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Ronnie James Dio A Tribute to Ronnie James Dio 10 July 1942 - 16 May 2010 In Memorian - In Memorian pt 2 - Geezer Butler - Memorial Serice News - Memorial Service - Public Memorial - Memorial Program Memorial Service Photos - Photos Pt 2 - Photos Pt 3 - Catclub Tribute - Fanclan Tribute - Rata Blanca Tribute - Other Tributes Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an Italian American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid He was widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal, renowned for his consistently powerful voice He consistently ranks as one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time in various online polls and lists He is credited with popularizing the "metal horns" hand gesture in metal culture Prior to his death, he was collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice, under the moniker Heaven & Hell, whose only studio album, The Devil You Know, was released on April 28, 2009 Dio died of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010 One of the last songs he recorded was titled "Metal Will Never Die". Early years, education and musical training Ronnie James Dio was born Ronald James Padavona in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the only child of Italian parents They lived in Portsmouth until the family moved to Cortland, New York early in his life. He initially played the trumpet and French horn and even recorded several singles with various rockabilly bands when he was a boy When he was in high school, he joined a band called The Vegas Kings, in which he played the bass guitar He eventually became the lead singer of this band, which changed its name to Ronnie & The Rumblers and finally to Ronnie And The Red Caps Their first 7-inch single was released in 1958 on Reb Records under the name Ronnie & The Redcaps Its A-side, 'Lover' still had Billy DeWolfe on vocals but Dio's voice can be heard clearly in the back The B-side, 'Conquest' is an instrumental in the style of the Ventures, featuring Dio on trumpet. Dio graduated from the Cortland City School in 1960, and was inducted to the Cortland City School Hall of Fame in 2004 He was also honored on November 15, 1988 by his hometown naming a street after him, Dio Way. During a performance at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Darien, NY (near Buffalo, NY) on September 19, 2007, Dio revealed that he had attended the University at Buffalo, majoring in pharmacy.[10] He attended from 1960 to 1961 but did not graduate.[6] He formed one of his early bands during his freshman year. He was offered a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music but did not pursue it due to his interest in rock music Despite being known for his powerful singing voice, Dio claimed never to have taken any vocal training He attributed his singing ability to the correct breathing techniques he learned when playing the French horn as a child. Early career Dio's musical career began in 1957 when several Cortland, New York musicians formed the band The Vegas Kings, which soon changed their name to Ronnie and the Rumblers This band's lineup had Padavona on the bass guitar, along with singer Billy DeWolfe, guitarist Nick Pantas, drummer Tom Rogers, and saxophone player Jack Musci. In 1958, the band again changed their name, along with a few changes of personnel The band was now known as Ronnie and the Redcaps At this point, Padavona began singing, replacing DeWolfe Musci also left the band, and a new guitarist, Dick Botoff, joined The Redcaps lineup released two singles: "Lover" b/w "Conquest" (with DeWolfe on vocals on the A-side) on the Reb label, and on Seneca (S 178-102, USA), "An Angel Is Missing" with "What'd I Say" on the B side (both songs featuring Padavona on vocals). In 1961, they changed their name to Ronnie Dio and The Prophets The Prophets lineup lasted for quite a long time and produced several singles and one album Some sources state that some of the single releases were made by Ronnie James Dio solo, but others, such as Dio himself, state that all of the singles were made as a band. Padavona took up the name "Dio" after mafia member Johnny Dio, and first used it professionally in 1961, when he added it to the band's second release on Seneca Soon after that the band changed their name to Ronnie Dio and the Prophets The group released several singles during the following years, until 1967. Ronnie Dio and the Prophets disbanded in 1967, but he and Prophets guitarist Nick Pantas started a new band called the Electric Elves They shortened their name to Elf in 1969, and went on to become an opening act for Deep Purple. Rainbow Dio's vocals caught the ear of Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, and when Blackmore left the band, he recruited Dio and other members of Elf to form Rainbow Rainbow released its debut as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow in 1975 Dio recorded two more classic albums (Rising and Long Live Rock 'n' Roll) and the live album On Stage with Rainbow, but he left the band due to creative differences: Blackmore had wanted to take the band in a more commercial direction. Black Sabbath In 1979, after leaving Rainbow, Dio joined Black Sabbath, replacing Ozzy Osbourne That line-up released the highly successful Heaven and Hell album in 1980, which revitalized the band's career They then went on to record Mob Rules with Vinny Appice on drums Vinnie replaced original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward during the tour for Heaven and Hell due to familial problems at the time The album proved less successful than its predecessor, but still a hit In 1982, disagreements over the mixing of Live Evil led to Ronnie Dio and Vinny Appice quitting the band to form the band Dio In 1992, Dio briefly returned to Black Sabbath to record Dehumanizer The album was a minor hit, reaching the Top 40 in the United Kingdom, and #44 on the