Kenneth J. Diono, known professionally as Kenny Dino (July 12, 1939 – December 10, 2009) was an American singer born in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...

, New York, United States. Dino's family moved to

Hicksville, Long Island Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population of the CDP was 41,547 at the 2010 census. History Valentine Hicks, son-in-law of abolitionist an ...

in 1955, where he worked on a family farm. He joined the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

in 1957, and while stationed in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

he came in runner-up in a

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

with his version of a song by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. He sang regularly on his tour of duty, and then put together an ensemble back in the States, which toured in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He frequently played with

Doug Sahm Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in San Antonio, Texas. Sahm is regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important per ...

at the San Antonio Blues Club at this time. He signed with

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

around 1960 after moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, but quickly lost the contract, and signed to Columbia not long after. Dino was offered a chance to duet with

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

but turned it down, and later was offered the song "

Suspicion Suspicion is a feeling of mistrust. Suspicion(s), The Suspicion, or Suspicious may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Suspicion'' (1918 film), an American silent film directed by John M. Stahl * ''Suspicion'' (1941 film), an American ...

" (an Elvis Presley song, which later became a big hit for

Terry Stafford Terry LaVerne Stafford (November 22, 1941 – March 17, 1996) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1964 US Top 10 hit "Suspicion", and the 1973 country music hit " Amarillo by Morning". Stafford was also known for his Elvis ...

) but was denied the opportunity by his label. He recorded a number of

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

s for Elvis, including the song "

Good Luck Charm In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil and is of interest in the study of ethics, morality, ph ...

". His lone hit was "

Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night "Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night" is a song performed by American singer Kenny Dino. It was Dino's only hit on the ''Billboard'' Top 40, debuting on that chart December 4, 1961, and peaking at number 24. Doug Sheldon version Act ...

", a No. 24 U.S. Pop hit in 1961. The three back-up singers were Lois Green, Leslie Smith and

Alan Eichler Alan Eichler (born July 17, 1944) is an American theatrical producer, talent manager and press agent who has represented several stage productions, produced Grammy-winning record albums and managed singers including Anita O'Day, Hadda Brooks, Nel ...

, who were all students at

Syosset High School Syosset High School (SHS) is a public high school located in Syosset, New York, United States, in Nassau County, on Long Island. It serves as the public high school for residents of the Syosset Central School District. As of 2012, the news mag ...

at the time. When all further releases yielded no commercial gain, Dino switched to acting and appeared in the film, '' Valley of the Dolls''. Robert Plant later covered this tune on his 1990 release, ''

Manic Nirvana ''Manic Nirvana'' is the fifth studio album by former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, released 19 March 1990 on Es Paranza Records, Plant's own label. The lead single, "Big Love", reached #35 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and its follow ...

''.

Death

On December 9, 2009, Kenny Dino had finished his second music gig of the day and was driving from

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. ...

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

to his home in

Cocoa, Florida Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 19,041 at the 2020 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne– Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Etymology Several stories circulate amon ...

. He pulled over to the side of the road where construction workers found him unconscious. They called the Florida Highway Patrol and paramedics, but Dino died from a heart attack in the early hours of December 10, 2009.

References

External links

InterviewYour Ma Said You Cried In Your Sleep Last Night
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dino, Kenny 1939 births 2009 deaths American male pop singers Singers from New York (state) People from Hicksville, New York 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers