We only die completely if the memory dies as well
The Last In Line is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio, released on July 2, 1984. It is the first Dio album to feature former Rough Cutt keyboardist Claude Schnell. It became the band’s highest-charting album in both the UK and the U.S., reaching number 4 and number 23, respectively (Sacred Heart would later reach number 4 in the UK as well). (source: Wikipedia)
source: Metal Hammer March 21, 2019
Kicked out of Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio had a point to prove to the world. And with Dio’s Holy Diver, he did just that
Few people get a chance to make one truly iconic album. Ronnie James Dio was involved in three. The first two were Rainbow’s 1976 symphonic rock landmark Rising and Black Sabbath’s career-reviving Heaven And Hell four years later. And the third? Holy Diver – the debut from the band that bore his name.
The little man with the big voice had unceremoniously exited both Rainbow and Sabbath, and he was determined it wouldn’t happen again. With wife/manager Wendy steering his career, Ronnie decided to build a group around himself. Recruiting ex-Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice, former Rainbow colleague Jimmy Bain and Northern Irish guitar prodigy Vivian Campbell, he began working on what would become the third in this holy triumvirate of legendary albums. We’ve compiled a series of classic interviews to bring you the full story.
Ronnie James Dio: “I was very angry, coming out of Sabbath. The way I saw the world, anyone who wasn’t family or a close friend was poised to cut me open with a knife.”
Vinny Appice: “When Ronnie asked me if I was interested, I said: ‘Fuck, yeah!’ Ronnie was a great leader. I looked at him as a brother.”
Ronnie: “We tried a couple of guitarists in Los Angeles, but after playing with [Rainbow’s] Ritchie Blackmore and [Black Sabbath’s] Tony Iommi, everything else paled into comparison. I really wanted a British musician – the attitude was far superior to American musicians.”
Vivian Campbell: “Jimmy Bain recommended me to Ronnie. I was still living in Belfast. I flew over to London, I met Ronnie and Vinny for the first time. We started playing and Ronnie started smiling. He liked what he heard. A few weeks later I flew to LA and we started writing the Holy Diver record.”
The newly assembled band began work on Holy Diver in early 1983 in Los Angeles’ Sound City Studios. Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain had worked with Ronnie before, but for the 20-year-old Vivian Campbell, it was a more intimidating experience.
Vivian: “It was a little bit difficult because of the respect I had for Ronnie. He was so much older than me and he was one of my heroes. The cassette that I had in my car that was on constant play was Black Sabbath’s Heaven And Hell album.”
Vinny: “We went in just having a good time. We rehearsed in the Sound City complex and then right across the parking lot was the studio, so we’d write four or five songs, drag all the stuff over the parking lot to the studio, and then we’d record.”
Vivian: ‘Ronnie would come in in the evening, and we’d play him what we had, and sometimes he would say, ‘No, I don’t hear that’ or other times he would say, ‘OK, that sounds good.’”
Ronnie: “The opening song, Stand Up And Shout, was a negative statement of my own disenchantment, and I was projecting it out to anyone who’d listen.”
Vivian: “Ronnie always had books with lyrics – he’d sit down and listen to what we had, and we’d play it for him a couple of times. He’d step up to the mic, and he’d start singing.”
Ronnie: “The song Holy Diver is really about a Christ figure, who on another place, not Earth, has done exactly the same as we’ve apparently experienced or were supposed to have experienced on Earth: dying for the sins of man so that man can start again and be cleansed and do it properly.”
Vivian: “It really is a simple record, there was not much going on in terms of production. It’s a very honest record in that way, and it features very raw and very real performances.”
Vinny: “When the album was finished, we smoked some pot and started listening to it at ear-deafening volume in the studio. We were like, ‘Fuck, man, this sounds fucking good!’”
Holy Diver was released in May 1983. Its striking album cover was designed by Ronnie and Wendy and illustrated by Randy Berrett. The image of a demon drowning a priest stirred up some minor controversy – something the band didn’t shy away from.
Ronnie: “I seem to remember a little bit of, ‘Are you sure you wanna do this?’ from the record company. But the idea was to reverse the question of, ‘How come you’ve got a monster drowning a priest?’ We wanted to be able to say, ‘How do you know it’s not a priest drowning a monster?’ And I think that’s kind of been proven out in the last few years with all the problems we’ve had in the Catholic Church. In hindsight, I like to think we were right about who we put in the water.”
Vinny: “We played a warm-up gig in Antioch, California a few weeks after the album came out. We figured whoever shows up shows up. So we go up there and come showtime there are 3,000 people stuffed into this place.”
Ronnie: “We thought, ‘We’re going to go out on the road now, let’s build a big stage set.’ So that’s what we did. Mortgaged the house for that one.”
Vinny: “The album came out and we watched it climb the charts and started hearing it on the radio in LA. Next thing you know, four months later, we’re playing arenas.”
Despite the success of Holy Diver, the seeds of discontent were already being sown. Vivian Campbell and Jimmy Bain both bristled at the perception that this was the singer’s solo project – and at the unwanted control they saw Ronnie’s wife, Wendy, having over the project.
Vivian: “Ronnie told us this was gonna be a band project. He was gonna present it as a band even though it was gonna be named Dio for obvious name recognition reasons.”
Ronnie: “It wasn’t an ego thing on my part. I had a certain reputation, and it just made sense.”
Vivian: “I didn’t join the band as a hired hand – I was under the impression we were a proper band.”
Wendy Dio: “Ronnie was always in control, yes. But we’d funded everything. They were on retainers, whether they worked or not. Plus they got all their publishing. Let’s put it this way: the band was called Dio. All those other people were unknown.”
Vivian: “I was fired from the band [in 1986]. I refused to accept a contract that they offered me which was contrary to the original agreement Ronnie had made with Jimmy, Vinny and myself.”
