DION WAS the original punk. Stand him up next to his contemporary male teen idols – Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Bobby Vee, Brian Hyland, Bobby Rydell, Adam Wade, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka, Mark Valentino, etc – and the difference is obvious. They were all simpering, heartstruck, crybabies, with the possible exception of Fabian, and the best he could come up with was "yay yay yay I’m like a tiger" which, needless to say, was somewhat less than convincing. But when Dion sang "I love ‘em and I leave ‘em, they don’t even know my name!" there was no doubting him. He was tough, arrogant, not really dangerous like Elvis, but unquestionably mean. A punk.