RONNIE HAD THAT MAGIC TOUCH
“Ronnie touched so many people, not only with his talent but also as a human being. He cared about people more than anything. I think they broke the mould when they made him.” (Wendy Dio)
On May 16, 2010, metal lost its greatest-ever voice. And let us be clear here: there is absolutely no doubt that Ronnie James Dio was (and still is) one of heavy metal’s most important figures of all.
The diminutive New Yorker with the gigantic voice was born in 1942 and began his musical career in the late 50s as vocalist and bassist with teen beat group The Vegas Kings. A decade later, Ronnie was a member of boogie rockers Elf, who became a regular support act for rock giants Deep Purple.
After their third album, Elf were effectively hijacked by Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore, who used them as the first line-up of his new band Rainbow, with Ronnie front and centre as lead vocalist. The rest, as you know, is history: Rainbow would make a vast contribution to the evolution of heavy music, not least with 1976’s ageless album, before Ronnie departed to replace Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. After two wildly successful albums, he embarked on his own. From then on, Ronnie James Dio was, quite simply a living legend. Like most big names in metal, he experienced a significant commercial downturn in the 90s, but the 21st century proved to be much more respectful of the great man’s contribution, aided by a string of excellent Dio albums and a widely praised return to the Black Sabbath fold for 2009’s extraordinary (released under the name Heaven & Hell).