Of the musicians who made Holy Diver, two of them are no longer with us. Jimmy Bain died of lung cancer in 2016. Ronnie James Dio himself passed away from stomach cancer in 2010. In 2012, Vivian and Vinny formed Last In Line, initially to play songs from the first three Dio albums, including Holy Diver.
Vinny: “It’s amazing to think we wrote these songs 30-something years ago and people are reacting the same way. It’s a great feeling.”
Ronnie James Dio: “Holy Diver is one of the proudest things I’ve ever done. There were great songs and great playing, too.”
Vivian: “I found Ronnie intimidating. But he was a fantastic fucking singer and Holy Diver is still a fantastic fucking album. And I’m proud to say I helped make it with him. We all are.”
source: Metal Wani December 2017
Def Leppard and Last In Line guitarist Vivian Campbell was interviewed by U105‘s “The Breakfast Show With Maurice Jay” last month about receiving this year’s Oh Yeah Legend Award, which recognizes the exceptional contribution of a musician or music industry figure from Northern Ireland.
Asked what it was like to work with Ronnie James Dio in the original incarnation of the Dio band in the early 1980s, Vivian said: “It was very surreal. It was strange. I mean, musically, it was great; it was very dynamic. But I always felt very uncomfortable around Ronnie, because I was a fan — I was a huge fan. It was kind of like being in a band with your stepdad, in a way, because he was very protective of me. And trying to protect me from Los Angeles in the 1980s, you can imagine what was going on. [Laughs] And I appreciated that.
“We had a very strange relationship, but it really was like being in a band with your step parent, ’cause he was just about old enough to be my dad,” Vivian continued. “And I had so much respect for him professionally. I was literally listening to [Black Sabbath‘s] ‘Mob Rules‘ and [Rainbow‘s] ‘Rainbow Rising’ and ‘Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll’, all that stuff, and then the phone rings, and it’s Dio. So it was bizarre; it really was.”
Campbell and Ronnie James Dio worked together on the first three Dio albums — 1983’s “Holy Diver”, 1984’s “The Last in Line” and 1985’s “Sacred Heart” — before the guitarist left to join Whitesnake in 1987. Vivian later publicly took issue with Ronnie‘s need for total control of the band, claiming that finances played a major part in the bad blood that preceded the split.
“The Dio thing, it was three albums, three tours,” Vivian told “The Breakfast Show With Maurice Jay”. The business side of it didn’t work out too well.” However, according to Campbell, “It wasn’t about money; it was about principle. I’m very big on principle. I believe when somebody shakes your hand and looks you in the eye and you make an agreement, you have an agreement. And when people start reneging on agreements, I have an issue with that. I’m very big on principle.”
Even though the rest of Vivian‘s bandmates in Dio agreed with the guitarist, he was the only one that spoke up, eventually resulting in his dismissal from the group.
“I was a squeaky wheel, because I wasn’t married, I didn’t have a mortgage, I had nothing to lose,” Campbell said. “I’m thinking, ‘Hey, a deal’s a deal. What’s happening here?’ So it was easy for them to just get rid of me. But it is what it is. That’s water under the bridge, as they say.”
Via Blabbermouth.com
source: Blabbermouth September 11, 2017
Original Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell says that he has “no real strong opinion” on the hologram of Ronnie James Dio, which made its debut at last year’s Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. Created by Eyellusion, the surprise appearance of the heavy metal icon during Dio Disciples’ set closed out the massive metal event which was attended by more than seventy-five thousand fans.
Eyellusion recently announced initial dates for “Dio Returns: The World Tour”, featuring the Ronnie James Dio hologram reunited with the late rock star’s former bandmates from the Dio band. The tour will make more than eighty stops around the globe, kicking off in Helsinki, Finland on November 30.
Asked by TNT Radio Rock for his opinion on the Dio hologram, Campbell said (see video below): “I don’t have an opinion. I’ve never seen it, so I can’t say what it’s like. But I do think that, in the bigger picture, what we do in Last In Line, and what they do with the hologram, I think it’s all mutually to each other’s benefit. I think we’re all perpetuating, we’re all keeping the music alive, and that’s a good thing. So I think if the hologram brings more attention to Last In Line, then that’s good for Last In Line. If Last In Line playing these songs — Vinny [Appice, drums] and I particular, the originators of the music with Ronnie — if our playing the music brings more attention to the hologram, then that’s good for them. So I think it’s a win-win. I have no real strong opinion on it. Like I said, I’ve never seen it, so I can’t say.”
Campbell, along with Appice and bassist Jimmy Bain, was part of the original Dio lineup, which reunited in 2012 alongside singer Andrew Freeman to form Last In Line.
When Last In Line formed, the intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio’s early work by reuniting the members of the original Dio lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three Dio albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.
The “Dio Returns“ tour will also make stops throughout Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, United Kingdom, Venezuela and other countries, with dates to be announced. The tour is expected to come to the United States in spring 2018 and play festivals globally during the summer.
The Ronnie James Dio hologram will perform for the majority of the show, treating fans to an alternating set list that will feature songs such as “Holy Diver”, “Rainbow In The Dark”, “We Rock”, “King Of Rock And Roll”, Black Sabbath’s “Neon Knights” and “Heaven And Hell” and Rainbow’s “Man On The Silver Mountain” and more.
The “Dio Returns” tour will feature Dio’s actual live vocals, backed by a live band consisting of former Dio and current Dio Disciples members Simon Wright (drums), Craig Goldy (guitar) and Scott Warren (keyboards) alongside bassist Bjorn Englen (Yngwie Malmsteen). Veteran metal vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Yngwie Malmsteen) will also perform, with singer Oni Logan (Lynch Mob) also joining on select dates.
Vivian last year slammed Dio Disciples, saying that the band has “zero credibility” as a Ronnie James Dio tribute project despite the fact that it is fully supported by Ronnie’s widow/manager, Wendy.
