Ronnie James Dio - Gone, But Never Forgotten

A household name among metal fans, known for his powerful voice and the devil horn gesture, Ronnie James Dio was nothing short of a legend. Replacing Ozzy Osbourne as the lead singer of Black Sabbath, as well as his own bands Dio, Rainbow, as well as Heaven and Hell, Ronnie never stopped working. But his life was brought to an end on May 16th, 2010, after a battle with cancer.

Dio was born as Ronald James Padovan in the American state of New Hampshire, on July 10th, 1942. He played the trumpet and in high school, joined a band called The Vegas Kings - in which he played bass. He eventually became the lead singer, the band changing its name numerous times, settling on “Ronnie and the Red Caps”. He never had vocal training, and he attributed this to the correct breathing techniques when learning the French horn as a young boy.

The name “Dio” came from a mafia member, Johnny Dio, and Ronnie used it in 1961. He attended University at Buffalo, but did not graduate. He was also offered a scholarship to a music school but did not take it thanks to his love for rock music. He was now becoming well known in the growing music scene, but he would not know the impact he would have upon it.

Ronnie and the Red Caps in 1967, now called Ronnie Dio and The Prophets, disbanded - but he started a band with his previous guitarist named Electric Elves. They were more commonly known as Elf among fans, and were the support act for Deep Purple. When Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple, he was fascinated by Ronnie’s voice and formed Rainbow with the other members of Elf. In 1975, the first Rainbow album was released. Dio had three more albums with the band until he left thanks to musical differences.

After leaving Rainbow, Ronnie really began to achieve the status he deserved when he joined Black Sabbath, taking the place of Ozzy Osbourne. They released ‘Heaven and Hell’, which re-ignited the career of the band and rocketed them to the top again. When he was with Black Sabbath, he made the “devil horn” gesture popular, something that the majority of rock fans will perform at least once in a concert. Silhouettes of horned hands in the sky is an amazing sight, uniting fans as one with the music.

In 1982, Ronnie and Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice left to form the band Dio, which was wildly successful although Dio himself was the only constant member throughout. In its time, it had Vinny Appice on drums from Black Sabbath, as well as Simon Wright, who had a brief period in AC/DC.

Over twenty years later in 2006, Black Sabbath somewhat came together again. Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice toured under the name ‘Heaven & Hell’, all of them being previous members of Sabbath. While on tour for their first and only album, “The Devil You Know”, this was when Ronnie began to fall ill with stomach cancer.

All the summer tour dates for Heaven & Hell were cancelled, but this proved to be of no avail. Ronnie James Dio died on May 16th, 2010, after a short battle with stomach cancer that he appeared to have been beating. He left this world knowing that he was loved by rock fans all over the world, treasured by family and friends.

Ronnie James Dio was not just a singer - he was a musician and a genius. The world has lost one of its massive stars, but he will not be forgotten. No matter where he was, or what band he was in, he was nothing short of a legend and will never be truly gone. It’s cliché to say, but the music will live on, and so will his spirit.

R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio 1942 - 2010. You will be missed.