- published: 16 Dec 2015
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Japan i/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
Dion and the Belmonts were a leading American vocal group of the late 1950s. All members were from the Bronx, New York, one of the five boroughs of New York City. The group formed when Dion DiMucci, lead singer (born July 18, 1939), joined The Belmonts – Carlo Mastrangelo, bass-baritone (born October 5, 1938), Fred Milano, second tenor (August 22, 1939 – January 1, 2012), and Angelo D'Aleo, first tenor (born February 3, 1940), in late 1957.
After an unsuccessful single on Mohawk Records in 1957, the group signed with Laurie Records in early 1958. The breakthrough came when their very first Laurie release, "I Wonder Why" reached No. 22 on the Billboard Top 100 charts, and they appeared for the first time on the nationally televised American Bandstand show, hosted by Dick Clark. They followed up with the ballads "No One Knows" (No. 19) and "Don’t Pity Me" (No. 40), which they also performed on Bandstand.
This early success brought Dion and the Belmonts their first major tour in late 1958, with The Coasters, Buddy Holly and Bobby Darin. It was followed by the historic, "Winter Dance Party" tour featuring Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. On February 2nd 1959, after playing the Surf Ballroom, Holly arranged to charter a plane. Dion decided he couldn't afford the $36 cost to fly to the next venue. "$36 seemed like an awful lot of money to me," he said, and told Holly, no. Shortly after midnight, on February 3rd 1959, the plane crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa, with Holly, Valens, The Big Bopper, and the pilot, Roger Peterson, all being killed. Bobby Vee, then an unknown artist, performed in Holly’s place at the very next concert. Later, Jimmy Clanton, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian were hired to finish the tour in place of the three deceased headliners.
Here's my story, it's sad but true
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then she ran around
With every guy in town
Ah, I should have known it from the very start
This girl would leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people what I'm telling you
Keep away from a Runaround Sue, cause
I miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hand and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't wanna cry like I do
Keep away from a Runaround Sue
Ah, she likes to travel around
She'll love you, and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
Sue goes out with other guys
Here's the moral in the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love, and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll tell ya
Keep away from a Runaround Sue, cuase
I miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hand and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't wanna cry like I do
Keep away from a Runaround Sue, cause
She likes to travel around
She'll love you, and she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
Sue goes out with other guys
Here's the moral in the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love, and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll tell ya
Keep away from a Runaround Sue