Yeah, Dion & the Belmonts started their singing careers as street corner singers just as many other groups did. Two minor corrections, though - they lived in the Belmont section of the Bronx (a mostly Italian section back in the '40s and '50s - the same neighborhood as portrayed in "A Bronx Tale") AND they were already established stars when I heard of them. My sister, ten years older than I, absolutely loved them starting in the late '50s.

FWIW - My brother, eight years older than I, was in a street singing group, too. He and four friends including Rico Petrocelli who later go on to a decent major league baseball career with the Boston Red Sox, used to sing on the boardwalk in Coney Island in the late '50s. They were fairly good and on one night, in particular, they gave a really good performance of a few songs. They attracted a good crowd. Only problem was they were immediately followed by The Tokens, another Brooklyn group who outclassed them. The Tokens would soon release a hit record ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight"). Oh well.