Abraham, Martin and John Cache
You can assume 44 and 89
Dion DiMucci joined the group in 1957 and as Dion and the Belmonts they released four studio albums and one live album, with multiple Billboard Hot 100 songs.
The group signed with Laurie Records in early 1958. The breakthrough came when their first Laurie release, "I Wonder Why", reached No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. They followed the hit with the ballads "No One Knows" (No. 19) and "Don't Pity Me" (No. 40)
This early success brought them their first major tour in late 1958, with the Coasters, Buddy Holly and Bobby Darin, followed by the historic and tragic Winter Dance Party tour featuring Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper.
On February 2, 1959, after playing the Surf Ballroom, Holly arranged to charter a plane that could only take Holly and two of the other headliners. Holly decided it would be chosen by a coin toss. It was "the Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson who won the first coin toss and it was Dion who won the second coin toss. Dion decided he could not afford the $36 cost to fly to the next venue and he told Holly no and gave his plane seat to Valens who was sick with the flu and present in the dressing room where they all met with Holly to toss the coins. According to Dion, $36 was the price his parents paid for monthly rent. Shortly after midnight, on February 3, 1959, the plane crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa. Holly, Valens, The Big Bopper, and the pilot Roger Peterson were all killed. Bobby Vee, then an unknown artist, performed in Holly's place at the next concert. Later, Jimmy Clanton, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian were hired to finish the tour in place of the three deceased headliners. In March 1959, Dion and the Belmonts' next single, "A Teenager in Love", broke the Top Ten, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 1960 Dion left the Belmonts due to stylistic differences. The band was going in the direction of the standards and Dion wanted to play his guitar. In 1968, as a solo performer, Dion recorded "Abraham, Martin and John", written by Dick Holler. It is a tribute to social change icons Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. It was written as a response to the assassination of King in April and the assassination of Robert in June.
*** You may want to listen to this song closely.***
Start at the group that Dion sang with,
( N44 27.264, W89 29.609) proceed to the namesake of 2 of the people in the aforementioned song lyrics, and turn Left (Northbound) Your route will take you along a very rustic road that may or may not be available for travel during certain times of the year.
Anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people but it seems the good they die young
You know I just looked around and he's gone
Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people but it seems the good they die young
I just looked around and he's gone
[Bridge]
Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people but it seems the good they die young
I just looked around and he's gone
Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, it's gonna be one day
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill
With Abraham, Martin, and John