Heavy metal lost one of its icons Sunday when singer Ronnie James Dio died at 67. He was being treated in a Houston hospital for stomach cancer.
“My heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45 a.m,” said a statement by his wife, Wendy, posted Sunday on the singer’s Web site and confirmed by publicist Maureen O'Connor.
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins commented on Twitter, "Ronnie was a true gentleman, and obviously one of the best rock singers there will ever be. What a sad loss. ... I only got to meet him once and I can honestly say he was the nicest person I have ever met in music." Dio’s neo-operatic voice was one of metal’s most distinctive instruments, an over-the-top stylist perfectly suited for a genre that demanded excess.
He fronted some of metal’s most revered bands, including a Deep Purple offshoot called Rainbow, the second incarnation of Black Sabbath and his namesake group, Dio. As a result, he had a hand in a half-dozen of metal’s greatest albums, including Sabbath’s “Heaven and Hell” and Dio’s “Holy Diver.” Most recently he was heard fronting a Sabbath offshoot, Heaven and Hell, which released a fine 2009 album, “The Devil You Know,” and toured extensively in 2008-09.
Dio was born Ronald James Padavona in 1942 in Portsmouth, N.H. He began playing in rock bands starting in the late ‘50s in Cortland, N.Y., and eventually formed the band Elf in 1969. A tour as opening act with Deep Purple led to Dio’s first big break – he caught the ear of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who formed the band Rainbow with the vocalist.
The singer then joined Black Sabbath in 1979 after the departure of Ozzy Osbourne, and sparked one of the group’s best albums, “Heaven and Hell.” He would continue working off and on with Sabbath and Sabbath band members throughout the remainder of his career, in between stints with Dio – a classic, old-school metal band that toured and recorded consistently over the last three decades. The Dio band released 10 studio albums since 1983 and went through numerous lineup changes, with the singer the sole constant.
For many fans, Dio embodied metal’s virtues, notably its confrontational power and hell-raising subject matter. That affection spilled over into the comedy of Tenacious D – a duo led by movie star Jack Black --- who wrote the tribute song “Dio” and even had the singer appear as an oracle of sorts in the movie “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny.” Dio guides the young Black to pursue his dreams. “Now go, my son,” he bellowed, “and rock!”
Heavy metal lost one of its icons Sunday whe ...
ChildrenOfBodom Post at 17/5/2010 12:56
Memula bila dengar mamat ni kena kanser usus terkejut gak lar... Tapi lagi terkejut bila latest news yang aku tahu dia semakin pulih daripada penyakitnya tu... Bukan hapa... Aku pernah ada jiran aku yang meninggal sebab penyakit yang sama... Doktor memang tak boleh buat hapa dah... Hantar balek rumah... Kira tunggu masa jer lar... Ish! Ngeri lak aku dengar...
Pepe pong berita pasal kematian idola rock ni walaupong sudah dijangka tapi tetap mengejutkang aku gak... Sukar aku nak terima... Lelebih lagi dalam usaha aku dalam beberapa tahun ni maseh dalam proses 'menyukupkan' koleksi Rainbow dan Dio aku... CARI gak album Heaven & Hell tapi tak jumpa... Dan tak pernah jumpa satu pong walaupong cuma ada 2 album...
Haritu Scorpions umum bersara... Sekarang ni Dio lak 'pergi'... Adus.. Tahun 2010 ni nampakya dunia 'batu' banyak terima berita sedih...
bukan saja seorang vocalist rock yg baik..juga seorang komposer yg cukup baik..walau heaven & hell dikatakan album terbaik utk dio..tapi aku menganggap zaman kemuncak dio adalah di tahun2 awal album DIO seperti holy diver dan the last in line...100% dari dio campare to album black sabbath...
Post Last Edit by ChildrenOfBodom at 20-5-2010 01:15
zaman DIO bersama Rainbow pong banyak lagu2 best, tu yg femes Temple of the king, kill the king, stargazer, rainbow eyes (sedih mendayu2 lagu ni). kalau zaman Dio solo aku paling suka lagu rainbow in the dark intro dia mmg catchy aar dgn son't talk to stranger, best siot solo gitar...
rainbow - kill the king
first time aku dengar lagu ni stratovarius cover dari elbem Holy Dio: A Tribute to the Voice of Metal
d.i.o ni mmg aku minat, memiliki suara yg baik... aku suka dia group ngan rainbow bergandigan dgn ritchie blackmore tp lagu yg plg aku suka heaven & hell dia ngan B.Sabbath.. C.O.B, stratovarius cover lagu kill the king tu mmg best la... aku minat gila kat group stratovarius ni.. hu..hu..
ha betoy2 Dio tu sebuah band, guna nama Dio jugak tu yg kdg2 kita ingt solo.
tp kalo ozzy osbou ...
ChildrenOfBodom Post at 3/6/2010 12:44
Tu lar... Aku memula kenal Dio ni pong melalui album Diamond dia dah... Letak lak gambar dia sorang jer dalam album tu... Ingatkan solo... Lepas selidik punya selidik barulah tahu Dio tu rupanya band... Lebih yakin bila tengok anggota reramai kat album Strange Highway... Pastu sah kompom bila aku dengar interview kat dalam album Holy Diver... (Remaster...) Dia cakap yang dia tak pernah mimpi nak jadi penyanyi solo... Nama Dio tu di pileh sebab memang nak guna pengaruh nama dia yang terkenal dalam dunia rock pada masa tu... Kena lak Dio tu maksud dia tuhan...
Ozzy Osbourn ni aku memula ingat band sebab nama dia pelik... Selidik punya selidik barulah tahu tu dia solo bila kuar dari Black Sabbath... Tapi kan bagi aku... Ozzy Osbourn ni adalah antara rocker yang punya suara yang tak sedap sekali dalam dunia... Pastu perasan bagos... Ian Gillan punya suara pong aku boleh terima lagi... Ozzy memang out ler...
RIP Dio, suara terbaik yang pernah. Aku punya albumnya, tapi aku harus menjualnya. Jika ada yang ingin katalog tidak menghantar saya alamat anda melalui mesej peribadi, ini harga yang berpatutan.
Kalau minat DIO, dengar ler album tribute This Is Your Life (released in March 2014).
Ada Jack Black & Tenn D (The Last In Line), Anthrax (Neon Knights), Doro Pesch (Egypt), Corey Taylor (Rainbow In The Dark), Halestorm (Straight Through The Heart), Metallica (medley Tarot Woman, Stargazer, Kill The King), Scorpions (Temple of The King) dan lain-lain.