Dio Disciples is billed as a “celebration of the music and legacy of the greatest singer in the world, Ronnie James Dio.” The band also notes that “we could NEVER replace Ronnie and that is NOT our intention. There will only ever be one Ronnie James Dio!”
Campbell was fired from Dio in 1986 after a contentious business disagreement with Ronnie James Dio and band management.
source: Consequence of Sound May 16, 2020
source: Blabbermouth May 15, 2020
Rock music legend Ronnie James Dio lost his months-long battle with gastric cancer on May 16, 2010. The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, founded in his memory shortly thereafter, is commemorating the 10th anniversary of his passing by posting a video on its web site highlighting the work it has done to raise more than $2 million to fight the disease that took his life.
The Dio Cancer Fund was able to host a 10th Anniversary Awards Gala at the Avalon in Hollywood in February, a scant two weeks before large gatherings were banned due to the spread of the coronavirus. In addition to highlighting the Fund’s two main annual fund-raising events — the springtime “Ride For Ronnie“ motorcycle ride and concert (canceled this year due to the pandemic) and the “Bowl For Ronnie“ celebrity bowling tournament held in the fall (scheduled for November 12, 2020) — the video features snippets from the recent Gala as well other representations of the organization’s work.
In addition to its two annual events plus gala dinners more intimate fund-raising efforts and, of course, direct support from the vast community of Dio fans worldwide, the Dio Cancer Fund was also the beneficiary of proceeds from the 2014 platinum-selling tribute album called “This Is Your Life“ containing songs written by Ronnie James Dio that were recorded and donated by major rock and metal recording artists. The “This Is Your Life“ album resulted in a 2015 Grammy win for “Best Metal Performance” for TENACIOUS D (actor/musicians Jack Black and Kyle Gass) and their rendition of DIO’s “The Last In Line“ from the tribute album.
Dr. David Wong, professor and associate dean for research, UCLA School of Dentistry and director for UCLA Center for Oral/Head & Neck Oncology Research (COOR), was among the honorees at this year’s 10th Anniversary Awards Gala. He and his dedicated team of researchers have been developing a simple, non-invasive saliva swab test for the early detection of specific cancers, a concept that is tailor-made for the Dio Cancer Fund’s mission. He believes this simple test, called a liquid biopsy, can and should become part of any routine physical examination conducted in a primary care physician’s office. During his acceptance speech at the Gala, Dr. Wong announced that the financial support from the Dio Cancer Fund had resulted in their research obtaining $8.2 million in additional funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and that he expected a saliva test with “the ability to screen for the earliest sign of gastric cancer” will be available for medical use within the next three years.
In its early stages, the Dio Cancer Fund committed funds over a three-year period to specific gastric cancer research at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston where Ronnie James Dio was treated for the last six months of his life. Additionally, the Dio Cancer Fund donated seed money to the Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, via its relationship with the T.J. Martell Foundation, to support research for a blood test to detect gastric and esophageal cancers that the hospital was able to parlay into a multi-million-dollar grant from the NIH.
Ronnie James Dio, the world-renowned voice behind such iconic heavy metal bands as Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Heaven & Hell and his own band DIO, valiantly battled gastric cancer for some six months after a devastating terminal diagnosis. The Dio Cancer Fund, created in his memory, has made it its mission to help eradicate this disease through education and by association with ground-breaking research into early detection. As Dio Cancer Fund’s founder/president Wendy Dio regularly says: “Early detection saves lives.”
source: Blabbermouth, May 16, 2020
Legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio, best known for his work with Black Sabbath, Rainbow and his own band Dio, died of stomach cancer 10 years ago (May 16, 2010) at the age of 67.
Dio was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer, who was recording and touring with Sabbath offshoot Heaven & Hell prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.
A free public memorial service was held on May 30, 2010 at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, attended by more than 1,500 fans, friends and fellow musicians.
In March 2011, it was announced that the surviving members of the final lineup of Dio would embark on a project with former Judas Priest frontman Tim “Ripper” Owens under the name Dio Disciples.
Ronnie James Dio, real name Ronald James Padavona, was born in New Hampshire on July 10, 1942.
He moved to Cortland, New York at a young age, where he began playing with local acts. A street in Cortland, Dio Way, was named after him in 1988.
He released his first single, with a band called Ronnie And The Redcaps, in 1959.
His first heavy rock act, Elf, released three albums and opened for Deep Purple, where Dio’s voice caught the ear of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Blackmore recruited Dio for his own band, Rainbow, after leaving Purple in 1975.
Dio recorded three studio albums and one live set with Rainbow before exiting in 1978, including “Rising” and “Long Live Rock And Roll”.
He replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath in 1980, recording the “Heaven And Hell“ and “Mob Rules“ albums, plus “Live Evil“, before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called “Dehumanizer“, and again teamed with the group under the Heaven & Hell banner in 2006. Heaven & Hell released an album called “The Devil You Know“ in 2009.
He also recorded 10 studio albums with his own band, Dio, including a classic 1983 debut, “Holy Diver“, and an equally renowned follow-up, 1984’s “The Last In Line“.
Dio was also behind the Hear N’ Aid project, a collection of metal artists who recorded the track “Stars“ in 1985 to raise funds for African famine relief.
Rock and metal musicians around the world paid tribute to Dio in the weeks and months following his death. Stone Sour and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor shared his feelings with The Pulse Of Radio about the fallen metal icon. “When I got that news that he had passed away, man, it seriously — it broke my heart. It broke it in two. Because honestly, I just feel like there will never be another Ronnie James Dio. He had such a pure voice — and still singing his ass off. I just know he’ll be missed, and I will miss him as well.”
