsteen)
9. Runaway Girl (James Taylor)
10. Life is but a Dream (Paul Simon)
11. Come and Go with Me (Van Morrison)
12. In the Still of the Night (Ruben Blades)
Lou Reed inducting Dion at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, 1989: "And then there was Dion — that great opening to "I Wonder Why" engraved in my skull forever. Dion, whose voice was unlike any other I had heard before. Dion could do all the turns stretch those syllables so effortlessly, soar so high he could reach the sky and dance there among the stars forever. What a voice — that had absorbed and transmogrified all these influences into his own soul, as the wine turns into blood, a voice that stood on its own remarkably and unmistakably from New York — Bronx Soul. It was the kind of voice you never forget. Over the years that voice has stayed with me, as it has, I'm sure, stayed with you. And whenever I hear it I'm flooded with memories of what once was and what could be."
Bruce Springsteen: “I love Dion and I have, gosh, since I heard ‘Teenager in Love’ on my mom’s radio as a small boy. That was the first thing I heard, and you know we became friendly over the years and he’s just one of those guys whose artistic curiosity has never left him, which is very unusual for musicians. It usually fades, or they lose it somehow, but Dion has remained musically curious throughout his entire life and made all kinds of different kinds of records and has continued using what is probably one of the great white pop voices of all times in creative ways. That’s very inspiring.”
The Stray Aces, on tour in 1989.