For millions who came of age in the early 1960s, it was an anthem of youthful energy, a song that defined a generation. Dion DiMucci’s 1961 chart-topper, “Runaround Sue,” was the kind of impossibly fun doo-wop hit that seemed to pour from every radio and jukebox. Its beat was infectious, its harmony unforgettable. But lurking behind that catchy melody was a story far darker and more personal than anyone could have imagined, a story of jealousy and public humiliation disguised as a pop song.
The lyrics, while celebrated at the time, paint a startlingly cruel picture when examined today. “She took my love, then ran around with every single guy in town,” Dion lamented, a public condemnation of a girl he claimed betrayed him. For decades, fans speculated and whispered. The song was a vicious tirade, and the finger of blame pointed squarely at a mystery woman. The shock came when, two years after the song’s release, Dion married a woman named Susan. Could she be the infamous Sue?
For years, DiMucci insisted the song was not about his wife. But the truth, when it came, was both heartbreaking and utterly baffling. In a stunning 1990 television appearance on Oprah, Dion and his wife, Susan—still married after all those years—finally came clean. It was Susan who courageously set the record straight, revealing the petty incident that sparked the vicious song. An insider close to the couple later recounted her words from that day. “He was absolutely furious, you see,” the source quoted Susan as explaining. “He saw me ask another fellow for directions. Directions to the zoo! That’s all it was, and he wrote that song.”
This revelation casts a long, dark shadow over the beloved hit. Suddenly, the song is not about a heartless floozy but about a young man’s toxic rage over a moment of pure innocence. This viewpoint wasn’t an isolated incident. Dion’s follow-up smash, “The Wanderer,” reached #2 on the charts and was just as callous, celebrating a man who used women without a second thought: “I kiss ’em and I hug ’em, cuz to me they’re all the same / I hug ’em and I squeeze ’em, they don’t even know my name.” It reveals a disturbing pattern of misogyny hidden within some of the era’s most beloved music.
And yet, what a song! Dion, a former Bronx street-gang kid who had famously turned down a seat on the plane that crashed and killed Buddy Holly, was a master of his craft. After leaving his original group, The Belmonts, he teamed up with the Del-Satins for “Runaround Sue.” The jumpy, knuckle-headed beat is pure, raw energy. The slow-building awwwwww bridge remains one of the most recognizable and purely joyful moments in pop music history. It’s so much fun!
