Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio
Dio performing with Black Sabbath.
Background information
Birth Name	Ronald James Padavona
Alias	Pygmy, Dio
Born	10 July 1942
Died	16 May 2010
Occupation	Musician
Genres	Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Doom Metal
Instrument(s)	Bass, Guitar, Vocals
Years active	1957 - 2010
Labels	Warner Bros., Vertigo, Polydor, Spitfire, Sanctuary, Rhino
Associated acts	Elf, Rainbow, Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell
Website	Official Webpage of Dio

Ronald James Padavona (10 July 1942 – 16 May 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer, songwriter and composer. He fronted or founded numerous groups throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven & Hell.

Though his parents were from Cortland, New York, Dio was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where his family resided for his father's service in the U.S. Army during World War II; they soon returned to Cortland. Dio's music career began there in 1957 as part of the Vegas Kings (later Ronnie and the Rumblers). In 1967, he formed the rock band Elf, which became a regular opening act for Deep Purple. In 1975, Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore founded the band Rainbow and hired Dio to be his lead singer; during his tenure, the band released three studio albums. Dio quickly emerged as one of heavy rock's pre-eminent vocalists. In 1979, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as the lead singer for Black Sabbath (Ironically, on the suggestion of Sharon Arden, Osbourne's future wife.) and appeared on three studio albums with the band, all three of which met with success: Heaven and Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumanizer (1992). In 1982, he left to form the band Dio, which itself had two albums certified platinum by the RIAA. In 2006, he founded the band Heaven & Hell with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice. In November 2009, Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and died of the disease six months later.

Dio is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal artists of all time. He is known for popularizing the "Metal Horns" hand gesture in metal culture and his medieval-themed song lyrics. According to a version provided by the singer himself, the act derives directly from the classic Italian apotropaic gesture, which his grandmother usually did. Dio had a powerful, versatile vocal range and was capable of singing both hard rock and lighter ballads. He was awarded the "Metal Guru Award" by Classic Rock Magazine in 2006. He was also named the "Best Metal singer" at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in 2010 and ranked as the genre's best vocalist in 2013 by music journalist Sacha Jenkins.

Biography

Early Life

Ronald James "Dio" Padavona was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Italian-American parents from Cortland, New York. His family moved to Portsmouth from Cortland as part of his father's service in the U.S. Army during World War II, and they resided there for only a short time before returning to Cortland. Padavona listened to a great deal of opera while growing up, and was influenced vocally by American tenor Mario Lanza. His first formal musical training began at age 5, learning to play the trumpet. Padavona participated in his high school's band program and was one of the youngest members selected to play in the school's official dance band. It was also during high school that Padavona formed his first rock-n-roll group, The Vegas Kings, which would later be named Ronnie and the Rumblers and then Ronnie and the Red Caps. Though Padavona began his rock-n-roll career on trumpet, he added singing to his skill set and also assumed bass guitar duties for the groups.

Padavona graduated from Cortland High School in 1960. He was allegedly offered a scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard School of Music but did not take up the offer due to his interest in rock music. He instead attended the University at Buffalo to major in pharmacology. There he played trumpet in the university's concert band; however, he only attended the university from 1960 to 1961 and did not graduate. Then he enrolled at Cortland State College but dropped out as well. In a 2000 interview, he stated that he majored in history and minored in English.

Despite being known for his powerful singing voice, Padavona claimed to have never received any vocal training. He instead attributed his singing ability to the use of breathing techniques he learned while playing trumpet.

Early Career (1957 - 1967)

Dio's musical career began in 1957, when several Cortland, New York musicians formed The Vegas Kings. The group's lineup consisted of Dio on bass guitar, Billy DeWolfe on lead vocals, Nick Pantas on guitar, Tom Rogers on drums, and Jack Musci on saxophone. The band changed its name to Ronnie and the Rumblers. In 1958, the band again changed their name to Ronnie and The Redcaps. Musci left the band in 1960, and a new guitarist, Dick Botoff, joined the lineup. The Redcaps released two singles: The first single was "Conquest"/"Lover" with the A-side being an instrumental reminiscent of The Ventures and the B-side featuring DeWolfe on lead vocals. The second single was "An Angel Is Missing"/"What'd I Say" featuring Dio on lead vocals for both tracks.

Explanations vary for how Padavona adopted the stage name "Dio". One story is that Dio was a reference to mafia member Johnny Dio. Another has it that Padavona's grandmother said he had a gift from God and should be called "Dio" ("God" in Italian), although this was debunked by Padavona's widow, Wendy, in a February 2017 interview. Padavona first used the name on a recording in 1960, when he added it to the band's second release on Seneca. Soon after that the band modified their name to Ronnie Dio and the Prophets. The Prophets lineup lasted for several years, touring throughout the New York region and playing college fraternity parties. They produced one single for Atlantic Records and one album. Some of the singles (such as "Mr. Misery", released on Swan) were labeled as being by Ronnie Dio as a solo artist even if the rest of the Prophets contributed to the recording. The group released several singles during the following years until early 1967. Dio continued to use his birth name on any songwriting credits on those releases.

Elf (1967 - 1975)

Elf would be formed in 1967 when the members of Ronnie Dio and the Prophets transformed themselves into The Electric Elves and added a keyboard player, Doug Thaler. Their sound was largely based in blues rock and hard rock.

In February 1968, the band was involved in an automobile accident which claimed the life of Nick Pantas. The accident forced a shuffling of the band member roles as original keyboardist Thaler moved to guitar (after recovering from his injuries) and the group hired Mickey Lee Soule to take over keyboard duties. Upon leaving the group in 1972, Thaler moved to New York and got a job as a booking agent — Elf was one of the bands he booked.

The eponymous Elf was released in August 1972 and produced by Deep Purple members Roger Glover and Ian Paice, who happened to see Elf auditioning that same year. For the next few years, the band enjoyed mild success as an opening act for Deep Purple.