Ex-Van Halen and current Sammy Hagar & The Circle bassist Michael Anthony also shared his memories of Dio with The Pulse Of Radio. “I don’t know anybody that didn’t grow up listening to his stuff,” he said. “You know, Van Halen, we used to do from the first Rainbow album, we did ‘Man On The Silver Mountain‘. I remember one time, the second Van Halen tour we were doing some festivals in Europe, and we actually played on the same show as Ronnie’s band. Real powerful voice, you know, and definitely a driving force in hard rock music, that guy was.”
Slash told The Pulse Of Radio that he felt the loss of Dio very keenly. “He’s just somebody I was influenced by,” he said. ” I played all the Rainbow stuff, I played the Dio stuff, the Sabbath stuff when I was in, you know, high school. I don’t think that it’s really set in what a, you know, huge figure in rock ‘n’ roll we lost, you know. Really major. Probably one of the most influential heavy metal singers of all time.”
source: Metal Hammer
The Queen Of Heavy Metal, Doro, picks 11 favourite songs by one of its kings, the great Ronnie James Dio
I first heard Ronnie James Dio was in either 1983 or 84. I can’t recall whether it was Dio’s Holy Diver or The Last In Line album now. But I remember listening to the album over and over and over again. I just couldn’t believe how amazing Ronnie was. He put so much heart and soul into everything. And he was different to anyone else on the metal scene.
Ronnie is my favourite singer, and always will be. I feel privileged to have toured with him and to have gotten to know him quite well. I learnt so much from Ronnie just by watching him onstage. He was so genuine. In 1984, I saw Dio live for the first time.
I was standing by the mixing desk, and when he came onstage and started singing, my knees began to tremble. I was so in awe of him. And that feeling has never left. He has give us a huge number of classic songs. But this is my top 11…
I did a version of this for the Dio tribute album This Is My Life. The song has a great feeling and vibe. The melody is amazing, and Ronnie’s vocals are tremendous. This affected me so deeply. It’s also unique in the way it was constructed.
It was a song I nearly did for This Is My Life. I love the power Ronnie gets into his performance – he goes full out. The lyrics really make you think, and I identify with it so much. It also has a very complex arrangement. This isn’t simply verse-chorus-verse, there’s a lot more going on.
In 2011, I stood in for ‘Ripper’ Owens when Dio Disciples toured in Spain; ‘Ripper’ wasn’t available because his daughter was getting married. Some from the Dio camp suggested we did this song, and I have to admit I didn’t know it at the time.
I’m not sure how I could have missed it, but this is probably the most beautiful song I have ever heard in my life. I gather the lyrics were written by Ronnie with love for his wife Wendy. I adore the acoustic vocals.
It comes from the heart. And when I saw Ronnie do it live, this had so much passion. He made you feel every syllable.
A little less known than most of my choices, but I believe it’s very underrated, and right up there with the Ronnie’s best. He started doing it on the Magica tour in America, when I was supporting. But he stopped after playing at the Masquerade Club in Detroit.
Somebody threw a bottle or can of beer at the stage while he was signing it, after a fight broke out in the venue, and after that Ronnie dropped this from the set and refused to do it live again. Such a shame.
It’s got a very positive, uplifting message. I’ve performed it a couple of times myself and it always gets a great reaction. For me, it’s a feelgood song.
It’s fast, direct and goes straight to the point. But the simplicity is the strength here. This is a song that gets you moving.
I remember being in Spain in 2000 to get an award, and I met a band there called Mago De Oz. They’re huge over there and were at the same ceremony to receive the Best Band award. Their manager suggested I do a song with them at the event. But as they don’t speak much English and I don’t know Spanish, it was difficult to agree on what to do.
Eventually, we settle don this, and went onstage without any rehearsal. But the magic of the song carried us through, and we got an overwhelming reaction. Later on, I recorded a studio version of this with them, and it was released on their Rarezas compilation in 2006.
There’s so much power and weight in this song. And it’s also very heavy. Ronnie brought so much drama into his delivery, both on the studio version and also when he did it live. It’s earth shattering.
The song’s about all of us metalheads, so you have love it. It gets to the heart of what binds us all together, and empowers us.
I love the rhythm here, and the way Ronnie draws you in from his first note. It’s holds your attention throughout, and is a great example of why Ronnie was the very best. And why there will never be anyone like him again.
Doro was talking to Malcolm Dome.
It is the 10th anniversary of Ronnie James Dio’s death today so I am posting this article from Metal Hammer. Expect more Ronnie related articles next week.
In 2014, Metal Hammer celebrated the released of tribute album Dio: This Is Your Life by looking back at the man’s inspirational career
Ronnie James Dio is more than an icon. He is among the most articulate and exhaustive representatives the metal community has ever had. See, even now, some four years after his death, you still think of the man in the present tense. A measure of his continuing impact.
“If you wanted to introduce aliens to what metal stands for, then you’d pick Ronnie as the man to convince them it’s got a lot going for it,” said the late Deep Purple keyboard master Jon Lord. And it’s hard to argue with that sentiment.
Born in New Hampshire to parents of Italian descent, Ronald Padavona listened to a lot of opera when growing up, but it was in 1957 that he got the rock’n’roll bug and formed his first band, the Vegas Kings. He was a bassist at the time, but quickly switched to vocals, as he strived to find the right style to suit his voice.
His first official single, with the band that started to make his name, The Red Caps, was released in 1958. Titled Conquest, it arrived at a time when Elvis Presley, Dean Martin and Chuck Berry still ruled the charts.
“I got into rock’n’roll through the radio,” Dio would recall in 1988. “It was an escape from reality, but like so many others, it inspired me to try my luck in a band.”
By 1960, he’d changed his name to Ronnie Dio – allegedly inspired by the Italian-American gangster Johnny Dio – but despite releasing a succession of singles under different band names, nothing appeared to be working for the young singer.
“I always knew something was wrong,” he later admitted. “But when Elf arrived, I found my home in heavy music.”
