Dio

Ronnie James Dio was his stage name, and he was one of the most talented frontmen in Metal history.
The real name was Ronald James Padavona, and born in Portsmouth on July 10, 1942. He died in Houston, USA, May 16, 2010.
Many think he was British, but he was an American musician, producer and composer of Heavy Metal, famous as the front-man of the bands Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio.
He is considered one of the best vocalists of all time due to his enormous talent and remarkable voice, having influenced many of the best vocalists today. He is also known for introducing the Metal hand, the “sign of the horns“, a symbol of Metal music.

He was in 5th place on the list of “50 Best Rock and Metal Singers” on the website Loudwire, 10th on the list of “100 best Heavy Metal vocalists” by HitParader magazine, and was elected the 5th best singer with high-pitched vocals in Heavy Metal by OC Weekly. His vocal range is classified as Tenor.

In 2010, before he died, Ronnie James Dio was one of the rock artists with the greatest career longevity, alongside Paul McCartney Mick Jagger.

Ronnie adopted the stage surname “Dio”, inspired by Italian mobster Johnny Dio. While still at school, he formed the rockabilly band Vegas Kings, which, after changing its name several times (being called Ronnie and the Rumbles, Ronnie and the Redcaps, Ronnie Dio and the Prophets, The Electric Elves and The Elves), finally became known as the band ELF.

In the mid-1970s, following the entry of Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), ELF began to be called Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, in which Dio participated in four albums. Dio then left Rainbow due to a disagreement with Blackmore and was invited by guitarist Tony Iommi to take over as vocalist in Black Sabbath, remaining with the band until 1982.

In the same year, he formed his own band called DIO, and in 1983 released the album entitled “Holy Diver“.
Drummer Vinny Appice, who had accompanied Dio when he left Black Sabbath, also participated in this event, along with his former Rainbow bandmate, bassist Jimmy Bain, and guitarist Vivian Campbell (later in Def Leppard).
“Holy Diver” was very well received and left behind classics such as the title track, “Stand Up and Shout”, “Don’t Talk to Strangers”, and the hit and my favourite Dio song “Rainbow in the Dark”.

Fueled by success, Dio recorded another album with his band in 1984, this one titled “The Last in Line”, and the band embarked on a world tour together with keyboardist Claude Schnell. Then Dio released his first official video.

After the release of subsequent albums (see discography) and changes in the band’s lineup, Dio took a break in 1987. In 1990, he reformed the band DIO and released the album “Lock up the Wolves”. The band is made up of completely new musicians.
During the subsequent tour, Dio met his former Black Sabbath bandmate, bassist Geezer Butler, and decided to return to the band to record the album “Dehumanizer” in 1992. The group had consolidated itself again, but Dio decided to leave Black Sabbath on the tour’s last date after the incident of learning that he intended to open a show for Ozzy Osbourne.

In the years between 1983 and 2006, he remained active with the band DIO and returned to work with bandmate Vinny Appice until 2003.

In 2007, he reunited with his former Black Sabbath bandmates to release the musical compilation album “Black Sabbath – The Dio Years”. This event resulted in the formation of the band Heaven & Hell (which was the same formation as the Black Sabbath), which remained active until the day of his death.

Throughout his career, Dio popularized the expression of the Metal hand. In fact, he used the gesture to ward off the evil eye and not as a Satanist symbol. In the documentary “Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey”, he makes reference to his Italian grandmother, who supposedly used the gesture (called maloik, not Metal hand or sign of the horns) to ward off or evoke the evil eye.

He died of stomach cancer, leaving millions of fans brokenhearted because he was an amazing frontman and singer, very charismatic and with a big heart, always ready to greet a fan in the warmest way possible or to provide help to a friend. According to people who surrounded him, he was also an excellent professional to work with.

Elf

Elf (1972)
Carolina County Ball (1974)
Trying to Burn the Sun (1975)
The Gargantuan (1978)
The Elf Albums (1991)

Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow (1975)
Rising (1976)
On Stage (1977)
Live In Munich (1977)
Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll (1978)
Finyl Vinyl (1986)
Live In Germany ’76 (1990)

Black Sabbath

Heaven and Hell (1980)
Mob Rules (1981)
Live Evil (1982)
Dehumanizer (1992)
Live at Hammersmith Odeon (2007)
The Dio Years (2007) (Collection)
The Rules of Hell (2008) (Collection)
Heaven & Hell
Live from Radio City Music Hall (2007)
The Devil You Know (2009)
Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell (2010) (DVD)

DIO

Holy Diver (1983)
Live in Concert (VHS) (1984)
Special From The Spectrum (VHS) (1984)
The Last in Line (1984)
Sacred Heart (1985)
Super Rock ’85 in Japan (VHS) (1985)
Intermission (1986)
Sacred Heart “The Video” (1986)/(2004)
Dream Evil (1987)
Lock Up the Wolves (1990)
Diamonds: Best of Dio (1992) (Collection)
Strange Highways (1994)
Angry Machines (1996)
Anthology (1997) (Collection)
Master Series (1998) (Collection)
Inferno: Last in Live (1998)
Magic (2000)
The Very Beast of Dio (2000) (Collection)
Anthology, Vol. 2 (2001) (Collection)
Killing the Dragon (2002)
Evil or Divine: Live in New York City (DVD) (2003)
Stand Up and Shout: The Dio Anthology (2003)
The Collection (2003) (Collection)
Master of the Moon (2004)
Evil Or Divine: Live in New York City (2005)
We Rock (DVD) (2005)
Holy Diver Live (2006)
Holy Diver Live (DVD) (2006)