Dio both sang and played the bass guitar until, following the release of Elf's first album, Craig Gruber was asked to join as bass guitarist. In August 1973 Feinstein quit the band and was replaced by Steve Edwards. In April 1974, Elf released its second album, Carolina County Ball. That same year Dio was asked by Glover to sing on his solo album, The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast. Dio's voice gained the attention of Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who was beginning to tire of Deep Purple and was looking for musicians to record a solo album. Asides guitarist Steve Edwards and drummer Mark Nauseef, he decided in early 1975 to use the musicians in Elf for this album, and the band Rainbow was soon formed. Though Elf had been writing and recording its third album, Trying to Burn the Sun at the same time, following the completion of that album and the Rainbow album, Elf was no more. Trying to Burn the Sun was eventually released in the U.S. in June 1975. A reunion was proposed in the 1980s but ultimately never came to be.

Rainbow (1975 - 1979)

Through the 1970s, Ritchie Blackmore was active with Deep Purple. By 1973, Blackmore had steered Deep Purple through a significant personnel change, with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover being replaced by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. However, the new members were keen to add musical styles and Blackmore found his request to record the Steve Hammond-penned "Black Sheep of the Family" with "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" turned down by the band. He decided to record the song with Dio instead, using Dio's band Elf as musicians. He enjoyed the results, and a full album, billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, was recorded between February and March 1975 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. The band name was inspired by the Rainbow Bar and Grill in West Hollywood, California.

Rainbow's music was partly inspired by classical music since Blackmore started playing cello to help him construct interesting chord progressions, and Dio wrote lyrics about medieval themes. Although Dio never played a musical instrument on any Rainbow album, he is credited with writing and arranging the music with Blackmore, in addition to writing all the lyrics. Blackmore and Dio also found a common ground in their sense of humour. Rainbow, said the singer, "was my opportunity to show my wares. I thank Ritchie for that all the time. Ritchie Blackmore is the one who gave me my opportunity to show what I was worth."

Following the positive experience of recording with Dio, Blackmore decided to leave Deep Purple, playing his last show with them in Paris in April. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow would be released on 4 August 1975 and met a positive critical reception. It would also have a top 20 UK and top 30 US hit in Man on The Silver Mountain. Blackmore's departure from Purple was announced on 21 June.

Blackmore was unhappy about carrying the Elf line-up along for live performances, and so he fired everybody except Dio shortly after the album was recorded, due to Driscoll's style of drumming and the funky bass playing of Gruber. Blackmore would continue to dictate personnel for the remainder of the band's lifetime, with drummer and former bandmate Ricky Munro remarking "he was very difficult to get on with because you never knew when he would turn around and say 'You're sacked'." Blackmore recruited bassist Jimmy Bain, American keyboard player Tony Carey and drummer Cozy Powell, who had previously worked with Jeff Beck and had some solo success. Powell also greatly appealed to Blackmore in their mutual fondness for practical jokes.

This line-up also commenced the first world tour for the band, with the first date in Montreal on 10 November 1975. The centrepiece of the band's live performance was a computer-controlled rainbow including 3,000 lightbulbs, which stretched 40 feet across the stage.  A second album, Rising, was recorded in February at Musicland and released on 15 May 1976. By the time of the European dates in the summer of 1976, Rainbow's reputation as a blistering live act had been established. The band added Deep Purple's "Mistreated" to their setlist, and song lengths were stretched to include improvisation. Carey recalls rehearsing the material was fairly straightforward, saying "We didn't work anything out, except the structure, the ending ... very free-form, really progressive rock." The album art was designed by American fantasy artist Ken Kelly, who had drawn Tarzan and Conan the Barbarian.

In August 1976, following a gig at Newcastle City Hall, Blackmore decided to fire Carey, believing his playing style to be too complicated for the band. Unable to find a suitable replacement on such short notice, Carey was quickly reinstated, but as the world tour progressed on to Japan, he found himself regularly being the recipient of Blackmore's pranks and humour. Blackmore subsequently decided that Bain was substandard and fired him in January 1977. Carey quit the band shortly after, after getting tired of Blackmore's pranks. Blackmore, however, had difficulty finding replacements he liked. On keyboards, after auditioning several high-profile artists, including Vanilla Fudge's Mark Stein, Procol Harum's Matthew Fisher and ex-Curved Air and Roxy Music man Eddie Jobson, Blackmore finally selected Canadian David Stone, from the little-known band Symphonic Slam. For a bass player, Blackmore originally chose Mark Clarke, formerly of Jon Hiseman's Colosseum, Uriah Heep and Tempest, but once in the studio for the next album, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Blackmore disliked Clarke's fingerstyle method of playing so much that he fired him on the spot and played bass himself on all but four songs: the album's title track, "Gates of Babylon", "Kill the King", and "Sensitive to Light". Former Widowmaker bassist Bob Daisley was hired to record these tracks, completing the band's next line-up.

Long Live Rock 'n' Roll would be released on 9 April 1978 to positive reception, charting well enough in the UK to be BPI certified Silver and has since been cited as a major influence on the power metal genre. After the release and extensive world tour in 1977–78, Blackmore decided that he wanted to take the band in a new commercial direction away from the "sword and sorcery" theme. Dio did not agree with this change and left Rainbow. Rainbow would remain active until 1984, returning for a revival from 1993 - 1997 and reuniting once again from 2015 onward.

While Dio would speak fondly of his years with Rainbow, in later years he would talk about "learning good things and bad things" from Ritchie, citing him as "a difficult person who doesn't care about people" and "a cruel person".

Black Sabbath (1979 - 1982, 1990 - 1992)

• For more details, feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Black Sabbath.