Originally formed as The Electric Elves in 1967, the band became Elf in 1972 when they released their first album. Self-titled, it was produced by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, and drummer Ian Paice, and kickstarted Dio’s journey into heavy metal history.
“You knew that while the band were good, it was Ronnie who was outstanding,” Roger recalled with admiration years later. “Elf were doing a lot of touring opening up for Deep Purple in the States, and they were getting bigger. It appeared this lot would be the next big thing out of America.”
Sadly, that wasn’t to be the case; they recorded just two more albums, including the celebrated 1975 Trying To Burn The Sun, before Ritchie Blackmore took a major hand in the future of Dio’s career.
“We were on tour, when on a day off Ritchie’s guitar tech knocked on my hotel room door,” recalled Dio. “He said the man would like me to sing on a track he was gonna record away from Purple.”
The song in question was Black Sheep Of The Family, a cover version that Ritchie had failed to convince the rest of Purple to go along with. But what was intended as a one-off session with Dio and the rest of Elf (inevitably minus guitarist Steve Edwards) would ultimately turn into Rainbow. There was an obvious magic here from the start. Dio and Ritchie, together with a revolving cast of huge talents, worked on three studio albums and one live release. And it was 1976’s Rising, the band’s second offering, that proved the first of a number of true classics to feature the great vocalist’s name.
“I knew we had something special at the time,”
Dio said 10 years later. “But did I know it would stand up? You hoped that would be the case, however you can only see this retrospectively. I’m grateful so many people rate the album.”
However, Ritchie Blackmore’s steady drift towards a more commercial approach was at odds with Dio’s own penchant for a more romantic, gothic style of lyrical imagery.
“I love writing about fantasy,” Dio mused. “To me, this reflects the epic quality of our music. While there is a place for realism, it doesn’t allow me as much scope for allegory as I can get through my accepted style.”
Things came to a head after the recording of 1978’s Long Live Rock ’N’ Roll album. Itself successful, this only fuelled Ritchie’s desire to streamline the band.
“We just agreed to differ,” Dio remembers, while keyboard player Don Airey (who had just been brought into the lineup) has a vivid memory of his first day in rehearsal:
“I walked in as Ronnie was walking out. When I asked what had happened, I was told ‘He’s just quit the band.’ I was so looking forward to working with him, but it wasn’t to be.”
Over the subsequent years, Dio remained diplomatic about his relationship with the guitarist who gave him his big break:
“I have nothing but the highest respect for him, and if the chance came to work with Ritchie again,then I’d be delighted. My door is always open.”
The end of his tenure with Rainbow brought a fresh challenge for Ronnie Dio, who had now firmly established himself as one of the great singers on the heavy rock scene. Black Sabbath were floundering after firing Ozzy, but a chance meeting with Tony Iommi in late 1979 at the conveniently named Rainbow Bar And Grill in West Hollywood altered Ronnie’s life. He was asked to join Sabbath. And we all know what followed.
“None of us had any money,” Dio said of those early Sabbath days. “But what we did have was a real belief. I know what I can do, and was convinced I could help to take Sabbath in a different direction. The other guys were on the same wavelength.”
“We wrote Children Of The Sea on the first day, and it flowed from there,” laughed a still-amazed Tony several years later. “Ronnie was exactly what we needed.”
Heaven And Hell was released in 1980 and has since become, quite rightly, regarded as amongst the greatest metal albums of all time. A year later, the heavier Mob Rules proved this was no flash in the pan. By this time, Dio had made another bit of metal history by trademarking the devil’s horns gesture, which has since become the signature sign of metalheads across generations.
“Ozzy used the peace sign, so I wanted something different,” recalled Dio. “I remember my grandmother used this sign to ward off evil; I thought it would work in the context of Sabbath. But I had no idea it would catch on.”
But, following the release of Live Evil in 82, Dio left the band because of interminable arguments appearing during certain production cycles.“It was a misunderstanding,” Tony has said since.
“The studio engineer was telling us that Ronnie would come in and turn up his vocals when we weren’t there. And he told Ronnie that Geezer Butler and I were turning up our instruments in his absence. The result was confusion and anger.”
“I got a call from Geezer, who told me I was sacked,” admitted Dio. “But in a way that was so positive, because it meant I was free at last to do things my way.”
However, the new band was starting from ground zero, as Dio revealed later on.
“I wasn’t even thinking about doing anything outside of Black Sabbath, until I got the call from Geezer,” revealed Ronnie. “I certainly wasn’t holding back any songs from the band, that’s not my way. So, when Vinny Appice [drums] and I got together, I quickly wrote two songs – Holy Diver and Don’t Talk To Strangers.”
Not a bad start. With bassist Jimmy Bain and then unknown guitarist Vivian Campbell completing the line-up, the band took the name of Dio.
“It wasn’t an ego thing on my part,” insisted the frontman. “I had a certain reputation, and it just made sense.”
Holy Diver came out in 1983 and made a huge impact in the UK and the States, where Dio’s stature with Rainbow and Sabbath stood him in good stead. This was the third iconic album he had blessed in a mere smattering of years, and his reputation grew steadily as 1984’s The Last In Line and 85’s Sacred Heart cemented Dio’s place as one of the elite hard rock bands on the planet. Ronnie even found time to put together the Hear ’n Aid project to raise funds through the metal community for the starving in Africa. While such endeavours were testament to the man’s character, it was his band that remained his chief focus over the following decade or so, with Dio’s lineup shifting a few times to keep the band’s creative output fresh and interesting.
In 1992, Dio returned to the Sabbath fold for the Dehumanizer album, as the band showed they had the rigour and vision to update their sound without losing their innate place in history. However, while the album was well-received, Dio’s reunion with his Sabbath chums came crashing down when the band agreed to support Ozzy at the Costa Mesa Amphitheater in California later the same year.
“I have no problem with Ozzy,” Dio remarked at the time. “But I just feel that it’s beneath a band of this stature to support their former singer. It shows a lack of self-respect, and I wouldn’t be part of this.”
Sabbath did the set with Rob Halford on vocals, and the reunion was back in the dumper. As for Dio, he returned to his own band, putting together a new line-up which was altogether more rooted in the realism of the era.
“It was a different Dio at that time,” insists keyboardist Scott Warren. “It was cool. And intense. It was the 1990s. Things had changed I remember thinking, ‘This is biker music.’”
“Every night, Ronnie would come up to each of us individually and say, ‘Have a good gig’,” sighs bassist Jeff Pilson. “That was the measure of the man. He cared about people, and wanted you to feel part of everything. I don’t think I have ever had so much fun working with anyone. Each night was a pleasure.”
Dio continued to enjoy a lengthy stint with his main band, with five studios albums released to generally positive acclaim between 1993-2004. After that, however, there was to be yet another twist in the tale, when Dio regrouped with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, together with Vinny Appice (who had been a part of the Dio-era Sabbath line-ups, as well as a crucial member of Dio’s solo band). They avoided any diplomatic fallout with the Ozzy camp by taking the name Heaven & Hell, touring to huge acclaim and releasing the album The Devil You Know in 2009 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. But it was all stopped in its tracks when Ronnie was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. Tragically, despite all the hopes and prayers around the world, Ronnie James Dio passed away on May 16, 2010. The tears and tributes to him at the High Voltage Festival two months later in London underlined what a massive loss he was to the metal community, and how much he was loved by hundreds of thousands of fans across generations and continents.
“Ronnie Dio can’t be replaced,” Anthrax’s Scott Ian said shortly after he died. “He was unique. As long as Ronnie’s music is played, he’ll be in our minds.”
Now, some of the greatest names in metal are paying homage to the man, and in doing so raising funds for the Stand Up & Shout Cancer Trust, set up in his memory. From Metallica to Anthrax, Motörhead to the Scorpions, and Halestorm to Killswitch Engage, there are a plethora of major metal mavens who’ve lent their considerable talents to make this album come to fruition. They perform songs from Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, yet again emphasising the insurmountable debt we all owe this most treasured and unique of metal singers.
And while he may have been born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, his heart was certainly won over by metal’s homeland.
“Ronnie loved the English way of life,” opined Tony Iommi in 2010 of the man’s penchant for his would-be adopted country. “He enjoyed a beer and a curry, and even took things so far as to have his house in LA built like a castle!”
Above all else, though, and as loved as he was across every country his music touched, Ronnie James Dio himself always knew his worth. “I never underestimate my talent,” he said during one of the last interviews he gave before his death. “But nor do I overestimate it. I believe if you get that balance right, then you’ll have a healthy perspective on your place in music.”
At the time, Dio hinted that he could see an end to his performing days, but not to his involvement in music. When it was suggested to him that he might retire if he dropped even a small distance from his exacting standards, even if nobody else could detect it, he responded:
“Maybe there is some truth in there. I would never like to be one of those singers who carries on long past the point at which they can deliver. It’s a shame when a legend is diminished, and while I would never put myself into the category of ‘legend’, I can’t ever see myself disappointing fans who have paid good money.
“But the one thing I will never lose is my love of music. I still enjoy coming across young talent, and helping to guide them if I can.”
The breadth and depth of the classic songs on Dio:This Is Your Life proves that, more than anything else, Ronnie Dio’s life is defined by the music he has left us. And that’s an enduring epitaph.
This was published in Metal Hammer issue 255.
COREY TAYLOR
“I heard that they were putting together this tribute album and they were trying to get hold of me and I was like, ‘Dude, I have to be on that record!’. When it looked like it was going to be difficult to get either of my bands together to do it, I was just like, ‘Fuck it’ and I put a band together myself, just me and some of my buds. I was that desperate to be involved. I was lucky enough to meet Ronnie on a few occasions, in fact I can remember the first time… It was at an awards ceremony and we were both nominated for the best vocalist award, which, to me, was an honour just to be in the same category as him. He won and I was so stoked, then I was being interviewed later on and he walks in to say ‘Hi.’ If you watch the video you can see on my face I’m just totally awestruck by the guy. The thing that most impressed me about Ronnie onstage was that he just made it look so effortless, so natural. The Dio era was my favourite time of his because it’s when he stepped out on his own. He wasn’t a member of Rainbow or Sabbath, he was just Ronnie. The guy’s a legend.”
DORO
“I first saw Dio in 85 or 86. I didn’t meet him then, but it was the first time that I saw him. I went to his show somewhere in Germany, and we were standing on the sound desk, because I’m small! I tell you, I haven’t had this kind of experience before or after. I got chills, I couldn’t stand up, it was unbelievable. The sound blew me away, and really, I was so fascinated. I thought it was the greatest, most mindblowing thing I have ever seen. I was deeply, deeply impressed. I met Ronnie later on tour in 87 – he was playing pool, and we talked and he said, ‘We’re so happy you’re on tour with us. If there’s ever a problem, don’t go to the manager, don’t go to the tour manager, don’t go to my assistant. Just come straight to me.’ He was always very kind and lovely. We developed a great friendship.”
