Artist:Mark DinningSong:Teen Angel
Album:American Graffiti: Original Soundtrack
Here's a very memorable one hit wonder from 1960. Teen Angel was even banned on some radio stations due to its gruesome subject matter. It was Mark Dinning's only hit. His background was in the country music business. He was born Max E. Dinning Aug. 17, 1933 in Drury, OK and grew up in Nashville. His sisters Lou, Ginger & Jean were very successful country music stars in the 40s as The Dinning Sisters. He took up guitar and got the attention of Wesley Rose of Nashville music publishing giant Acuff-Rose. This got him a contract with MGM. Teen Angel was written by Dinning's sister Jean and her husband Red Surrey. Of course the song was about a girl's death in a car accident and reached #1 on the pop singles chart despite being banned by many radio stations. I assume Dinning was given the name Mark because Max wasn't an appropriate name for a teen idol. Teen Angel is on the soundtrack of George Lucas 1972 film American Graffiti with plenty of other 50s hits. Mark Dinning tried to continue his career as a country artist in Nashville but he had alcohol abuse issues that made him unreliable. He died of a heart attack on Mar. 22, 1986 at age 52. Here's Mark Dinning performing Teen Angel on American Bandstand 1960.
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