When original Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne would be fired in 1979, Black Sabbath would search for a new singer. Sharon Arden (later Sharon Osbourne), daughter of Black Sabbath manager Don Arden, suggested former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio to replace Ozzy Osbourne in 1979. Don Arden was at this point still trying to convince Osbourne to rejoin the band, as he viewed the original line-up as the most profitable. Dio officially joined in June, and the band began writing their next album. With a notably different vocal style from Osbourne's, Dio's addition to the band marked a change in Black Sabbath's sound. "They were totally different altogether", Iommi explains. "Not only voice-wise, but attitude-wise. Ozzy was a great showman, but when Dio came in, it was a different attitude, a different voice and a different musical approach, as far as vocals. Dio would sing across the riff, whereas Ozzy would follow the riff, like in "Iron Man". Ronnie came in and gave us another angle on writing."

Geezer Butler temporarily left the band in September 1979 for personal reasons. According to Dio, the band initially hired Craig Gruber (with whom Dio had previously played while in Elf) on bass to assist with writing the new album. Gruber was soon replaced by Geoff Nicholls of Quartz. The new line-up returned to Criteria Studios in November to begin recording work, with Butler returning to the band in January 1980, and Nicholls moving to keyboards. Produced by Martin Birch, Heaven and Hell was released on 25 April 1980 to critical acclaim. Over a decade after its release AllMusic said the album was "one of Sabbath's finest records, the band sounds reborn and re-energised throughout". Heaven and Hell peaked at number 9 in the United Kingdom, and number 28 in the U.S., the band's highest charting album since Sabotage. The album eventually sold a million copies in the U.S., and the band embarked on an extensive world tour, making their first live appearance with Dio in Germany on 17 April 1980.

Black Sabbath toured the U.S. throughout 1980 with Blue Öyster Cult on the Black and Blue Tour, with a show at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York filmed and released theatrically in 1981 as Black and Blue. On 26 July 1980, the band played to 75,000 fans at a sold-out Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with Journey, Cheap Trick, and Molly Hatchet. The next day, the band appeared at the 1980 Day on the Green at Oakland Coliseum.

On 18 August 1980, after a show in Minneapolis, Ward quit the band. "It was intolerable for me to get on the stage without Ozzy. And I drank 24 hours a day, my alcoholism accelerated". Geezer Butler stated that after Ward's final show, the drummer came in drunk, stating that "He might as well be a Martian". Ward then got angry, packed his things and got on a bus to leave. Following Ward's sudden departure, the group hired drummer Vinny Appice. Further trouble for the band came during their 9 October 1980 concert at the Milwaukee Arena, which degenerated into a riot causing $10,000 in damages to the arena and resulted in 160 arrests. According to the Associated Press, "the crowd of mostly adolescent males first became rowdy in a performance by the Blue Oyster Cult" and then grew restless while waiting an hour for Black Sabbath to begin playing. A member of the audience threw a beer bottle that struck bassist Butler and effectively ended the show. "The band then abruptly halted its performance and began leaving" as the crowd rioted.

The band completed the Heaven and Hell world tour in February 1981, and returned to the studio to begin work on their next album. Black Sabbath's second studio album produced by Martin Birch and featuring Ronnie James Dio as vocalist Mob Rules was released in October 1981, to be well received by fans, but less so by the critics. Rolling Stone reviewer J. D. Considine gave the album one star, claiming "Mob Rules finds the band as dull-witted and flatulent as ever". Like most of the band's earlier work, time helped to improve the opinions of the music press, a decade after its release, AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia called Mob Rules "a magnificent record". The album was certified gold, and reached the top 20 on the UK chart. The album's title track "The Mob Rules", which was recorded at John Lennon's old house in England, also featured in the 1981 animated film Heavy Metal, although the film version is an alternate take, and differs from the album version.

Black Sabbath would begin work recording a live album, entitled Live Evil, during the Mob Rules world tour, across the United States in Dallas, San Antonio, and Seattle, in 1982. During the mixing process for the album, Iommi and Butler had a falling out with Dio. Misinformed by their then-current mixing engineer, Iommi and Butler accused Dio of sneaking into the studio at night to raise the volume of his vocals. In addition, Dio was not satisfied with the pictures of him in the artwork. Butler also accused Dio and Appice of working on a solo album during the album's mixing without telling the other members of Black Sabbath. "Ronnie wanted more say in things," Iommi said. "And Geezer would get upset with him and that is where the rot set in. Live Evil is when it all fell apart. Ronnie wanted to do more of his own thing, and the engineer we were using at the time in the studio didn't know what to do, because Ronnie was telling him one thing and we were telling him another. At the end of the day, we just said, 'That's it, the band is over'". "When it comes time for the vocal, nobody tells me what to do. Nobody! Because they're not as good as me, so I do what I want to do," Dio later said. "I refuse to listen to Live Evil, because there are too many problems. If you look at the credits, the vocals and drums are listed off to the side. Open up the album and see how many pictures there are of Tony, and how many there are of me and Vinny".

Ronnie James Dio left Black Sabbath in November 1982 to start his own band, and took drummer Vinny Appice with him. Live Evil was released in January 1983, but was overshadowed by Ozzy Osbourne's platinum selling album Speak of the Devil, a live album comprised entirely of Ozzy's band performing Black Sabbath songs.

While on his Lock Up the Wolves U.S. tour in August 1990, former Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio was joined onstage at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium by Geezer Butler to perform "Neon Knights". Following the show, the two expressed interest in rejoining Sabbath. Butler convinced Iommi, who in turn broke up the current lineup, dismissing vocalist Tony Martin and bassist Neil Murray. "I do regret that in a lot of ways," Iommi said. "We were at a good point then. We decided to [reunite with Dio] and I don't even know why, really. There's the financial aspect, but that wasn't it. I seemed to think maybe we could recapture something we had."

