12 Days of Karaoke- Day 9

Dion and the Belmonts- "Runaround Sue"

It's a little known fact that Dion was supposed to be on the ill-fated 1959 flight that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, also known as "The Day the Music Died." However, he thought the $36 fee to ride the plane was too expensive--his parents paid that much every month for rent in his childhood apartment. If I had to blow a month's worth of rent to fly I'd probably not want to do it either, and Dion escaped with more than just his money after the plane crashed with no survivors. Dion would go on to have a couple of Top 2 hits, and one of them is your karaoke song for Day 9. And since today (Boxing Day) is actually one of the 12 Days of Christmas, it's twice the fun. Or something like that.

In any case, this song is excellent because it gets people sock-hoppin' on the dance floor and is also really fun to sing along with, seeing as how about a third of it is either cool backup vocals or "whoas," which everyone loves, aside from punk band NoFX. So while February 3, 1959 was certainly a tragic day, fortunately for Dion (and our ears), he was able to record this song two years later, reaching #1 on both the Billboard Charts and our hearts.

Please note that the song is missing the first line, which is: "Here's my story, it's sad but true."