GLENN HUGHES
“Ronnie was a human being who had time for all people – those he worked with and his family. But more importantly, he devoted a lot of his aftershow time to his fans, and would listen to them tell their stories of how their lives had been touched by his work, and he never, ever forgot a fan’s name. He was an amazing one-of-a-kind artist, who gave his love and life and art to the heavy metal genre. I first met Ronnie in the fall of 1973, when he fronted his upstate New York Band, Elf. They were opening for my band at the time, Deep Purple. I remember being backstage when Elf started playing, and I heard this thunderous super-lung voice echoing around the arena, so I went onto the stage to see and hear what was calling me. I was immediately turned on to something, someone, who I had not heard before, and that was a thrill for me. He was a master at his craft and soon, before our eyes, he would become heavy metal’s greatest vocalist. Ronnie was so believable in his realm, singing of dragons, dark lords and distant oceans that carried us all away. We knew we were not alone, because Ronnie was our formidable rider in the eye of the sky, who would lead us back to our safe land. Ronnie, my brother, I want to thank you for all the hours, days and years that we spent together, and on behalf of your loving fans – we believed we’d catch the Rainbow… See you again, dear heart.”
WENDY DIO
“I’m so pleased with how this album came out, everyone involved has just been a pleasure to work with. I know Ronnie would have been so humbled and so proud with these incredible artists paying homage to him. When you have Metallica saying ‘We can’t pick one song – we have to do a medley of four!’… well, he’d have been honoured. I’ve so many wonderful memories of Ronnie, we had 30-plus years together and we were so happy. It’s hard to pick out one specific memory, but the early days when he was starting out was an exciting time and he was so happy to get back together with Sabbath and rebuild those bridges at the end of his life. That was fitting. I think people loved Ronnie because they could relate to him, he never changed, he stood for what he believed in and never wanted to let people down. He was always delighted to speak to his fans, as I said, he was a humble man, a genuine man. He always gave everything, even towards the end when he was suffering with these stomach pains, which he thought was just indigestion, he never gave less than everything he had. I just hope this album raises a lot of money for cancer research and carries on the memory of Ronnie and keeps his legacy alive.”
source: Blabbermouth
Former Dio and current Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell says that is “saddened” that he and Ronnie James Dio “never had a chance to make it up” after their bitter split three decades ago.
Campbell and Ronnie James Dio worked together on the first three Dio albums 1983’s “Holy Diver“, 1984’s “The Last In Line“ and 1985’s “Sacred Heart“ — before Irishman Campbell left to join Whitesnake in 1987.
Vivian, along with drummer Vinny Appice and bassist Jimmy Bain, was part of the original Dio lineup, which reunited in 2012 alongside singer Andrew Freeman to form Last In Line.
When Last In Line formed, the intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio’s early work by reuniting the members of the original Dio lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three Dio albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.
During an appearance on the “Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon“ podcast, Vivian spoke about his relationship with the legendary heavy metal singer who passed away in 2010 after a six-month battle with stomach cancer.
“In many ways, I’m kind of saddened that Ronnie and I never had a chance to make it up,” Vivian said. “Because I know that there was a part of Ronnie that was really dark and really angry, but I know that there was another part of him that was really sweet and forthcoming. And I think that under the right circumstances, Ronnie and I would have sat down and had a beer and made our peace and we could have even worked together again, and it would have been great. But, you know, there’s a lot of gatekeepers in this industry, and one of the things that they do very, very well is keep people apart. So it wouldn’t have happened as long as those gatekeepers were there. That’s my point.”
Campbell also talked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for Last In Line’s follow-up to 2016’s “Heavy Crown“ debut. He said: “We’re about fifty percent into the Last In Line album; we’ve got about fifty percent of it written. We begin in the next couple of weeks to do some more shows and we’ll do some more writing. We actually have a start date. We’ll go back in the studio, again with Jeff Pilson [Foreigner, Dokken] to produce, we start on September 11, I believe — [that’s] our first tracking day. But given Jeff’s schedule and our schedule, it probably won’t be delivered until December, so it would be early 2018 before it gets out. But it is coming. And the new songs are really interesting. I can really hear the growth of the band and the growth of the style and the songwriting. Some of the arrangements are a bit more complex than they were on the first album, and it’s been a real joy.” [The album called II was eventually released on Feb 22, 2019]
Ronnie James Dio made headlines in 2007 when a clip of him surfaced calling Campbell “a fucking asshole” and “a piece of shit.” Although Vivian has since expressed regret over referring to Dio as “one of the vilest people in the industry,” the guitarist has consistently maintained that he was wronged by the now-deceased vocalist.
In a May 2011 interview with Brazil’s Roadie Crew magazine, Dio’s widow and manager Wendy stated about the controversy surrounding Ronnie’s relationship with Campbell: “[Vivian] always said that he hated all the albums that he played on with Ronnie, and that was very hurtful to Ronnie. Very hurtful. Would you like someone who said something like that about your albums? He said a lot of things in the press that I don’t wanna get into, because it really wasn’t Ronnie’s feud at all. Ronnie didn’t fire him. I fired [Vivian]. He wanted as much money as Ronnie wanted. He thought he was as important as Ronnie was, and that was just wrong. But I don’t wanna get into that. It’s water under the bridge. It doesn’t matter.”
METAL GRAVEYARD 
It’s been 10 years since the world lost one of the greatest voices of heavy metal and hard rock, the iconic Ronnie James Dio. The singer had a legendary career, ranging from doo-wop bands in the late ’50s to a reunion with his onetime Black Sabbath bandmates as Heaven & Hell in the 21st century.
Born Ronald James Padavona on July 10, 1942 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Dio was raised in Cortland, New York, and became a trumpet player at an early age. Eventually, his vocal talents led him to singing in a variety of doo-wop and rock ‘n’ roll bands (including Ronnie Dio and the Redcaps). By the time he became the singer in Elf (earlier going by the name the Electric Elves), he began to find the style of music that best suited his voice – hard rock, and later, heavy metal.
Elf opened shows for Deep Purple, and that led to then-Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore taking note of Dio’s vocal talents. When Blackmore exited Purple in 1975, he invited Dio (and most of Elf’s line-up) to join forces as Rainbow. As the singer of Rainbow (from 1975-1979), Dio first came to the attention of rock fans worldwide. From there he had the daunting task of taking over for Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath (1979-1982, 1992-1993), and did that job with aplomb. His long-running eponymous band Dio would follow, lasting from 1982 until his death in 2010. And a memorable and acclaimed reunion with his Black Sabbath bandmates as Heaven & Hell (2006-2010) would also mark a career highlight.
Along the way, it was Ronnie’s powerful vocals and mythical lyrics that proved to be an influence and inspiration on subsequent generations of singers and musicians, not to mention popularizing the now commonplace “sign of the horns” heavy metal salute. From his various bands would emerge such classic albums as Rainbow’s Rainbow Rising, Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell, and Dio’s Holy Diver. Among his best-known songs are “Man on the Silver Mountain”, “Stargazer”, “Long Live Rock n’ Roll”, “Neon Knights”, “Heaven and Hell”, “The Mob Rules”, “Holy Diver”, “Rainbow in the Dark”, and “The Last in Line”.
But just as Ronnie was experiencing another high point in his career (including the aforementioned Heaven & Hell band and a scene-stealing cameo in the film Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny) he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, which led to his passing on May 16th, 2010. In the years after his death, Dio’s legend has only grown larger, including the arrival of a star-studded tribute album, This Is Your Life (which saw contributions by the likes of Metallica, Rob Halford, and Motörhead, among others), receiving posthumous awards and honors for his musical contributions, a hologram tour, and the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Ronnie James Dio’s passing, his widow and manager, Wendy Dio, took some time to chat about the late, great singer with Heavy Consequence.
On recent comments by Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi that he would currently be working with Ronnie if the latter was still alive
Absolutely. Ronnie loved working together with Tony. It was the joy of his life. And I’m so happy that they got back together again before Ronnie passed away. Because it was the something he loved doing.
On whether Ronnie regretted never burying the hatchet with Ritchie Blackmore
I don’t know about that. Obviously, it was a shame. Ronnie was very young when he joined [with] Ritchie, and he changed as a person – he became his own person. He thanked him for the opportunity that Ritchie gave. I don’t think they really had a hatchet to bury – they just didn’t really talk to each other. I don’t think there was any bad feelings after Ronnie left. There were maybe bad feelings for a short while – but not later.
On the song “Rainbow Eyes” that Ronnie wrote for Wendy
My eyes are sometimes green, sometimes blue, and sometimes hazel. They change color. And Ronnie used to always say that – so he wrote that song about me, before we were married, actually. He just told me one day when they were performing it, he said, “By the way, you know I wrote that song about you?” And I said, “No, I didn’t!” That was Ronnie’s way. He wasn’t a showman – he was a different person on stage as to when he was off stage. He was a very kind and down to earth.
On what Ronnie enjoyed other than music
Sports. He was a huge sports fan. He could tell you anything about any sport – anywhere. He used to sit and write with a guitar on his lap while watching sports all the time. He would have loved to been a sports player if he was tall enough – or if his parents let him. When he was 5 years old, his father said, “Listen to the radio and pick out an instrument that you like.” Ronnie wanted to get back out to play baseball with his friends, and said, “Oh…that one” – and it was a trumpet. So, his dad took him down to the local music store, bought him a trumpet, and said, “Now you’re going to learn to play the trumpet.” And that was the end of poor Ronnie’s sports – he had to practice trumpet for four hours, every single day!
On the status of Ronnie’s autobiography and a planned documentary
I’m working together with Mick Wall, who has written books about everybody in the rock business – he’s from England. Ronnie had been writing his memoirs and he wrote up to about the end of Rainbow, and we found some other scribblings on his computer after he passed away – so there is a bit more. We’ve been finding interviews that Ronnie did along the way, so it will continue in Ronnie’s own words. We were looking for the beginning of 2021 [for the book’s release], but now it’s on hold, of course – the same with the documentary. I’m working on a documentary about Ronnie’s life with BMG, which is totally different to the book. With lots of photos and videos of Ronnie going through his whole life, and interviews with lots of different people that had been in Ronnie’s life.
On the response to the Dio hologram shows
We have two different things – we have people that are negative and we have people who are positive. And everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I think they should see it before they pass judgement. The first one we did – which was in Europe – I was not happy with. We re-did another one that I was happy with, that we did about 19 dates in the States. It’s the Dio band that played with Ronnie for the last 17 years – with Ronnie’s voice taken from live shows. It’s an experience – it’s not just a hologram, it’s a whole experience. There are all kinds of things going on – dragons and different things. It’s a tribute to Ronnie. It’s not a cash grab – because it has cost us over two-million dollars – and we are in the midst of doing another one, which will cost even more money, which we were hoping to put out in September, but that probably won’t happen now until next year. But yes, I would like to continue with it. I think it’s something that is a tribute to Ronnie and it’s for the fans that like to see Ronnie back up on stage, and for the people that never had seen Ronnie.
On the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund
This year, we wanted to do lots of special events for it being ten years since Ronnie’s passing. Luckily, in February we did the Memorial Awards show, and that was great. But we had to cancel the Ride for Ronnie this year because of the Coronavirus – which usually takes place around his passing in May. Then about 30 friends of Ronnie’s go to the cemetery on the 16th of May and tell stories, and then we go to an Indian restaurant and toast him. Obviously, that’s not going to happen this year. I will go – but you can’t have 30 people there. I’m hoping that [the annual] Bowl for Ronnie – which will be on November 12th – will still go on. That’s always sold out a few weeks before the event happens, and we’ve had people like Jack Black, Dave Grohl, and Tom Morello bowl for us. It’s a very fun event raising money for a good cause. Every penny goes towards research and education towards colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and stomach cancer. Early detection saves lives. In fact, we are making Dio reversable masks which all the money will go towards the Cancer Fund. We are also working with UCLA to find an invasive way of testing for cancer – with a swab of the mouth, and that may come to fruition next year.