Dion still sounds AMAZING.
Dion DiMucci probably was the best white lead singer of the Doo Wop era. I saw him with and without the Belmonts at the Freed shows. Lou Reed worshiped Dion--he inducted Dion into the R&R Hall of Fame. You can hear Dion wailing away at the end of Reed's "Dirty Boulevard":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmJUSI2qRlM(Dion is singing on the vinyl version, not the black man shown in the video.)
The Channels, one of
the top NY Doo Wop groups, did their own version of Frankie Laine's classic "That's My Desire":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uErSbuPUvkADion and the Belmonts copied the Channels' version literally note for note:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uErSbuPUvkA