Ronnie James Dio 1942-2010

Ronnie James Dio, whose one of a kind voice was the driving force behind Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven and Hell,  passed away at the age of 67 after a valiant battle with stomach cancer on Sunday morning May 16.

Dio, whose birth name was Ronald James Padavona, had been diagnosed with cancer on November 25, 2009. He was undergoing chemotherapy treatments and the music world’s thought and prayers were with him and his family. Heaven and Hell, his project with former Sabbath members Tony Iommi (guitar) and Geezer Butler (bass), along with drummer Vinny Appice, were on the bill at this summer’s High Voltage Classic Rock Festival in London.

Dio, who began his career in the late ‘50s singing in Doo Wop groups (Ronnie and the Redcaps), made his first mark on the classic rock and roll world with his early band The Electric Elves who shortened their name to Elf. They were an opening act for Deep Purple and their self-titled debut and two subsequent releases caught the attention of Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who recruited Dio to be lead vocalist for his later band, Rainbow. Their debut included, “Man on The Silver Mountain,” and the album “Long Live Rock and Roll” featured the title track which demonstrated his unequaled vocal power and range. He recorded four albums with Rainbow and left after Blackmore wanted to take the band in a more commercial direction.

In 1979, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. They released the “Heaven and Hell” album, which put the band back on the rock and roll map with classics like, “Neon Nights” and the title track. Dio also popularized the “devil’s horns” hand gesture that became a staple at Heavy Metal shows.

In 1982, he formed Dio with drummer Vinny Appice. Dio, which means “God” in Italian, released the fantastic “Holy Diver” whose title track and “Rainbow in the Dark,” received heavy rotation on MTV. “Last in Line” (1984), “Sacred Heart” (1985), “Dream Evil” (1987) and “Lock up The Wolves” (1990) were all part of a peak period for the band.

The 1994 releases of “Strange Highways” and 1996’s “Angry Machines,” with members Scott Warren (keyboardist) and Jeff Pilson (bass) were creative lows for Dio, according to rabid fans.

“Magica” (2000) and “Killing the Dragon” (2002) were major comebacks for the band with the latter being extremely popular in the Metal community. Dio’s tenth studio album, “Master of the Moon (2004)  followed. 2005 saw the live release of “Evil or Divine-Live in New York City,” and Dio toured the U.S., Japan, Russia and Europe.

In 2007 ,rock headline news was made when Black Sabbath reunited with Dio as lead vocalist. The band played on the Metal Masters tour in 2008 with Judas Priest, Testament and Motorhead. They then released the dynamic “The Devil You Know” album on April 28, 2009 and toured from May 5 to August 29 2009. Along with the aforementioned High Voltage Classic Rock festival, they were scheduled to support Iron Maiden on dates this summer.

The Classic Rock and Metal worlds are distraught over losing one of the greatest voices in rock and roll history and also one of its greatest citizens. Rudy Sarzo, who played bass for Dio, raved about him as a vocal technician and human being (see Sarzo’s interview on this site). There are countless stories about Dio’s love for his fans and “marathon” meet and greet autograph sessions before and after shows. The world was a better place with this amazing talent and sweet soul in it.

His widow, Wendy Dio wrote on Dio’s official website, “Today my heart is broken. Ronnie passed away at 7:45 am on May 16. Many, many friends and family were able to say their goodbyes before he peacefully passed away. We so appreciate the love and support you have given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”