A master, or “Grand Wizard”, as some would refer to him…legendary singer, songwriter, & producer RONNIE JAMES DIO sadly lost his battle to stomach cancer on Sunday, May 16th, 2010 in Los Angeles. This was the quote from Wendy Dio, wife & manager of the 67 year old musician, on the official Dio website:
“Today, my heart is broken. Ronnie passed away at 7:45 AM, 16th May. Many, many friends & family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love & support that you have all given us. Please, give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all, & his music will live on forever.”
Ronnie Dio was most notable for having revitalized the heavy metal group “Black Sabbath” during the eighties, after replacing Ozzy Osbourne as the lead vocalist. His immense compositional ingenuity, & consistently powerful voice, reaped independence in the face of darkness…good against evil, which correlated well with the youth of that generation. Dio was also responsible for having helped popularize the “Devil Horns” sign, which has become the universal symbol of that genre.
He was born Ronald James Padavona in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (USA) on July 10th, 1942. Ronnie was an only child of an Italian family, & first played trumpet during his early days in music, soon moving on to bass guitar. In the mid-seventies, while headlining his own band “Elf”, the monster vocalist caught the attention of Deep Purple guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore. After Blackmore left DP, he & Dio formed Rainbow, which released their first album in 1975. Unfortunately, the collaboration soon ended (after only three albums) due to creative differences. From here, Ronnie joined forces with Black Sabbath, while continuing to front his own band “DIO” up until present day.
In November of 2009, the singer’s six decade career was abruptly halted, when a diagnosis of cancer was announced. Ronnie received extensive treatment in Houston, Texas – but all touring plans for the latest formation of Black Sabbath, known as “Heaven & Hell” (Ronnie Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, & Vinny Appice), had to be cancelled. The Dios always remained hopeful & optimistic in their fight to treat Ronnie’s condition, which makes the sting of this unfortunate news perplexing to fans worldwide.
Ronnie Dio was inducted into the Cortland City Hall of Fame in 2004, & has a street “Dio Way” named after him, in the place where he grew up. In 1986, he spear-headed an ALL STAR charity event known as Hear ‘N’ Aid, to raise money for famine relief in Africa. On January 17, 2007 he was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard…& in April, 2010 was named “Best Metal Singer” at the Revolver “Golden Gods” Awards. His love of medieval imagery, & hypnotic nature of vocal storytelling, were the key components to every masterpiece he created. Many deem Black Sabbath’s “Heaven & Hell” to be one of the GREATEST heavy metal albums of all time, & there is always constant debate over WHO was the ultimate frontman, Dio or Ozzy Osbourne.
As the world is left to mourn this tragic loss, I leave you with a quote from the Dio MySpace page…
“AN ALBUM IS FOREVER…EACH ONE IS A DOCUMENT CARVED IN TIME, TO BE STUDIED & ENJOYED BY GENERATIONS OF LISTENERS.”
RONNIE JAMES DIO
A slight man, with a thunderous voice MORE POWERFUL than the Greek Gods…a caring, sensitive, generous spirit that was admired by ALL whom he touched…through his music, his words, his passion, his wisdom…generations WILL ALWAYS know of the prophetic force he carved into the musical world.
(Dates & Events Gathered from Wikipedia.org)
*** Photos courtesy of the official “DIO” MySpace page.
The members of “ROCK U REVIEW” express our deepest condolences to the Dio family, & all those who worked closely with Ronnie. We pay tribute to the inspiration he left for ALL OF US.
BPatoine – May, 2010