Dio and Butler joined Iommi and Cozy Powell in autumn 1990 to begin the next Sabbath release. While rehearsing in November, Powell suffered a broken hip when his horse died and fell on the drummer's legs. Unable to complete the album, Powell was replaced by former drummer Vinny Appice, reuniting the Mob Rules lineup, and the band entered the studio with producer Reinhold Mack. The year-long recording was plagued with problems, primarily stemming from writing tension between Iommi and Dio. Songs were rewritten multiple times. "It was just hard work," Iommi said. "We took too long on it, that album cost us a million dollars, which is bloody ridiculous." Dio recalled the album as difficult, but worth the effort: "It was something we had to really wring out of ourselves, but I think that's why it works. Sometimes you need that kind of tension, or else you end up making the Christmas album".

The resulting Dehumanizer was released on 22 June 1992, notably the band's longest album until 13 was released in 2013. In the U.S., the album was released on 30 June 1992 by Reprise Records, as Dio and his namesake band were still under contract to the label at the time. While the album received mixed reviews, it was the band's biggest commercial success in a decade. Anchored by the top 40 rock radio single "TV Crimes", the album peaked at number 44 on the Billboard 200. The album also featured "Time Machine", a version of which had been recorded for the 1992 film Wayne's World. Additionally, the perception among fans of a return of some semblance of the "real" Sabbath provided the band with much needed momentum.

Sabbath began touring in support of Dehumanizer in July 1992 with Testament, Danzig, Prong, and Exodus. While on tour, former vocalist Ozzy Osbourne announced his first retirement, and invited Sabbath to open for his solo band at the final two shows of his No More Tours tour in Costa Mesa, California. The band agreed, aside from Dio, who told Iommi, "I'm not doing that. I'm not supporting a clown." Dio spoke of the situation years later: I was told in the middle of the tour that we would be opening for Ozzy in Los Angeles. And I said, "No. Sorry, I have more pride than that." A lot of bad things were being said from camp to camp, and it created this horrible schism. So by [the band] agreeing to play the shows in L.A. with Ozzy, that, to me, spelled out reunion. And that obviously meant the doom of that particular project.

Dio quit Sabbath following a show in Oakland, California on 13 November 1992, one night before the band were set to appear at Osbourne's retirement show. Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford stepped in at the last minute, performing two nights with the band. Iommi and Butler joined Osbourne and former drummer Ward on stage for the first time since 1985's Live Aid concert, performing a brief set of Sabbath songs. This set the stage for a longer-term reunion of the original lineup, though that plan proved short-lived. "Ozzy, Geezer, Tony and Bill announced the reunion of Black Sabbath – again," remarked Dio. "And I thought that it was a great idea. But I guess Ozzy didn't think it was such a great idea… I'm never surprised when it comes to whatever happens with them. Never at all. They are very predictable. They don't talk."

Drummer Vinny Appice left the band following the reunion show to rejoin Ronnie James Dio's solo band, later appearing on Dio's Strange Highways and Angry Machines. Iommi and Butler enlisted former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli, and reinstated former vocalist Tony Martin for 1994's Cross Purposes, with Cozy Powell returning for 1995's Forbidden. A reunion of the original Black Sabbath lineup would happen in 1996 and last until 2005.

While Ozzy Osbourne was working on new solo album material in 2006, Rhino Records released Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, a compilation of songs culled from the four Black Sabbath releases featuring Ronnie James Dio. For the release, Iommi, Butler, Dio, and Appice reunited to write and record three new songs as Black Sabbath. The Dio Years was released on 3 April 2007, reaching number 54 on the Billboard 200, while the single "The Devil Cried" reached number 37 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. This in turn would lead to the formation of Heaven & Hell, who would be active between 2006 and 2010.

Dio (1982 - 2010)

Dio performing with his solo endeavor, showing the signature "horns".

In 1982, disagreements originating over the mixing of Black Sabbath's Live Evil resulted in the departure of Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice from the band. Wanting to continue together as a band, the two formed Dio in October 1982 in the United States with Jake E. Lee (guitars) and Jimmy Bain (bass). About a month after the band’s formation Lee was replaced by Vivian Campbell. On 25 May 1983 the band released their debut album, Holy Diver. It featured two hit singles, "Rainbow in the Dark" and "Holy Diver", which gained popularity from MTV, along with being certified Platinum by the RIAA in 1989. Dio and Jimmy Bain played keyboards in the studio, but recruited keyboardist Claude Schnell for live shows in 1983 prior to the Holy Diver tour. Schnell played to the side of the stage on the first two tours before coming out front in 1985. Dio had this to say of the band's origins: "It was a good time to be in that band. It was perfect for us. Everything just fell into place. The ethic in rehearsal was amazing. The effort in the recording was just as good. Everybody wanted it to be great. We really believed in what we were doing and couldn't wait to get that product out and have people hear it."

Now a quintet with Schnell on keyboards, the band released their second studio album, The Last in Line, on 2 July 1984. It was followed by their third album, Sacred Heart, which was released on 15 August 1985. Both were critically acclaimed and The Last in Line would be certified Platinum on 3 February 1987. Sacred Heart would go Gold in late 1985, the last Dio release to recieve a RIAA certification until The Very Beast of Dio in 2009.

Campbell became unhappy working with Dio, and the rift between them culminated in Campbell being fired from Dio's band. Campbell was subsequently invited to join Whitesnake in 1987. Several songs were recorded live during the Sacred Heart tour for the 1986 Intermission EP with Campbell still on guitar, however the EP also contained the studio track "Time To Burn", which served to introduce fans to Craig Goldy as the new guitarist.

On 21 July 1987, their fourth album Dream Evil was released, peaking at #43 on The Billboard 200. After Dream Evil, Goldy, wanting to pursue solo projects, left the band. In June 1989, 18-year-old Rowan Robertson was announced as Goldy's successor but further changes were to follow, with Schnell, Bain, and Appice leaving the band.

