Max Edward Dinning (August 17, 1933 — March 22, 1986), known by his stage name Mark Dinning was an American

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

singer. In February 1960, the song " Teen Angel", written by his sister Jean (Eugenia) and her husband Red Surrey, reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart. Jean and two of her sisters, Virginia and Lucille, comprised The Dinning Sisters, a popular singing trio in the 1940s. Additionally, Dinning is the uncle of

Dean Dinning Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, w ...

, bass guitarist for

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Biography

Dinning was born in

Manchester, Oklahoma Manchester is a town in Grant County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 103 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1.0 percent from 104 at the 2000 census. Geography Manchester is located in northwest Grant County just south of the Oklahoma- ...

, the youngest of nine children, and was raised on a farm near

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, after his family relocated from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. He followed his sisters and pursued a career in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and, in 1957,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Wesley Rose Wesley Rose (born February 11, 1918 – April 26, 1990) was an American music industry executive and record producer. Biography The son of songwriter Fred Rose, he was born in Chicago and studied to become a chartered accountant. He eventu ...

signed him to a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

as Mark Dinning. His recording efforts met with limited success until 1959, when "Teen Angel" became a hit. The lyrics, which told of the death of a teenage girl, were deemed by British radio stations to be too morbid to be aired, but it reached number 37 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In the U.S., it reached number one on the ''Billboard'' charts in early February 1960. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. He also was the original artist to record "What Will My Mary Say", a song later popularized by

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

in 1963. Dinning had an alcohol addiction, which restricted his performances, and caused promoters to stop booking him as he faded from public view. Although Dinning never duplicated the success of "Teen Angel", he had three minor hit records in the ensuing years.

Death

Dinning continued performing until his death from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the princip ...

, at the age of 52.

Discography

Albums

* ''Teen Angel'' (MGM 3828, 1960) * ''Wanderin′'' (MGM 3855, 1960)

Singles

References

External links

Rockabilly.nl biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinning, Mark 1933 births 1986 deaths American male pop singers Hickory Records artists MGM Records artists United Artists Records artists Singers from Tennessee People from Grant County, Oklahoma 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers