Sure, there are a lot of truly horrible songs recorded in the 1960s, but "Little Diane" by Dion stands apart from others for a few reasons.
First, it was recorded by Dion DiMucci, of "Dion and the Belmonts" fame Okay, it's true that he recorded "Runaround Sue" AFTER splitting with the Belmonts, and, to be honest, the musical style of the Belmonts was miles apart from the doo-wopping "Runaround Sue," but still, there is no excuse for a song that features a kazoo instead of say, a sax or guitar to carry the rhythm. A kazoo! Aahhhhhhhh! Was there a shortage of sax or guitar studio musicians in 1962?
Second objection: Laughably bad lyrics.
Proof: From the second and third stanzas (although the very first stanza is simply awwwwwwful as well) And while you can't appreciate the horrible phrasing by simply reading the lyrics, here they are:
Ya, I wanna pack and leave and slap your face
Bad girls like you are a disgrace
A way down deep inside I cry
Without you little Diane I'd die
I should drag you down 'cause you're no good
You're two-faced, your heart's made of wood
A way down deep inside I cry
Without you little Diane I'd die
Add annoying background vocals by the "Del-Satins," who backed up the more memorable "Runaround Sue, Ruby Baby, and others and you would wonder why one of these guys didn't interrupt the recording session and pojnt out that "this song is really terrible. Why? Why are we recording this? Please, someone kill me now!"
Listen to it HERE and see if you don't agree. Seriously, this was the group that gave us "The Wanderer" for crying out loud.
A kazoo! A kazoo! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
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