Billboard 200. Dio Wanting to continue together as a band, Ronnie James Dio and Vinnie Appice formed Dio, the band, in 1982 On guitar played Vivian Campbell and on bass Jimmy Bain, the latter whom he had known since the old Rainbow days Their debut album, Holy Diver, included the hit singles, "Rainbow in the Dark" and the title track, Holy Diver As the band changed members over the years, Dio was the only original member Except a few breaks, Dio, the band, was always touring or recording They released 10 albums, with Master of the Moon being the last one, recorded in 2004 During September 2005, Dio toured Siberia and Russia's far east, kicking off in Khabarovsk In 2000, Century Media released Holy Dio: Tribute to Ronnie James Dio, an album featuring a number of covers by mainly power metal bands The last song he recorded with his band was titled "Electra". Heaven & Hell In October 2006, it was confirmed that Dio would be joining Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and former Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice to tour under the moniker Heaven & Hell, the title of the first Dio era Black Sabbath album They chose the name Heaven & Hell as Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler were still in Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne and felt it was best to use a different moniker for the Dio version of the band Original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward was to be involved in this project, but he later withdrew In 2008 the band completed a 98-date world tour The band released one album under the Heaven & Hell name, The Devil You Know, to critical and commercial acclaim They also had planned to release a follow-up in 2010. Other projects involved In 1974, Dio sang on the Roger Glover conducted and produced concept album The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast Along 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 sang the tracks "To Live for the King" and "Mask of the Great Deceiver" on Kerry Livgren's solo album Seeds of Change Dio, who was between stints as singer for Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and Black Sabbath, later proved somewhat controversial among Livgren's Christian fans, as Black Sabbath and Dio were then perceived as "satanic" by many Christians Dio said in an interview that he did not consider the album to be a "Christian" album and had performed on it as a favor to Livgren. 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, which was the brainchild of his fellow Dio band mates Vivian Campbell & Jimmy 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". 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. 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 Ronnie appeared onstage to sing the part live on at least one occasion (both shown on the Mindcrime at the Moore DVD). On January 17, 2007, he was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame at Guitar Center on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard. Dio is thanked in the end credits of the 2011 film Atlas Shrugged: Part I, due to his being "one of the people who kept the project alive." Personal life Dio and his first wife, Loretta Berardi (born 1941), adopted a son, Dan Padavona. After divorcing Berardi, he married Wendy Galaxiola (born 1945), who also served as his manager In the 1980s she managed the Los Angeles rock bands Rough Cutt, Nuhaven (with drummer Doug Simpson), and Hellion She is the chair of the privately sponsored organization, Children of the Night, dedicated to rescuing America's children from prostitution Dio remained married legally to Galaxiola until his death, but they got separated in the mid-eighties. Illness and death On November 25, 2009, Wendy announced that Dio had been diagnosed as having stomach cancer: "Ronnie has been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer We are starting treatment immediately at the Mayo Clinic After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans Long live rock and roll, long live Ronnie James Dio Thanks to all the friends and fans from all over the world that have sent well wishes This has really helped to keep his spirit up." On March 14, 2010, Wendy posted an online update on his condition: "It has been Ronnie's 7th chemo, another cat scan and another endoscopy, and the results are good – the main tumor has shrunk considerably, and our visits to Houston (cancer clinic in Texas) are now every three weeks instead of every two weeks." On May 4, 2010, Heaven & Hell announced they were canceling all summer dates as a result of Dio's ill health. Dio died at 7:45 am (CDT) on May 16, 2010, of metastasized stomach cancer, according to official sources. Wendy said on Dio's official site: "Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all We so appreciate the love and 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 and his music will live on forever." A free public memorial service was held on May 30, 2010 at 2 p.m at The Hall Of Liberty, Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in Los Angeles The hall was filled with over 1,500 people, so the remainder of the fans had to sit outside of the hall and watch from a live screen Friends, family, and former and current band mates of Dio's gave speeches and performed, including Rudy Sarzo, John Payne, Glenn Hughes, Joey Belladonna & Dio/Heaven & Hell keyboard player Scott Warren On the screen was an accompanying documentary covering Dio's career, from his beginnings in Elf to his final project Heaven & Hell Everybody who attended had the opportunity to view Dio's coffin The Westboro Baptist Church held a small rally, denouncing Dio as a Satan worshiper. Wendy Dio urged those attending the funeral to ignore the protest, saying: "Ronnie hates prejudice and violence We need to turn the other cheek on these people that only know how to hate someone they didn't know We only know how to love someone we know!" Ronnie James Dio R.I.P  |