Schnell, Bain, and Appice were replaced, respectively, with Jens Johansson, Teddy Cook, and former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright. The new band released the album Lock Up the Wolves on 15 May 1990, peaking at #61 on The Billboard 200. During the tour, Dio had a chance meeting with former Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler which led to that band's short-lived reunion, producing one album, Dehumanizer. After this, Dio reassembled Dio once again, retaining only Appice on the drums. By early 1993, guitarist Tracy G, keyboardist Scott Warren of Warrant and bassist Jeff Pilson of Dokken had all joined. During this era, the band abandoned fantasy themed songs and focused on modern issues. As a result, some fans regard the albums made during this period—Strange Highways (25 October 1993), Angry Machines (15 October 1996) and the live album Inferno: Last in Live (24 February 1998) — as the worst in Dio's catalogue, while others view them positively as a step away from the outdated sound of the 1980s. With disappointing record sales for Angry Machines, management wanted the band to go back to their earlier style prompting the departure of Tracy G to be replaced by the returning Craig Goldy. In addition, Appice left Dio once again.

Craig Goldy's return facilitated the release of Dio's eighth studio album in Magica (21 March 2000) which was regarded by many as the band's "comeback album" and reached No. 13 on the Billboard independent charts. It featured not only the return of Goldy but also of Simon Wright and Jimmy Bain, although on the European leg of the tour Chuck Garric played bass. Scott Warren remained in the band and performed live, although Dio and Bain handled all of the keyboard and synth on Magica. A concept album, Magica featured a return to the band's older, more successful sound, while increased use of keyboards gave it a more modern feel. During the following tour, however, tensions rose between Goldy on the one hand and Bain and Dio on the other, as Goldy was dealing with family obligations.

Goldy left the band in January 2002 and was replaced with Doug Aldrich, who Bain had met while recording a tribute album for Metallica. Because of his late arrival, Aldrich did not contribute much to Dio's ninth work, Killing the Dragon, which was written primarily by Dio and Bain. Killing The Dragon was released on 21 May 2002 through Spitfire Records and was well received in the metal community, making the Billboard top 200 (#199) and #18 on the US Independent Albums Chart. Aldrich would stay in the band until April of the following year, when he, like Campbell before him, joined Whitesnake, prompting Goldy's return. Soon afterward, Bain left the band.

Dio released their tenth studio album Master of the Moon on 30 August 2004 in Europe through SPV Records and on 7 Septemmber 2004 in the United States through Sanctuary Records. The album features multi-instrumentalist Jeff Pilson (formerly of Dokken) on bass duties; however, because of prior obligations with Foreigner, he was only available for the recording sessions, and so was replaced by Rudy Sarzo (formerly of Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Blue Öyster Cult among others) on the tour.

2005 saw the release of the Dio live album Evil or Divine – Live in New York City, which featured the same show that was released on DVD in 2003. Dio toured South America, Japan, Europe, and Russia in 2005. Their autumn tour was titled "An Evening With Dio" and featured a regular set, and then a second set of the band playing Holy Diver in its entirety. A DVD of the tour was filmed in London. The audio of this performance, a double CD named Holy Diver – Live was released in April 2006.

Dio's involvement with Heaven & Hell delayed the recording of what was to be the follow-up to Master of the Moon, Magica II. The three-year hiatus was briefly interrupted for a 10 concert European mini-tour in May/June 2008, and was scheduled to be interrupted again in November/December 2009 with 22 concerts starting in the UK and ending in Germany. Doug Aldrich was to have filled in for Craig Goldy on guitar on these dates, who had other obligations. Dio intended to release a new single, entitled "Electra", to coincide with the tour. This would have been their first studio material in 5 years. The band also intended to record an album or two in 2010.

On November 18, 2009, the European tour was cancelled due to Dio's hospitalization. He had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, and was undergoing treatment. His manager and wife Wendy Dio thanked well-wishers and said "After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans."

On February 19, 2010, it was announced on Dio's official website that he would release a box set, entitled the Tournado Box Set, for limited purchase. The set includes the Killing the Dragon CD, Evil or Divine DVD (PAL format only), DVD bonus material, interviews, photo gallery, never-before-seen behind the scenes footage, promo video for the Killing the Dragon track "Push", exclusive Dio cards, and the bonus CD single "Electra" (which is the last song the band recorded), from the unfinished albums Magica II & Magica III.

While Dio's last onstage performance was with Heaven & Hell in 2009, his final performance with Dio was on 21 June 2008 at Kobetasonik Festival in Bilbao, Spain.

Heaven & Hell (2006 - 2010)

Heaven & Hell would be founded in 2006 and named for the first Black Sabbath album to feature Dio on vocals.

In 2005, the project was initially planned when Ronnie James Dio expressed plans to work with Tony Iommi to record two (Though this ended up being three) new Black Sabbath songs for the compilation The Dio Years, which came out in April 2007 with a live album from 1981-1982 entitled Live At Hammersmith Odeon to follow. Before the reunion of performers there was also intents of doing a tour with Iommi (Tony Iommi's solo band)and GZR (Geezer Butler's solo band) opening for Dio. Despite the name of the band being acknowledged as Black Sabbath for the recordings, Tony Iommi suggested going under a new name for touring purposes. Iommi, owner of the Black Sabbath name, decided to call the touring group Heaven & Hell to differentiate the project from the Ozzy Osbourne-led Black Sabbath. The moniker was taken from the first Dio-fronted Black Sabbath album, Heaven and Hell, to not give attendees the impression they would be hearing Ozzy-era songs.

Initially the intended rhythm section was to be Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. While Geezer stayed, Ward declined working on the project citing "contractual issues". Vinny Appice, who performed on "Mob Rules" and "Dehumanizer" alongside their first official live album "Live Evil" was announced as the drummer a short time later. It's been stated in interviews that although Ward was the drummer on the Heaven and Hell record, Appice was more synonymous with that particular era.

Shortly after the release of Black Sabbath's "The Dio Years" and "Live From Hammersmith Odeon", Heaven and Hell would embark on a full tour in 2007 performing songs from that era alongside new Sabbath songs "The Devil Cried" and "Shadow In The Wind" (With "Ear In The Wall" on select dates.). The first performance of the tour was 11 March 2007 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia. Notably, the band's first appearance in the United States (30 March 2007 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.) was recorded for a live album that would be later certified Gold by the RIAA. The tour would last until November 2007 with performances all over the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan, Singapore and closing the tour in the United Kingdom. This tour was voted "Comeback of the Year" at the Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards by readers of Classic Rock.

The original intention was that the 2007 tour would be a one-off and had expressed their intentions to go their separate ways at its conclusion. Dio had planned to return to his eponymous band to produce Magica II and Magica III, sequels to their 2000 album Magica (Though only one song, "Electra", was ever finished from the sessions.) However, in a March 2007 interview, Dio and Iommi stated that while they were both tied to separate contractual commitments in 2008, neither would discount the possibility of future collaborations. Six months later, the band members announced their decision to continue their collaboration and record and release a new album. In August, they took part in the Metal Masters Tour alongside Judas Priest, Motörhead and Testament.

On 28 April 2009, the band released their only studio album The Devil You Know. "Bible Black" and "Follow The Tears" would be the singles in support of the album. The subsequent promotional tour, the Bible Black Tour, spanned from May 5 to August 29 and featured supporting act Coheed and Cambria. Notable festiival appearances included the Sweden Rock Festival, the Hellfest in France, the Wâldrock Festival in the Netherlands, the Wacken Open Air (Which would be released posthumously on CD + DVD) and the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, UK. Though not known at the time the tour's final show in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA (August 29 at The House of Blues) at would prove to be Dio's final public performance and "The Devil You Know" would be his final full-length contribution.

In November 2009, Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Prognoses at the time were initially favorable and at some point the band themselves were making plans for a future tour following a period of rest for Dio to recover from the condition. Heaven and Hell were slated to tour in support of Iron Maiden in Europe from July to August of 2010 but the tour was ultimately canceled on 4 May due to Dio's health worsening. Dio died from this illness on 16 May 2010 at 7:45 A.M (CDT), aged 67.

The three surviving members performed a final Heaven & Hell set in tribute to Dio at the High Voltage Festival on 24 July 2010. Filling in for the departed Dio on vocals for this set, after an introduction from Wendy Dio, were two guest vocalists: former Black Sabbath and Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes and Norwegian singer Jørn Lande of Masterplan and Jørn. Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down) would also join the band onstage as a guest for "Neon Knights". All of the proceeds from the event went towards the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund. A posthumous live album entitled Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell was released on 16 November, recorded in Germany at the Wacken Open Air festival on 30 July 2009. Heaven & Hell would disband after this performance, with Iommi and Geezer reforming Black Sabbath the next year.

Other Projects

In 1974, Dio sang on the Roger Glover conducted and produced concept album The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast. Along with other guest-singers, the album featured Deep Purple alumni Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale. Dio provided vocals for the songs "Homeward", "Sitting in a Dream", and the UK single Love Is All.

In 1980, Dio made vocal contributions to Kerry Livgren's Christian themed progressive rock album Seeds of Change, He sang on the tracks "Live For the King" and "The Mask of the Great Deceiver."

In 1985, Dio contributed to the metal world's answer to Band Aid and USA for Africa with the Hear 'n Aid project. With a heavy metal all-star ensemble—the brainchild of his fellow Dio bandmates Campbell and Bain—he sang some of the vocals on the single "Stars" and an album full of songs from other artists given to charity. The project raised $1 million within a year.

In 1997, Dio made a cameo on Pat Boone's In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, an album of famous heavy metal songs played in big band style. Dio can be heard singing backup on Boone's take of "Holy Diver". In 1999, he was parodied in the TV show South Park, in the episode "Hooked on Monkey Fonics", which he later described as "wonderful."

Tenacious D included a tribute song entitled "Dio" that appeared on their self-titled album. The song explains how he has to "pass the torch" for a new generation. Reportedly, Dio approved of it, and had Tenacious D appear in his video "Push" from Killing the Dragon in 2002. He also appeared in the film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, playing himself and providing guest vocals in the movie's opening musical number "Kickapoo."

In 2005, Dio was revealed to be the voice behind Dr. X in Operation: Mindcrime II, the sequel to Queensrÿche's seminal concept album Operation: Mindcrime. His part was shown in a prerecorded video on the subsequent tour, and Dio appeared onstage to sing the part live on at least one occasion (both shown on the Mindcrime at the Moore DVD).

Personal Life

Dio and his first wife, Loretta Berardi (born 1941), whom he married in 1963 adopted a son, novelist Dan Padavona.

After divorcing Berardi, in 1978 he married Wendy Walters (born 1945), ex-wife of drummer Aynsley Dunbar (m. 1966) and guitarist Ricardo Gaxiola (m. 1972, div. 1977), who also served as his manager. In the 1980s, she managed the Los Angeles rock bands Rough Cutt, NuHaven, Cold Sweat and Hellion and was an extra in the sci-fi action movie Death Race 2000. After his death in 2010, his widow married Omar Gimenez in 2012. According to the article, Ronnie and Wendy were still married but largely separated and working on a professional level, with Wendy in a relationship with Omar for nearly 20 years before they would wed.

In September 2003, he accidentally severed his thumb during a gardening accident when a heavy garden gnome fell onto it. Dio was concerned he would no longer be able to do his signature metal horns hand gesture, but a doctor managed to re-attach it.

Illness and Death

On 25 November 2009, Dio announced that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and underwent treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

On 4 May 2010, Heaven & Hell announced they were canceling all summer dates as a result of Dio's health condition. His last live performance was with Heaven & Hell on 29 August 2009, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Dio died of the illness on 16 May 2010.

Two weeks after his death, a public memorial service was held at The Hall of Liberty, Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. The hall was filled to capacity, with many more fans sitting outside the hall watching the memorial on multiple giant screens on both the east and south sides of the hall. Friends, family, and former and current bandmates of Dio gave speeches and performed including Rudy Sarzo, Geoff Tate, John Payne, Glenn Hughes, Joey Belladonna, and Heaven & Hell keyboard player, Scott Warren. On the screen was an accompanying documentary covering Dio's career from his early days with Elf to his final project with Heaven & Hell.

Legacy and Tributes

Dio's career spanned more than 50 years. During this period, and particularly in the 21st century, he received a number of distinctions and awards. He was inducted into the Cortland City Hall of Fame in 2004 and has a street named after him there called Dio Way. Classic Rock Magazine awarded Dio the "Metal Guru Award" at their yearly "Roll of Honour" awards ceremony in 2006. On 17 January 2007, Dio was inducted into Guitar Center's Rock Walk of Fame in Hollywood. Dio was named "Best Metal Singer" at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in April 2010 for his work on The Devil You Know, making him the oldest recipient of this award at age 67. He accepted the award in person at what was to be his final public appearance, just one month before his death.

The main stage of Bloodstock Open Air is also named after him in tribute after Heaven & Hell pulled out upon his death. Also, the main stage on Masters of Rock festival carries his name since summer 2010. A Dio monument has been unveiled in Kavarna, Bulgaria. In Mexico the biggest metal fest was named "Hell and Heaven" in honor of Dio; the organization says that the festival was named that way since they had worked with Dio, referring to him as "the greatest singer and person we ever had worked with, a really humble person."

Rolling Stone magazine eulogized Dio with these words: "It wasn't just his mighty pipes that made him Ronnie James Dio — it was his moral fervor...what always stood out was Dio's raging compassion for the lost rock & roll children in his audience. Dio never pretended to be one of the kids — he sang as an adult assuring us that we weren't alone in our suffering, and some day we might even be proud of conquering it."

Two tribute bands have since been formed in the wake of Dio's passing: Dio Disciples, a band comprising of Dio's last touring lineup along with Tim "Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest, Iced Earth). The Last In Line would be founded in 2012 by Dio's original backing band in Vinny Appice, Vivian Campbell and Jimmy Bain, along with vocalist, along with vocalist Andrew Freeman (The Offspring, Lynch Mob). Phil Soussan would take over on bass when Jimmy Bain would pass away in 2016. Last in Line had notably released two albums of original material in 2016's Heavy Crown and 2019's II.

The infamous and iconic Jojo's Bizarre Adventure villain Dio Brando takes his first name from Ronnie James Dio, while his surname is derived from actor Marlon Brando. He was created by Hirohito Araki in 1987, with many Jojo characters named after musicians and bands. Dio would initially appear in the first story of the series, Phantom Blood ("Dio The Invader"), on 1 January 1987. Dio Brando would also be the central villain of the third major chapter in the Jojo series Stardust Crusaders and has been received as a popular anime villain, both within the series and the whole of anime.

Norwegian heavy metal band Jorn was a huge fan of Dio, covering songs by his era of Black Sabbath along with Rainbow throughout their career. The band would release a tribute album known as Dio on 2 July 2010 via Frontiers Records, including the original song "Song For Ronnie James" alongside ten Dio covers, along with covers of Black Sabbath and Rainbow.

On 10 July 2011, in parallel to Dio's birthday, his hometown of Cortland, New York held a day-long event featuring many central New York local bands and talent for a benefit to the Stand Up and Shout Cancer foundation for cancer research and Dio Memorial concert. Part of the proceeds from the event went to fund a memorial music scholarship for the local city high-school in his name.

On 31 March 2014 the tribute album Ronnie James Dio This Is Your Life was released. It was organized and produced by Wendy Gaxiola, with album proceeds benefiting the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.

On 6 August 2016, a hologram of the singer, created by Eyellusion, made its live debut at the Wacken Open Air Festival during Dio Disciples' set. A second hologram was created for a subsequent world tour, which began on 6 December 2017 in Bochum, Germany.

On 18 January 2017, Dio was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History.

"I guess if I've left any kind of legacy", Dio remarked in 1987, "it's been Heaven and Hell and a lot of Rainbow Rising."

Discography

Early Discography

• Ronnie & The Red Caps - Conquest / Lover (45RPM Single) (1958, Reb)
• Ronnie & The Red Caps - Judy I Love You (45RPM Single) (1958, Self-Released)
• Ronnie Dio & The Red Caps - An Angel Is Missing / What I'd Say (45RPM Single) (1960, Seneca)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - The Ooh-Poo-Pah-Doo (45RPM Single) (1962, Atlantic)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (45RPM Single) (1962, Audiodisc; Swan)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Gonna Make It Alone (45RPM Single) (1963, Lawn)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Mr. Misery (45RPM Single) (1963, Lawn)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Che Tristezza Senza Te (Mr. Misery) (45RPM Single) (1963, Derby)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Dio At Domino's (Studio Album) (1963, Jove)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Love Potion No. 9 (45RPM Single) (1964, Valex)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Say You're Mine Again (45RPM Single) (1965, Kapp)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Smiling By Day (Crying By Night) (45RPM Single) (1965, Kapp)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Walking Alone (45RPM Single) (1965, Kapp)
• Ronnie Dio & The Prophets - Walking in Different Circles (45RPM Single) (1966, Parkway)

With Elf

• "Hey, Look Me Over" / "It Pays to Advertise" (7" Single, as The Electric Elves) (1967)
• "Walking in Different Circles" / "She's Not the Same" (7" Single, as The Elves) (1969)
• "Amber Velvet" / "West Virginia" (7" Single, as The Elves) (1970)
• Elf (Studio Album) (1972, Epic)
• Carolina County Ball (Studio Album) (1974, Purple; MGM)
• Trying To Burn The Sun (Studio Album) (1975, MGM)

With Rainbow

• Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (Studio Album) (1975, Oyster; Polydor)
• Rising (Studio Album) (1976, Oyster; Polydor)
• On Stage (Live Album) (1977, Oyster; Polydor)
• Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (Studio Album) (1978, Polydor)
• Finyl Vinyl (Compilation) (1986, Polydor; Mercury)
• Live in Germany 1976 (Live Album) (1990, Conoisseur Collection)
• Live in Munich 1977 (Live Album) (2006, Eagle)
• Deutschland Tournee 1976 (Live Box Set) (2010, Virgin Japan)

With Black Sabbath

• Heaven and Hell (Studio Album) (1980, Vertigo; Warner Bros.)
• Black and Blue (Live Video with Blue Öyster Cult) (1980, Polygram)
• Mob Rules (Studio Album) (1981, Vertigo; Warner Bros.)
• Live Evil (Live Album) (1982, Vertigo; Warner Bros.)
• Dehumanizer (1992, I.R.S.)
• The Dio Years (2006, Rhino Entertainment)
• Live At Hammersmith Odeon (2007, Rhino Entertainment)

With Dio (Selected Discography)

• Holy Diver (Studio Album) (1983, Warner Bros.)
• The Last in Line (Studio Album) (1984, Warner Bros.; Vertigo)
• Sacred Heart (Studio Album) (1985, Warner Bros.; Vertigo)
• The Dio E.P. (Extended Play) (1986, Vertigo)
• Intermission (Live Album) (1986, Warner Bros.; Vertigo)
• Dream Evil (Studio Album) (1987, Warner Bros.)
• Lock Up The Wolves (Studio Album) (1990, Reprise)
• Strange Highways (Studio Album) (1993, Reprise)
• Angry Machines (Studio Album) (1996, Mayhem)
• Inferno: Last in Live (Live Album) (1998, Mayhem; SPV / Steamhammer)
• Magica (Studio Album) (2000, Spitfire)
• The Very Beast of Dio (Compilation) (2000, Warner Bros.; Rhino)
• Killing The Dragon (Studio Album) (2002, Spitfire)
• Evil or Divine – Live in New York City (Live Album) (2003, Eagle)
• Master of The Moon (Studio Album) (2004, Sanctuary)
• Holy Diver – Live (Live Album) (2006, Eagle)
• At Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987 (Live Album) (2010, Niji Entertainment)
• The Very Beast of Dio Vol. 2 (Compilation) (2012, Niji Entertainment)
• Finding the Sacred Heart - Live in Philly 1986 (Live Album) (2013, Eagle)
• Live in London, Hammersmith Apollo 1993 (Live Album) (2014, Eagle)

With Heaven & Hell

• Live From Radio City Music Hall (Live Album) (2007, Rhino Entertainment)
• The Devil You Know (Studio Album) (2009, Rhino Entertainment)
• Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell (Studio Album) (2010, Rhino Entertainment)

Guest Appearances

• Bobby Comstock & The Counts: "Your Big Brown Eyes" 7" Single (1960), "Run My Heart" 7" Single (1963)
• The Angels: My Boyfriend's Back 7" Single (1963), My Boyfriend's Back (1963)
• Austin Gravelding: Self Made Man (1970)
• Roger Glover: The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast (1974)
• David Coverdale: Northwinds (1978)
• Kerry Livgren: Seeds of Change (1980), The Best of Kerry Livgren (2002)
• Heaven: Where Angels Fear to Tread (1983)
• Rough Cutt: LA's Hottest Unsigned Rock Bands (1983), KLOS 95 1/2 Rock to Riches (1983), Rough Cutt (1984), Rough Cutt Live (1996), Anthology (2008)
• Hellion: 12 Commandments in Metal (1985), To Hellion and Back (2014) (production only)
• Hear 'n Aid: Hear 'n Aid (1986), "Stars" 7"/12" Single (1986), Hear 'n Aid: The Sessions (VHS video) (1986)
• Eddie Hardin & Guests: Wizard's Convention (1994)
• Dog Eat Dog: Play Games (1996)
• Munetaka Higuchi with Dream Castle: Free World (1997)
• Pat Boone: In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy (1997)
• Various Artists: Humanary Stew: A tribute to Alice Cooper (1999), Not the Same Old Song and Dance: A Tribute to Aerosmith (1999), We Wish you a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year (2008)
• Deep Purple: In Concert with The London Symphony Orchestra (1999), Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy (2001), The Soundboard Series (2001)
• Eddie Ojeda: Axes 2 Axes (2005)
• Ian Gillan: Gillan's Inn (2006)
• Queensrÿche: Operation: Mindcrime II (2006), Mindcrime at the Moore (2007)
• Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny (2006)
• Various Artists with Steve Lukather, In Session (2008)
• Girlschool: Legacy (2008)
• David "Rock" Feinstein: Bitten By the Beast (2010)
• The Rods: Vengeance (2011)

Other Media

• The Black Sabbath Story (Documentary, Vol. 2) (1992)
• Metal: A Headbangers Journey (Documentary) (2005)
• Heavy: The Story of Heavy Metal (Documentary) (2006)
• Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (Film) (2006)
• That Metal Show – Season 2, Episode 8: Heaven & Hell (2009)

External Links

• Ronnie James Dio Official
• Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund