Ronnie James Dio died recently at the age of 67. He had been diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2009. Dio was a legend in hard rock and heavy metal. He had been the singer for Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and was successful in his own right with solo works. Along with the recent passing of Peter Steele, this has so far been a bad year for metal.
Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio was born Ronald James Padovona in 1942 within the state of New Hampshire. During his school years, he played brass instruments, which he attributed his powerful vocal technique to. He formed the band Elf within the early 70s, after a lot more than a decade of grinding out a living around New England. After being found by Deep Purple, Elf was taken out on tour with them a number of times.
Rainbow
After Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple, he got Elf to record as his backup band, with Ronnie as lead singer, and that band became Rainbow. He was also instrumental in popularizing the “metal” or “devil horns,” which he got from his Italian immigrant grandmother. The term for the gesture is “malocchio,” and became “the horns." It was adopted as the sign of The Metal.
Black Sabbath
After a number of years and a number of highly esteemed albums with Rainbow, Dio left because of creative differences with Ritchie Blackmore, and Black Sabbath asked him to audition for the open lead singer spot, as Ozzy Osbourne had just been fired. Dio was hired, and stayed for two albums, “Mob Rules” and “Heaven and Hell." Both were well received critically and commercially, despite the iconic original singer having been discharged. Dio quit Black Sabbath after the live recording "Live Evil" and embarked on a solo career.
Holy Diver
After leaving Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio got a group of musicians together as the band Dio and recorded "Holy Diver," long considered a classic. The title track and “Rainbow within the Dark” both were fan favorites and radio hits. He reunited with Black Sabbath briefly and recorded the album “Dehumanizer,” and continued releasing solo albums until 2006.
Heaven and Hell
Ronnie James Dio and Black Sabbath crossed paths once again, when Ozzy Osbourne wasn't working with the band. It was decided they would work under a different name to keep away from potential conflicts. The band was redubbed, Heaven and Hell, and Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice hit the road, playing numerous dates and releasing a live album of old hits and “The Devil You Know” in 2009, a brand new studio album. After Dio was diagnosed with cancer, the band went on hiatus. On the Dio website on May 16, 2010, his wife announced that he had passed away. Ronnie James Dio could be sorely missed as one of the greats of the last 30 years, a man of myth and legend.
Resources for the article
Dio website
http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/
The Horns
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sign_of_the_horns
No comments:
Post a Comment